Cortland Family Support Services

Family Support Services works with Cortland County DSS to provide the following:

Family Support Services (FSS)

This high-intensity program is designed to stabilize children who are placed in foster care, decrease the length of stay in foster care, and reduce disruptions of placement and recidivism. 

This program is designed as a collaboration between Elmcrest and the county and utilizes frequent and consistent visits, solution-focused therapy, and ongoing evaluation and assessment of the family’s needs and strengths.

As research shows, engagement in a high level of visits reduces trauma and builds resiliency for youth who are in care, and leads to a higher rate of reunification.  Further, contact with a social worker correlates to increased visitation attendance.  Focusing on these components and the collaboration with the county has resulted in a greater positive impact on the community.

Family Education Programming (FEP)

 FEP is designed as a preventive program to work with families whom Cortland County identifies as being at risk of removal.

The goal of this program is to utilize education and hand-over-hand teaching to equip parents with skills necessary to maintain their children in the home. A conceptualized approach and targeted interventions are aimed at behavior modification and support in the home environment. Additionally, the program provides services for youth placed out of the home and their parents in an effort for reunification.