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 only 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.
Respite Care is an MST is a MST Psych is adaptation of the therapeutic MDFT is a High-Intensity FFT consists of a An intensive evidence based family-based intervention, therapeutic small team of crisis team will model, treatment offered by a small intervention. highly trained make a visit to approach for Multidimensional team of highly Youth must be at therapists, with adolescents with the family’s Treatment Foster trained therapists, substance abuse risk of out-of- a maximum home. After Care (MTFC). and associated with a maximum caseload of ten home placement; assessing the This program is mental health and caseload of six and has families, which situation, the behavioral for youth who are families. The team significant provides therapy problems. A small worker will most at risk of provides therapy to team of trained psychiatric in the home. help identify placement or therapists delivers an entire family in service needs. Therapy takes community- detention. Respite MDFT. Treatment the home over a place over an based takes place in a is a 21-Day non- period of four intensive four- combination of supportive mandated months. Therapists in-home, in- month period services and program. school, and in- visit the home including 30 next steps. Over clinic sessions multiple times per one-hour over the course of a period of no two to five week, and available therapeutic longer than 60 months. by phone 24 hours sessions. days, the worker will support family members as they execute a Juvenile collaborative Justice service plan. Multisystemic Respite Therapy -Psych MST Multisystemic Therapy Multi-dimensional MST Family Therapy Functional Family MDFT Therapy Family Stabilization FFT FS
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 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 Asian 128 0 Black 2,729 Asian Black Latino White Other Latino 2,225 White 276 Other 254 Total 5,552
Ages of Youth 2016 Data 1547 1600 1456 1400 1200 996 1000 788 800 600 400 400 168 200 62 59 11 22 23 0 Under 9 Age 9 Age 10 Age 11 Age 12 Age 13 Age 14 Age 15 Age 16 Age 17 18 & Older 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 Female LGBTQ Intersex 2% 1% Female 45% Male 54% Male 2972 Male LGBTQ 15 Male LGBTQ Female 2482 5% 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: Mentoring for Vocational/ Housing Employment youth and educational Assistance Services parents Services 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 .
FAP on the Move Advocacy / Coaching Program This will be an intensive wraparound Collaboration with ROSES advocacy services model for youth, and their ROSES (Resilience, Opportunity, families, who have come in contact with, or Safety, Education, Strength) is a are at risk of coming into contact with the youth based, voluntary, juvenile justice system. community based advocacy The program will provide intensive services, program for female 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to youth youth between the ages of 12 and residing in each of the five (5) boroughs of 17 who are at any level of New York City. The advocates/life coaches involvement in the juvenile justice recruited to work in the program will come system. Youth will be randomly from the same communities (or close assigned to Advocates who will proximity) where the youth and family work with the youth for 12 weeks reside. twice a week. The target population to be served is Expanding MST Psych youth between the ages of 10 and 17, who are at risk of a PINS petition/remand, at As mental health is a great challenge within our risk of being placed on a juvenile community, FAP is looking delinquency petition, scheduled to be to expand MST Psych released and transitioning from a Non- services citywide. This Secure Placement (NSP) or Limited Secure Placement (LSP) facility to program provides a vast array of therapeutic home on aftercare, or at risk of services for youth and further involvement into the family that fit the juvenile justice system. 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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