Preventive Services Program (Family Support)
The Preventive Services Program (Family Support) works with sixty East Harlem families at a time to address the many stresses that affect their lives, especially problems that might result in children going into foster care. Over the course of a typical year, the program works with over 115 families, as some enter and others exit the program. In 2010, Preventive Services served a total of 225 children. LSA caseworkers offer counseling and concrete help with employment, education, housing and health problems. They are also able to draw on all of LSA’s other programs to enhance the services they provide, as well as our extensive networks with neighborhood, city, and state resources.
Central to the Family Support Program’s ongoing success is an emphasis on working with all family members, not just the parents, to strengthen relationships and address concrete problems. Program components include counseling, referrals for specialized treatment, help with parenting and daily life management skills, and follow-up with education, health care, housing and entitlement services.
The program is further enriched by the skills of graduate students from schools of social work who carry out their field placements at LSA every year. Some students are so impressed with LSA during their placement here that they return and join the agency as staff members after receiving their degree.
Our program is funded primarily through a contract with the NYC Administration for Children's Services (ACS). Participation in the program is usually voluntary and the median length of time families participate in the program is 22 months. On average, approximately 75% of our cases are referred to LSA by ACS, with the balance coming via internal referrals and other local social service and community-based agencies.
Family Support photo gallery
