Family Support Services Inc

What we do:
Family Support Services runs five Child Welfare and two Early Intervention programs and one preschool and childcare program in Philadelphia. In the Haverford and Radnor School Districts we run before-and-after School programs at eight elementary school sites and kindergarten enrichment programs in both townships.

Program Summary for the Family School Division
Family School is a center-based parenting education program that works with parents and their children (birth to five years old) to address child abuse and neglect. Family School provides a multidisciplinary service environment that builds on the families' strengths while addressing their needs and limitations, teaching how child development impacts child behavior and working to change learned behavio. A team of teachers, a parent educator, a chef educator and social woork staff work with parents to help them learn how to replace harmful behaviors with nurturing and children ttend 10 hours a week. An evening component of this program begins in March for those parents who are unable to attend during the day. The center is in Southwest Philadelphia and is the only program of its kind in Philadelphia.

The DHS Parenting Collaborative is a voluntary, community-based, interactive parenting education program in which small groups of parents meet weekly with FSS parent educators and aides to develop new parenting skills and strengthen existing ones. The program increases nurturing interactions and improves educational stability.

FSS's Child Welfare division serves families with children of all ages, while concentrating on children ages birth to 5. Our programs are aimed at breaking the generational cycle of child abuse and neglect,strengthening family systems and promoting school readiness. All offer parenting education and support to families living in the city of Philadelphia through center based and community based programming.

Family Emowerment Services is a voluntary home visiting preventive program for families with young children. Social workers conduct home visits with families, provide parenting support and help them access community resources.

IHPS - CI (In Home Protective Services for cognitively impaired parents and children) is an intensive home visiting program with high-acuity caseloads. Case workers visit families a minimum of two times each week, engaging in strength-based service delivery that addresses and ameliorates existing safety threats. While in the home our social workers model effective parenting practices, advocate for children's health and educational needs, connect families with community resources and establish ongoing relationships with all of the necessary service providers. They also try to help the family become a better advocate for its own needs so that as cases are closed, families remain healthy and connected to key service providers and schools. FSS provides IHPS - CI throughout Philadelphia. FSS is the only provider of IHPS CI in the city of Philadelphia.

IHPS General provides the same level of service as IHPS CI for families without cognitve challenges

Program Summary for the Early Intervention Division
Our Early Intervention (EI) programs employ EI teachers and individualized speech, physical and occupational therapists to overcome, or reduce, developmental delays in birth to five year-old children. Children who have been diagnosed as having a 25% or greater delay in physical, cognitive, language, social/emotional or motor development are referred through Elwyn, Inc. and the Philadelphia Office of Intellectual DisAbilities.

FSS' Early Intervention Birth to Three Program provides individualized specialized therapy in the child's natural environment to help children with a 25% developmental delay reach their potential.

FSS’ Early Interventon Three to Five Programs offer both center-based and community-based specialized therapy to three to five year old children with a least a 25% developmental delay.

Chestnut Street Preschool and Childcare Program
FSS' Chestnut Street Preschool and Childcare program at Chestnut and 56th Streets serves preschool-aged children with a combination of preschool and childcare programming provided by certified teachers and trained staff. Flexible scheduling makes it easy for working parents to enroll their children in a variety of after school time program adheres to state standards and uses the "Creative Curriculum", as well as "Handwriting Without Tears", and is supported by best-practice instruction.

Program Summary for School-based Childcare
Our fee-for-service School-based Education programs support suburban families through an educational and fun half-day, kindergarten enrichment program that complements the Haverford and Radnor School District's kindergarten curricula.

At eight elementary school sites we also offer recreational before and after-school programs, with homework supervision, from 7:30 am to 6 pm daily (times vary by site).

School-based education programs are state licensed. All site directors and assistant teachers are certified. Registration forms can be downloaded from our website by going to the Extended Day home page and clicking on the link in the sidebar.

Summer Camp -We host a summer camp program at 2 locations; one on the grounds of Presbyterian Children's Village in Rosemont and the other in Havertown at the Brookline site. This is an exciting program staffed by our teachers and teachers assistants, combining fun with learning and recreational activities, including swimming and field trips.