The Village Network Expands A Partnership with Franklin County Children Services (FCCS)

 A partnership with Franklin County Children Services (FCCS) and The Village Network-Columbus will expand the county's community-based foster care program. TVN-Columbus will combine concepts from Hull House Association Neighbor to Neighbor Program and TVN's own model of Treatment Foster Care.

The purpose of the community-based program is to keep siblings together in stable foster care while working with the entire family to achieve permanent arrangements according to Susie Parr, TVN Regional Director.

"The key is minimizing disruption to their daily life by keeping the children inside the same community and linking both the biological and foster families to local services," said Parr.

TVN-Columbus will work closely with the seven settlement houses currently located inside Franklin County. The partnership will keep family visitations inside the neighborhood helping eliminate transportation challenges and encouraging regular visits. It will also provide a community training site for new foster homes.

The settlement houses will serve as consultants for local resources and will provide needed programs such as child care, employment assistance, parenting classes and other case management services currently offered at the sites.

"Our primary goal is to help birth parents and families learn, grow, heal and change in ways to enable them to achieve healthy family interaction and patterns of living," said Parr. "Our foster families will be trained as an extension of the biological family and serve as a mentor and model for birth families."

TVN is a non-profit agency operating residential treatment, day treatment, treatment foster care and alternative school programs across the state including Columbus, Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Delaware, Mt. Vernon/Knox County, Newark, Uhrichsville, Sandusky and Wooster. Together with families, support agencies and communities, The Village Network treats and prepares youth to embrace new, productive lives.

For more information visit the web at http://www.thevillagenetwork.org/.