Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced today that the state has received $5 million in federal funds to expand and enhance services to families in an effort to reduce the number of children in foster care because their families are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

The money will be targeted for Norwich, Middletown and Willimantic areas and will enhance an existing program run by the state Department of Children and Families that now provides services to 500 families statewide. The funding will provide supportive housing and support services to at least 50 additional families, the governor and DCF Commissioner Joette Katz said today.

“This goal of this supportive housing program is to keep families together and help those who are in greatest need get back on their feet,” Malloy said. “Under the leadership of Commissioner Katz, DCF has been accelerating their efforts to keep families unified and stable. The federal funding our state has been awarded will allow DCF to continue their efforts to create stability for our state’s youngest residents.”

The program expansion will focus on chronically homeless families with multiple episodes of homelessness in eastern Connecticut, where DCF determined the available services do not meet the existing need. The state Department of Social Services has committed an additional 50 supportive housing vouchers in conjunction with the additional services.

An employment specialist will work with the families to develop relevant skills and help them find work in conjunction with the state Department of Labor’s Office of Workforce Competitiveness, officials said today.

Katz said the program has been successful in reducing the number of children in foster homes by 11 percent since January 2011.

“Supportive housing is one of the critical ways we can keep more families together and reunify families where a removal was necessary,” she said.

c.bessette@theday.com