What Are Family Preservation Services?

RISE Services Inc. supports children, adults and families with a variety of needs across multiple states. We firmly believe in the foundation of the family, and we work to sustain families with services that enable them to function in a supportive and caring environment.

In 1993, the Social Security Act was expanded dramatically in an effort to improve the welfare and safety of children and family members. Expanded in 1997 and rechristened as the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program, its primary goals are to:

• Prevent the unnecessary separation of children from families
• Improve the quality of care and services to children and families
• Ensure permanency for children by reuniting them with their parents, whenever possible

Achieving these goals may require the assistance of family preservation services that assist families in crisis by improving parenting and family functioning, while keeping the children safe from physical or emotional harm.

What Family Preservation Services Does RISE Offer?

In fiscal year 2016, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) revealed that 437,465 children nationally were removed from their families and placed in foster homes. By September 30, 2017, that number had risen to 442,995 children in foster care. Some 32 percent were in relative’s homes, while 45 percent were in non-relative foster homes.

The good news is that 56 percent had a case goal of reunification with parents or primary caretakers, and close to half of the children (43 percent) who left foster care in FY 2017 were in care for less than one year. According to the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, family preservation services grew out of the recognition that separating children from their families can be traumatic, and it may have long-term negative effects.

RISE Arizona works to provide services that uphold the conviction that many children can be safely protected and treated within their own homes when parents are provided with services and training that empower them to change their lives. We work with biological parents who have an open case with Arizona state and who may be in danger of losing their children to foster care, to enhance their protective capacities and preserve the family structure.

We provide an intensive 60- to 120-day program that includes in-home support and counseling to families referred by the Department of Child Safety (DCS) to resolve concerns related to neglect or child abuse and to safely retain the children in their home. Services may be as varied as behavior management, crisis intervention, home management, vocational guidance, stress management and budgeting, depending on the individual family’s needs. We may also link the family to community resources, and participate in the Substance-Exposed Newborns Safe Environment (S.E.N.S.E.) program, which comprises a coordinated system of care for substance-exposed newborns and their families.

RISE constantly works to create stability and safety for families. Contact RISE to learn about our family preservation services to assist families that are in danger of having their children removed by the state.