Programs

Incarcerated Mothers, Preventive & Youth Program Description

The Incarcerated Mothers Program is dedicated to supporting and strengthening families when a mother is incarcerated. The high rate of incarceration in East Harlem and in many impoverished communities throughout the New York City has allowed us to provide services to a wide variety of families that may initially have not been identified as being impacted by incarceration. In 2004, 1 in every 138 U.S. residents was incarcerated which translates to 2.5 million children nationwide. To meet the specialized needs of these families, we have two program components, our Administration for Children’s Services funded Preventive Program and Youth Programs that are funded by other governmental and private sources.

The goal of our Preventive Program is to reduce child abuse/neglect and to eliminate the need for children to enter the foster care system by providing a range of services to their caretakers, who are often extended family members. In addition to our specialization in families affected by incarceration, our program also accepts general preventive cases, especially when the risk factors include domestic violence. Our Preventive staff is comprised of 7 people, which includes the Program Director, an MSW level supervisor, two Masters level case managers, two BA level case managers, and an administrative assistant.

The goal of our Youth Programs is to complement the Preventive Program by providing specialized services to our pre-teens and teens who are especially vulnerable to risk factors such as school failure, substance abuse, violence and ultimately to engaging in behaviors that lead to incarceration. We serve children 5-17 with the only criteria is that they have been impacted by incarceration which has allowed us to serve a combination of youth who are involved in preventive services, foster care services or residing in the community. We have also been able to remain involved with youth and families as they move through the different child welfare systems as well as serving families before they become involved in any official child welfare services.