Sheltering Arms Children And Family Services Inc

Programs: Early childhood education programs for over three decades, sheltering arms has provided high quality ece services through both home- and center-based options. In the past four years, we more than doubled the size of our ece program, currently helping an estimated 1,658 children (1,120 through eleven centers and 538 through family day care) annually to beat the odds in low-income communities across four boroughs. Infants and toddlers up to 3 years of age receive home- or center-based care. In home-based care, home visitors work with children and their parents, who also attend weekly socialization groups with other same-age children. Parents are offered various educational workshops, including prenatal and postnatal care, nutrition, and comprehensive family support services. Our dedicated educators guide children through hands-on learning activities and a constantly growing set of innovations, such as mental health support and exposure to the arts. Our model is informed by the nationally recognized creative curriculum, which ensures that children gain the early literacy, math, and cognitive skills they will need to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. After-school programsthe sacfs after-school program serves over 1,200 students in ten public elementary, middle, and high schools in new york city. With the goal of helping students at all levels of learning achieve at their highest ability, the program not only provides academic help and support, but also encourages students' personal development. Sacfs works in eight elementary and middle schools in the south bronx and harlem. Academic support and tutoring are emphasized but there are also educational/youth development activities which students are assigned to based on their need for extra academic attention, behavior modification, and interests. These activities range from the arts to technology to media to sports. The curricular offerings are fine tuned to meet the particular needs of each school community and to be responsive to the education environment in new york city.

developmentally disabled servicessacfs initially opened its first community residence for developmentally disabled individuals who had been institutionalized at the willowbrook school in staten island. These young people were welcomed into a structured, supportive home where they were helped to live as independently as possible, assisted by counselors and other specialists. Some of the individuals who came to us from willowbrook as children are still cared for by us today as adults. Today sacfs operates six residences for developmentally disabled adults, serving more than 60 people. Supervised by experienced and caring staff, these residents work on independent living goals established individually for each person. In addition to day habilitation programs and excursions, some of the residents hold jobs in supervised work environments. We also have a small medicaid service coordination (msc) program for developmentally disabled adults.

juvenile justice programssacfs runs eight juvenile justice residential programs for teens charged with crimes. Under contracts with the nyc administration for children's services (acs), our three non-secure detention (nsd) programs serve teens in residential settings who are awaiting juvenile delinquency procedures in family court. These youth are closely supervised, attend school, and receive counseling during their short stay in the sacfs group home, which is typically less than 30 days. Our four non-secure placement (nsp) and one limited secure placement (lsp), which specializes in serving youth diagnosed as severely emotionally disturbed, serve teens who have been convicted in family court and sentenced to serve terms of 12 to 18 months. Youth in nsp and lsp residences are closely supervised and also receive education and counseling. Sheltering arms utilizes non-traditional solutions to meet the city's need for comprehensive and effective youth rehabilitation. From implementing a groundbreaking creative arts therapy program to nationally recognized models for treating mental health, we are transforming the way juvenile justice is operated.

--other program services include:afterschool and community school programssacfs afterschool programs serve more than 3,000 students in ten public elementary, middle, and high schools each year. Our programs unlock student potential by providing a safe environment for children to develop away from the negative influences on their streets. Our unique combination of project-based learning, character development, and eye-opening opportunities puts at-risk children on track to success. We operate programs in four elementary schools, five middle schools, and we were selected to provide the city's first afterschool program specifically designated for youth in the juvenile justice system at bronx hope passages academy. We are also the lead provider at jhs 22, a community school, providing comprehensive wrap-around services for students and their families, including physical and mental health services, a food pantry, adult literacy classes, and much more. Family foster care, adoption and foster care group homes for teens -sacfs provides such an environment for some 300 children whose birth families are unable to do so because of such problems as drug/alcohol use, anger management issues, unsafe housing, poor parenting skills, or domestic violence. They are placed with 250 families recruited and trained by sacfs, while their birth families are helped to deal with the problems that led to placement. In most cases, children are able to be safely reunited with their parents; others will be adopted by their foster families, relatives, or others. Learning to live cooperatively with others and develop the skills needed to be self-sufficient is the goal of sacfs' two group homes for foster youth in the bronx. Staff members provide surrogate parenting in the group homes, helping the residents organize meal preparation, the assignment of chores, and oversee things like homework review and discipline. Academic achievement, college preparation, and job readiness skills are emphasized for all youth, while local workshops broaden residents' perspectives and life coping skills. Sheltering arms offers critical support to teens in foster care during their often difficult transition to adulthood. Through partnerships with skilled mentors, inspiring role models, and nationally recognized foundations and universities, we close the gaps left by past abuse or neglect, and restore the self-esteem that fuels hard work, personal development, and success. Preventive servicesfamilies referred to our programs may be afflicted by homelessness, violence, mental illness, substance abuse, extreme poverty, trauma, or other factors that put their children at risk for foster care placement. We prioritize the safety and health of the children in our program while working with parents to heal and strengthen family bonds through targeted therapy, referrals, home visits, and parenting classes. Outcomes-focused research informs our methodology and leads to successful transformations for vulnerable children and families. Youth services for at-risk and runaway and homeless youth (rhy)our youth centers and homes are havens for young people to be nurtured, counseled and supported when they often have nowhere else to turn. With us, young people find a refuge from the challenges they face coming of age in low-income neighborhoods - from homelessness to gang violence and limited job opportunities. Our 'safe space' youth centers and homes are secure places to build strong relationships with staff and peers, to get help with school work, to gain referrals for food or housing and other basic needs, and to develop skills and build pathways for career success. Rock safe streets (cure violence) we were one of the first agencies called upon by the city to implement the nationally-recognized cure violence methodology in far rockaway, queens. Cure violence is an evidence-proven public health model for "interrupting" violence which was developed in chicago's gang-prone neighborhoods. Like the violence interrupters in chicago, our rock safe streets staff leverage their credibility to effectively de-escalate conflict and build community momentum toward peace and economic development. We stand with the entire far rockaway community to heal our neighborhoods and reclaim our streets for safer futures. Clinical mental health servicessheltering arms takes a non-traditional approach to meeting families where they are with the mental health services they need most. Throughout decades of mental wellness leadership, we have developed best practices which have changed lives, rewritten the narrative around mental health, and leveled the playing field. Our three article 31 mental health clinics are integrated within our family resource centers where youth and families regularly visit for events, education, resources, and other programs. We're also pioneers of school-based mental health care. Our kidwise program embeds mental health care professionals in low-income elementary and middle schools where they can reach underserved children and their families despite language barriers, stigma, or knowledge gaps. Family health clinicssacfs has a health clinic in the bronx that receives medicaid reimbursement for health care services provided to the children in our foster care and juvenile justice residential programs.