Connections for Permanency (CFP) is a seven-month (mid-January 2007 - August 2007) demonstration project designed to assess the effectiveness of “family finding” practices in the State of Louisiana.  CFP is sponsored by the Louisiana Supreme Court’s Court Improvement Program through funding provided by the Louisiana Department of Social Services Office of Community Services.

CFP currently receives referrals for youth ages 16-18 directly from case workers at the Orleans and Jefferson parish Office of Community Services (OCS) Regional Offices.  The program targets those youth with few or no known family relationships and who have experienced the highest level of urgency for being connected.
 
The targeted youth often have a history of mental illness, destructive behavior, multiple placements and few, if any, significant relationships in their lives. They may also be close to “aging out” of the system.  In addition, all youth in the identified areas/parishes are more likely to exhibit these characteristics due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.