Family Assessment Program (FAP) NYC Childrens Services The Overview - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Family Assessment Program (FAP)

NYC Children’s Services

The Overview

• Since 2002, FAP has served status offenders or PINS (Person In Need of

Supervision) youth up to age18 who are charged with offenses unique to their status as juveniles, including truancy, ungovernability and running away from home.

• FAP provides diversion services to families seeking to file PINS petitions in

Family Court. FAP is completely voluntary and families are not required to

• participate. However, a family must participate in FAP before a PINS

petition can be filed.

• The FAP staff consists of licensed MSW Social Workers, who conduct the

assessments of parent/caregivers and youth. In addition, FAP has court- based staff to work with youth who return on warrants to connect them to diversion services.

• FAP offices are located in each of the five boroughs of New York City either

in or near the Family Court in the respective borough. FAP serves between 6,000-7,000 families annually.

What Is the Family Assessment Program

• The Family Assessment Program is New York City’s lead provider of

assessment and diversion services for status offenders (referred to in New York State as Persons In Need of Supervision – P.I.N.S.).

• Status offenders are defined as young people, usually between the ages of

11 and 18 years old, charged with offenses unique to their status as juveniles, such as truancy, ungovernability or running away.

• FAP offices are located in each of the five boroughs of NYC either in or

near the Family Court in the respective borough.

• FAP serves between 6,000-7,000 families annually.

FAP Mission

Provide immediate support to families in crisis. Through screening and assessment, individualized intervention, and referral to a range of community- based or contracted services and supports, FAP aims to strengthen families and help them stay together.

Fulfilling the Mission

• Engaging with families in crisis immediately, using a

strength-based approach

• Screening every youth and family to determine the most

appropriate level of intervention

• Offering tailored counseling at the FAP office and/or

referrals to a range of services and supports in the client’s

• community. Services referral also includes linking youth

to prosocial activities within their community.

• Avoid out-of-home placements and remands for FAP

clients

• Facilitate the filing of PINS petitions in family court only

as a last resort

What is a PINS?

• PINS petitions can only be filed in Family Court if

the lead agency (ACS / Family Assessment Program) makes a determination that “there is no substantial likelihood that the youth and his or her family will benefit from further [diversion] attempts.” FCA Section 735.

• If a PINS petition is filed, a PINS respondent cannot

be securely detained in a secure facility. A judge can

• nly place the child in an ACS foster care setting.

FAP Continuum of Services

• In October 2010, we launched a new continuum of

service interventions targeted and prioritized for families that access services from FAP.

• These services range in intensity, and are intended to

respond to a wide array of needs and concerns.

Family Stabilization FS Functional Family Therapy FFT

Multi-dimensional Family Therapy

MDFT

Multisystemic Therapy

MST

Multisystemic Therapy -Psych

MST

Juvenile Justice

Respite

An intensive crisis team will make a visit to the family’s

• home. After

assessing the situation, the worker will help identify community- based supportive services and next steps. Over a period of no longer than 60 days, the worker will support family members as they execute a collaborative service plan. FFT consists of a small team of highly trained therapists, with a maximum caseload of ten families, which provides therapy in the home. Therapy takes place over an intensive four- month period including 30

• ne-hour

therapeutic sessions. MDFT is a family-based treatment approach for adolescents with substance abuse and associated mental health and behavioral

• problems. A small

team of trained therapists delivers

• MDFT. Treatment

takes place in a combination of in-home, in- school, and in- clinic sessions

• ver the course of

two to five months.

MST is a therapeutic intervention,

• ffered by a small

team of highly trained therapists, with a maximum caseload of six

• families. The team

provides therapy to an entire family in the home over a period of four

• months. Therapists

visit the home multiple times per week, and available by phone 24 hours MST Psych is High-Intensity therapeutic intervention. Youth must be at risk of out-of- home placement; and has significant psychiatric service needs. Respite Care is an adaptation of the evidence based model, Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC). This program is for youth who are most at risk of placement or

• detention. Respite

is a 21-Day non- mandated program.

Annual Stats

2016 Summary

FAP engaged 5, 552 youth/families citywide. The following is the breakdown per Borough

• Queens 1,080
• Brooklyn 1,430
• Bronx 1,944
• Staten Island 418
• Manhattan 680

Racial Disparity 2016

Asian 128 Black 2,729 Latino 2,225 White 276 Other 254 Total 5,552

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 Asian Black Latino White Other

Ages of Youth 2016 Data

200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 Under 9 Age 9 Age 10 Age 11 Age 12 Age 13 Age 14 Age 15 Age 16 Age 17 18 & Older 22 11 23 62 168 400 996 1456 1547 788 59 Under 9 Age 9 Age 10 Age 11 Age 12 Age 13 Age 14 Age 15 Age 16 Age 17 18 & Older

Gender/Sexual Orientation

Male 54% Male LGBTQ 5% Female 45% Female LGBTQ 2% Intersex 1%

Male 2972 Male LGBTQ 15 Female 2482 Female LGBTQ 81 Intersex 2 Total 5552

Family Support Center

FAP has a Family Support Center located in the South Bronx which launched in Spring of 2017. Instead of focusing only on the youth and what services the youth needs, DYFJ is looking at the family holistically and bring in programming that could address the needs of the parent as well. We would like to create a multi-service, one-stop space for youth and their families. Services and workshops could be brought in to address specific needs of the youth and families to include: The space has been designed to be welcoming for the families and create a “stress-free” environment, where families could get the help they need. By creating a space in the communities where these families live and where families can get many of their needs met without having to go to several different offices, we anticipate that the families will experience working with ACS in a completely different way and be more receptive to the services that we offer.

Vocational/ educational Services Mentoring for youth and parents Housing Assistance Employment Services

FAP on the Move

ROSES (Resilience, Opportunity, Safety, Education, Strength) is a youth based, voluntary, community based advocacy program for female youth between the ages of 12 and 17 who are at any level of involvement in the juvenile justice

• system. Youth will be randomly

assigned to Advocates who will work with the youth for 12 weeks twice a week. Collaboration with ROSES Expanding MST Psych Advocacy / Coaching Program This will be an intensive wraparound advocacy services model for youth, and their families, who have come in contact with, or are at risk of coming into contact with the juvenile justice system. The program will provide intensive services, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to youth residing in each of the five (5) boroughs of New York City. The advocates/life coaches recruited to work in the program will come from the same communities (or close proximity) where the youth and family reside. The target population to be served is youth between the ages of 10 and 17, who are at risk of a PINS petition/remand, at risk of being placed on a juvenile delinquency petition, scheduled to be released and transitioning from a Non- Secure Placement (NSP) or Limited Secure Placement (LSP) facility to home on aftercare, or at risk of further involvement into the juvenile justice system. As mental health is a great challenge within our community, FAP is looking to expand MST Psych services citywide. This program provides a vast array of therapeutic services for youth and family that fit the criteria.

Contact Information

For more information about FAP, please contact:

Associate Commissioner: Sara Hemmeter at Sara.Hemmeter@acs.nyc.gov 212-442-6326 Assistant Commissioner: Patricia H. Williams-Reeder at Patricia.Williams-Reeder@acs.nyc.gov 212-341-2650 Program Director Jamall Jenkins at Jamall.Jenkins@acs.nyc.gov 212-676-6758

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