Protective Services

The Protective Services component of the Agency is responsible for providing ongoing, in-home services to families for whom an area of abuse, neglect, or other child welfare issues has been identified. A number of the families have requested services from the Agency; however, most are involved involuntarily. The Protective Services units are responsible for providing ongoing supervision and support to children remaining in their own homes or in the homes of family members or friends. When necessary to assure child safety, Court involvement mandates services (protective supervision) or results in placement of children outside the home.

Various services are offered and referrals made to assist the family, including parent education, intensive services, after-school/summer programs, self-esteem building programs, independent living skills building, counseling, drug and alcohol screenings, educational support, and assistance with basic needs. Partnerships with various community agencies, such as ParentWorks, Family Support Associates, Boys and Girls Clubs, Kids Are The Key, Bridging the Gap, Harrisburg School District, New Passages, Adult Probation, County of Dauphin Housing Authority, and various food banks and retailers, have enhanced these services.

School Based Program

Provided in the Steelton-Highspire School District with a caseworker sited at the Steelton-Highspire Elementary School. Development of the program resulted in handling not only families in need of ongoing services but also those for whom services were being initiated, as of March 16, 2001. Since its inception, referrals have been received, including abuse referrals.

Child Study team continued to meet on a weekly basis during the school year. The team consisted of members of the district and school administration, guidance counselors, a Home-School Visitor, educational support/special education personnel, the school nurse, a Capital Area Intermediate Unit (CAIU) Social Worker, and the school based caseworker.

The purpose of the team is to discuss children at risk, identify appropriate resources, coordinate services, ultimately helping more children and families as early as possible.

Intensive Family Services

The Intensive Family Services (IFS) unit provides two types of service - family preservation and family reunification to clients referred by other units within the Agency. The emphasis for family preservation is families who are at high risk of having their children placed in foster care. The emphasis for family reunification is families whose children have been removed and who require more intensive assistance for their return or families for whom there is a concurrent plan. The need for such intensive reunification services has increased greatly since the passage and implementation of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA).

Intensive workers carry smaller caseloads (4 cases at a time) and, through pagers, are accessible to families twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. The program serves families for approximately six to nine months. Families are seen an average of two to three times per week, either in their homes or in the community. The emphasis for their work with families is on problem identification and resolution. There is extensive coordination of services and efforts with the other workers involved - namely the intake, protective, and placement units. In addition, IFS workers forge close partnerships with other service providers in the community who are also working with the families on their caseload including community and health agencies, housing resources, and religious and volunteer agencies.

In family preservation, there is an emphasis on crisis intervention and short-term intensive services that work to protect children while simultaneously preventing family disruption. Family preservation services promote positive changes within the family and increase the life skills and coping capacities of each family member. IFS is committed to the belief that, through family preservation services, the risk, rather than the child, can be removed.

In reunification, there is an emphasis on visitation and involving the parent in the child's day to day life as much as possible. Reunification services are designed to make the foster care experience a positive and effective process that leads to more timely and permanent reunification of natural families. IFS is committed to the belief that troubled families can change and, through intensive team based intervention, the family can be successfully reunited.