Signal Centers Programs

Family Forward

Provides intensive case management for new and expectant low income families

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Preparing children and families for lifelong success

Family Forward provides one-on-one mentoring to help expectant mothers and fathers achieve goals. The program builds community by connecting families to much-needed resources, such as quality prenatal care, baby supplies, child care, and much more.

Program Snapshot

Results at a glance

Need

Ensure adequate prenatal care for expectant mothers

Response

92%

Of pregnant women are attending prenatal checkups

Need

Help teen parents achieve education goals

Response

99%

Of teen parents are on track to graduate high school on time

Need

Support fathers with resources and advocacy

Response

87

Fathers have enrolled in intensive case management services and/or fatherhood curricula.

Family Forward Means Less Stress

Vinelba Gonzalez is a teen mother who had her child during the pandemic. She was able to lean on Family Forward to provide necessary supplies and resources to help stabilize her life while so much was changing around her.
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Family Forward

Program Information

How We Support Families

The Four Pillars of Support

We serve our families through intensive case management, home visitation, and wraparound services which include:

Mentoring and Coaching

Family Forward provides one-on-one mentoring to help expectant mothers, fathers, and families access resources, identify challenges, strengths, and achieve goals.

Resource Connections

Family Forward has partnered with over 50 local organizations to connect families with needed resources such as quality prenatal care, baby supplies, safe sleep spaces, housing, car seats, child care, and more.

Education

Family Forward promotes healthy pregnancies and early childhood development through education and referrals.

Community-Building

Family Forward links families to supportive networks within their own neighborhood and community.

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Fatherhood Initiative

Supporting Fathers to Support Healthy Early Childhood Development

Having active, committed fathers is vital in ensuring the stability of the family as a whole. Our fatherhood initiative builds up a community of men by offering robust, wraparound case management services. We believe supporting fathers at no cost. Fathers can also choose to participate in any of our three fatherhood curricula.

24:7 Dad®

This curriculum is based on a philosophy that supports the growth and development of fathers and children as caring, compassionate people who treat themselves, others, and the environment with respect and dignity. This philosophical basis of caring and compassion forms the underlying structure that constitutes the values that are taught in the 24:7 Dad® programs. Each 24:7 Dad® Program consists of 12 group-based sessions that build on each other.

Key Behaviors:

  • What it Means to Be a Man
  • Showing and Handling Emotions
  • Men's Health
  • The Father's Role
  • Discipline
  • Children's Growth
  • Working with Mom and Co-Parenting
  • Sex, Love, and Relationships
  • Improving My Communication Skills
ProFathering 15™

ProFathering is a free, self-paced course online. The course offers 15 sessions in both English and Spanish on topics such as child development and money management. At the end of the course, fathers will receive a certificate of completion.

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Community Partners

Building a Strong Network

Family Forward would not be possible without our strong network of community partners who come alongside us to invest in our families:

  • American Job Center Tennessee
  • A Step Ahead Chattanooga
  • Bethany Christian Services
  • The Bethlehem Center
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee
  • Centerstone Mental Health Centers
  • Chambliss Center for Children
  • Chattanooga 2.0
  • Hamilton County Health Department
  • Hamilton County Head Start
  • Chattanooga Housing Authority
  • CHOICES Pregnancy Center
  • City of Chattanooga
  • Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga
  • Creative Discover Museum
  • Erlanger Health System
  • Goodwill
  • Hamilton County Government
    • Department of Education
    • Health Department
    • Head Start
    • Juvenile Court
    • Mental Health Court
    • Sheriff's Safe Journey Program
  • Ladies of Charity
  • La Paz Chattanooga
  • Metropolitan Ministries
  • Nurture the Next
  • Orange Grove
  • Partridge Health System
  • Partnership for Families, Children & Adults
  • Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee
  • ResCare
  • Salvation Army
  • Signal Centers
  • Silverdale Detention Center
  • The Speech & Hearing Center, a program of Signal Centers
  • Tennessee Early Intervention System
  • TriState Transportation Group
  • University of Tennessee Social Work Officer of Research and Public Service
  • United Way of Greater Chattanooga
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Eligibility

In order to receive services from Family Forward, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Be pregnant OR be a parent/primary caregiver of a child ages 0-5
  • Live in the following zip codes: 37404, 37407, 37410, 37411, or within City limits IF exception criteria are met*
  • Be a father living anywhere within Hamilton County

*Please note the following exceptions:

  • Applicant is homeless
  • Applicant is a teen parent
  • Applicant is a recent survivor of interpersonal violence
  • Applicant has a household member with a disability
  • Application submitted is because of a CPS referral or is court ordered

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Documents and Forms

Father's Demographic Form/ Demográfico Formulario para Padres
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Father's Demographic Form/ Demográfico Formulario para Padres
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Family Forward

Frequently asked questions

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Still have questions?

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Testimonials

Hear from our community

Family Forward helps me with all the essential supplies I need for being a mom. Before that, I actually ended up going to stay at a homeless shelter because I couldn’t keep up with everything. Money that I used to spend on diapers and wipes can go towards paying bills. It’s a huge relief.
Eryka Greer
Participant
Family Forward provides all types of avenues to organizations and agencies that are able to blend and keep families together. They helped me when I was experiencing domestic violence and homelessness, because I was like a shell and today I’m still trying to come out of that shell. They helped me in the midst of that be able to go back and get my degree in Psychology while balancing taking care of my two kids.
Tara Duncan Rodriguez
Participant
When I had my daughter at 15, it was really stressful. At the time, the pandemic was starting to arise and it was scary. To know that Family Forward is there to give you resources, or supplies, or just support means a lot. To me, Family Forward means less stress and more happiness.
Vinelba Gonzalez
Family Forward Participant

Family Forward

Meet our team

Director
Elizabeth Cotellese
Deputy Director
Floyd Davis
Data and Operations Specialist
Akia Grissom
Bilingual Community Navigator
Weena Roberson
Bilingual Community Navigator
Iris Perez
Bilingual Community Navigator
Kimberly Goodin
Bilingual Community Navigator
Brenda Silva
Community Navigator
Macy Asher
Fatherhood Specialist
Phil Moss
Fatherhood Specialist
Tony Griffin
Driver
Leroy Fitch

Family Forward is funded, in part, by:

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