FSA Family Service Association

How do you define your family?

Family Service believes that the family is the most important unit of society and functions to fulfill its members’ needs for both survival and well-being. “Families” come in many forms. A well-functioning family enhances its individual members’ ability to function both within the family and in the larger community; such a family provides emotional, physical, and economic mutual aid to its members. Ideally, family is characterized by intimacy, intensity, continuity, and commitment among its members throughout the life cycle.

Our Family Strengthening Programs focus on the positives in families. Instead of trying to “fix” problems which naturally occur in family situations, our programs assist families to identify strengths and “grow” them. Our Family Strengthening Programs assist with parenting, transportation, self-sufficiency, parenting support groups, and a new program for young adults with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Family Strengthening Programs include:

• AACES (Asperger’s Awareness, Community Education, and Support)
• Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter
• LINKS Family Reunification
• Parents As Teachers
• Parent Support Group
• Ways to Work/Drive to Success

 

AACES

(Asperger’s Awareness, Community Education, and Support)

Helping young adults with Asperger’s lead more independent lives

 

Asperger’s Awareness, Community Education, and Support (AACES), is a program of Family Service designed to increase independence and decrease isolation among young adults with Asperger’s. Each component of AACES supports the transition of young adults, 18-26 years with Asperger’s Syndrome and/or PDD/NOS, into adulthood.

This program was established through the efforts of parents and community leaders who were concerned about the lack of programs for adults with disabilities, specifically Asperger’s Syndrome and PDD/NOS, and it is a first step in filling a significant service gap.

AACES services will help these young adults:
• develop and learn social skills
• achieve educational goals
• find/maintain employment
• learn appropriate independent living skills
• receive treatment for anxiety and depression if needed

Staff work to create situations where members learn additional skills in social interactions, and then can practice those skills as part of the program.

Tracks to Employment: Job Readiness Workshops, Social Skills Seminars and Employment Support

The Tracks to Employment program strives to help young adults gain the community and vocational experiences that lead toward self-sufficiency. Individuals who seek employment participate in an eight week series of Job Readiness Workshops focused on skills like completing a job application, work ethic, professionalism, resume writing and job interviewing. Tracks to Employment participants also participate in a twelve week Social Skills Seminar focused on the “soft skills” essential to retaining employment. Topics include: effective communication in the workplace, working with a team, self-advocacy, and effective emotional management in the workplace. An individualized approach with each Tracks to Employment participant enables each person to set goals and to be linked with community based work experiences, job coaching, mentoring and other services as required.

Coffeehouse: Member Socialization

The Coffeehouse program is open to participants ages 18 through 26 who are seeking opportunities to practice being social and to gain a sense of social competence in a community with an understanding of Asperger’s or PDD/NOS. Through a combination of planned activities, discussion groups, and casual conversation, members have the opportunity to: enhance their communication skills; develop problem-solving skills; and strengthen their ability to understand and respond to non-verbal cues.

Junior Coffeehouse

Our Junior Coffeehouse is open to young people between the ages of 16 and 21, still in high school with a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome or PDD-NOS. Other criteria include Bucks County residency and an IQ of 70 or above. We meet monthly on the third Thursday of the month from 5 – 8 at AACES. This is an opportunity for young people to meet one another, to increase their comfort in social situations, to practice being social and to talk about having AS if desired. We have an intake process where we meet the individual before they start at Junior Coffeehouse. Contact Danielle at 215-757-300 for information or to join.

On My Own: Case Management, Benefits and Resources

To gain independence, an adult with Asperger’s or PDD/NOS may need to learn about benefits and resources and develop the skills necessary to access and manage those benefits. The AACES staff at Family Service Association provides individual case management services to support young adults as they negotiate the different systems of benefits and develop their self-advocacy skills.

Parent Involvement and Support

Family Service Association recognizes that there are unique challenges for parents and family members of those with Asperger’s or PDD/NOS. Families may experience a range of concerns and feelings as they help their son or daughter move toward independence. Through a combination of educational programs, support groups, and individual consultation, the AACES staff will help family members find answers to their questions, link them to available community services, and assist them as they navigate the system of programs and benefits available for their family member.

Admission criteria to the AACES program includes:

• Age 18-26
• High School graduate or have completed a GED
• A diagnosis of Asperger’s or PDD/NOS
• IQ score 70 or above
• Resident of Bucks County
• Demonstrates motivation to participate in the program, and agrees to adhere to program expectations (explained at admission)

Location and Hours:

Suite 012 at the Oxford Valley Mall

(Near the entrance to the mall by the fountain at JC Penny)

Monday and Wednesday: 3:30pm-7:45pm

For more information, please contact:

Amy Conte, MS
AACES Coordinator
215-757-6916 ext. 351
aconte@fsabc.org

Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter

Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter is a program for families and individuals who have lost stable and safe housing. This temporary shelter provides case managers to help residents to move from homelessness to self-sufficiency. Family Service’s Outpatient Behavioral Health Program provides an on-site mental health counselor.

For more information contact:
Jane Shuster
Director of Community-based Services
215.757.16916 x 232
jshuster@fsabc.org

For volunteer and donation inquiries contact:
Stephanie Sides
Communications Coordinator
215-757-6916 x 223
ssides@fsabc.org

LINKS Family Reunification

The LINKS Family Reunification program reunifies children who are in foster care with their parents. As LINKS staff work to reunite these children with their families, they also connect families with other community resources that will support them in preventing re-placement of their children in care and in maintaining long-term stability.

Families receiving the LINKS reunification services normally have significant issues to overcome in order to be reunited. These issues may include substance abuse, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, parent/child mental health issues and inappropriate housing. Often times families exhibit a combination of these problems which have led to the placement of their child/ children into the foster care system.

LINKS staff work with families, usually right in their homes, to get the family back together within the first fifteen months of a child being placed in foster care.

The LINKS Family Reunification program is a partnership between FSA, The Bucks County Children and Youth Social Services Agency and the Bucks County Behavioral Health System.

For more information contact:
Faith Blitman
LINKS Coordinator
215-757-6916 ext. 259
fblitman@fsabc.org

Parents As Teachers

Here’s how Family Service is strengthening families throughout Bucks County.

Parents as Teachers is a parent education and family support program serving families throughout pregnancy until their child enters kindergarten, usually age 5.

Parents are supported by PAT-certified parent educators that follow the Born to Learn model and are trained to translate scientific information on early brain development into specific when, what, how and why advice for families. By understanding what to expect during each stage of development, parents can easily capture the teachable moments in everyday life to enhance their child’s language development, intellectual growth, social development and motor skills.

As a Parents as Teachers family, you receive all four components of the Born to Learn model:

• Personal visits during which your parent educator will share age-appropriate child development and parenting information, help you learn to observe your child, and address your parenting concerns.
• Parent group meetings where you will share and learn about parenting issues and child development. Parents learn and support each other, observe their children with other children and practice parenting skills.
• Screenings to assess your child’s overall development as well as health, hearing and vision.
• Resource network that links your family to other community services.

Parents as Teachers provide referrals for:

• Economic, environmental, and personal problems
• Food, formula, and baby care items
• Housing
• Medical care for parents and children
• Counseling and psychiatric care
• Continuing education
• Employment
• Debt management/financial planning
• Self-sufficiency
• Family planning

Parents as Teachers is a nationally recognized evidence-based program.

For more information, or to make a referral, contact:
Program Coordinator
215-757-6916 ext. 226

Parent Support Group

Bonita shares how the Parent Support Group has made her a stronger parent.

There are several keys to being a good parent–one is information and another is support.

We provide both.

The Parent Support Group meets weekly to provide you with support in making positive changes in your parenting. The purpose of the support group is to improve family relationships and help parents make changes in their families before a crisis occurs.

Led by a professional facilitator, The Parent Support Group is a place where parents come together to share feelings, advice, and tips on being a good parent. In this friendly atmosphere, you will have a place to exchange creative parenting practices based on your own personal experiences. You will develop a lasting network of friends who can be an ongoing resource for you.

The Parent Support Group meets on Tuesday evenings at the Kelly Family Center in Bristol Borough. The Parent Support Group is an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance.

This program is free.

 

For more information contact:
Annie Wise
Parent Support Group Coordinator
215-757-6916 ext. 383
awise@fsabc.org

Ways to Work/Drive to Success

Finding a way: Ways to Work program aids countians by bringing a car within reach and providing financial lessons.

 

ways to Work is a self sufficiency & transportation program that provides small car loans to parents or grandparents raising their grandchildren, who cannot get loans elsewhere and meet certain guidelines. The purpose of the loan is to help family member’s purchase or repair automobiles so that they are able to keep a job and care for their families.

Loans of various sizes are given for car repairs or for purchases of used cars. Applicants are required to repay the loan within two years.
Applicants receive assistance to help them achieve their financial, educational and employment goals. They establish positive relationships with lending institutions leading to improved credit standing.

Ways to Work can help people who find themselves struggling in all kinds of situations: single parents, married couples, a mother returning to the workforce.

Ways to Work can:

• Provide you with a working vehicle so you may keep your job and maintain your family unit
• Direct you towards your own financial responsibility and self-sufficiency
• Provide information and referral to other resources that can offer additional support to your family;
• Teach basic financial skills, like household budgeting and credit counseling to prepare you to successfully pay back your loan and gain some financial independence
• Help you establish a good relationship with a bank for your future economic success

For more information, please contact:

Michelle Evans
Coordinator
215-757-6916 ext. 220
mevans@fsabc.org

News & Events

Annual Events

Celebration of Families & Community 11.17

Recent Press

Red Cross reaches agreement to hand over ownership of Homeless Shelter to Family Service Association

Finding a way: Ways to Work program aids countians by bringing a car within reach and providing financial lessons. (Intelligencer/Journal, Lancaster 5/16/11)

Hitting the Tracks to Employment,

Family Service hosts The Face of Immigration Conference

Fulton Bank Sponsors Food Drive for FSA Food Pantry

Getting it Together–Our 2010 Family of the Year

A Place to Discover Their Independence

Region Leads US in HIV/AIDS Cases

Schools Are Ideal Setting for Counseling Help

View our newest videos posted throughout our site.