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Preventive Services
Over the past decade, teachers, members of law enforcement, and the court system struggled with clear indications of increasing numbers of children at risk of abuse or neglect. An increased number of reports of suspected abuse were being made to social services, and there was a need for a systematic approach to assessing and assisting families. In 2004 the Onondaga County Department of Social Services made a determination that a substantial overhaul of preventive services work was required. Rather than 15-17 different agencies providing preventive services, the Department of Social Services wanted a consistent approach to working with families at risk. The Salvation Army of the Syracuse Area was awarded the only contract for these services.

We formed a unique partnership with two other agencies, the Preventive Services Partnership, with both agencies working under our supervision in doing this critical preventive work with families. Through the Preventive Services Program, we provide assistance to 375 different families every year, including 1,100 to 1,300 children. There has been a significantly decreased incidence of abuse or neglect in the families receiving our services. Our ability to provide intensive services to families, with appropriate follow-up, means that parents are receiving the help that they need to give their children care and attention. In fact, we have a 99% success rate with families that have received these focused and comprehensive services.

Reuniting Families
Being in foster care is difficult for children and for their birth parents. The opportunity to spend time together is critical to offering a real chance for family reunification. In the past, our work with children in foster care and their families had been mainly with the most difficult cases, in our SAFER program. Our outcomes were good, but with more families facing the possible loss of their children, changes in the system were needed.

Prior to 2006, the only place for family visitation was an office in the Civic Center, clearly not a natural setting for family interaction. Our excellent reputation with Onondaga County in existing services led them to request that we expand services in this area and serve more families.

The Salvation Army opened Family Place, a visitation center for children in foster care with their birth parents, in March of 2006. The goals of Family Place are to increase the quality and frequency of visits between children in foster care and their parents, to provide a family-friendly setting for visits to encourage positive interation between parents and children, and to continually assess families' progress and service needs, ensuring that they receive approproate support services. Our outstanding facility is a place where other partner agencies are invites to provide services to families, so that families receive the best care with the least amount of obstacles.

Since it opened, 170 families have received services at Family Place. We believe that, whenever possible, families should be together, and the services provided at Family Place make reunification much more likely. We are currently being asked to increase the number of families we serve at Family Place, which we hope to be able to do in the near future. It is clear that children in foster care and their parents would benefit from the kind of assistance offered at Family Place.