NMPASI wants to keep Family Hope Center

If the cycle grant for the Family Hope Center is renewed, the Northern Marianas Protection & Advocacy Systems Inc. will push for the permanent operation of the program under its supervision, according to executive director Jim Rayphand.

Although NMPASI came into the picture to merely continue the program, he said there is no plan yet to transfer it to a new operator.

“To my knowledge, there has not been any talk by members of the Council for Developmental Disabilities to transfer the program away from NMPASI. At present, we expect to maintain the program through the end of the grant period, which will be at the end of this fiscal year,” Rayphand told Saipan Tribune.

Should Family Hope Center’s funding source be renewed, he said NMPASI will consider keeping the program as he feels it is a perfect fit in terms of the purpose of the program and NMPASI’s objectives to conduct and facilitate trainings related to the needs of individuals with disabilities and provide direct representation for individuals with disabilities.

The Family Hope Center’s operation was transferred to NMPASI after the Association of Families with Disabilities in the CNMI returned the program to the council. It receives between $150,000 and $200,000 in grant money for its operation.

The transfer was sealed in a memorandum of agreement signed by the council and NMPASI last December.

Rayphand said since they finalized the agreement, NMPASI hired two new staff to work exclusively for Family Hope Center, also known as Family Support 360 program.

“In lieu of a physical site for a center on Tinian and Rota, we are leveraging funds from the program and existing Protection & Advocacy programs to facilitate visits by our staff to the islands of Tinian and Rota wherein they can provide advocacy and, in the case of the Family Hope Center staff, social services,” Rayphand said.

Since December, their staff have already been to Tinian and Rota twice with approximately 20 new requests for services from those islands. Additionally, he added, the physical site of the center on Saipan has been used regularly by various members of the council network for trainings and meetings.

NMPASI currently administers seven federal grant programs, all carrying out similar if not duplicate functions as those of the Family Support 360 program—the System Navigators make an ideal addition to the current NMPASI staffing of Client Advocates, Projects Specialists, and Program Aides, all of which are involved in efforts to gather information using intake forms for the purpose of establishing eligibility; developing individualized family plans, and implementing plans to assist eligible families to navigate the local systems of service which are the primary responsibilities of the System Navigators.