The My Two Aunties (M2A) program was developed by the Tribal Family Services (TFS) department of the Indian Health Council (IHC), a healthcare consortium of nine federally recognized Tribes located in an 1,800-square mile service area in the northern part of San Diego County, California. M2A provides in-home case management, trauma-informed care, parenting education, and revitalization of traditional child rearing practices to the whole community. The program supports all families, not just those identified “in need” of the intervention (e.g., identified as having a member at risk). This ensures both the resilience of family and the family’s place in a Native community of wellness and good health. M2A engages parents in culturally grounded family strengthening practices from the local Indigenous ways and traditional child rearing practices of the Luiseño, Kumeyaay, Cahuilla, and Cupeño peoples. The M2A program resists deeply engrained stereotypes that are rooted in Western ways that position social workers as agents of a punitive system; instead, it positions social workers in the role of traditional Native community helpers, as Aunties. The program is based in part on the Family Spirit curriculum and the American Indian Infant Health Initiative (AIIHI).
