What we do.

Family Support Services runs four Child Welfare and two Early Intervention programs in Philadelphia. In the Haverford and Radnor School Districts we run before-and-after School-based Childcare programs and extended day kindergarten programs at eight elementary school sites.

Program Summary for the Child Welfare Division

FSS’s Child Welfare division serves families with very young children. Our programs are aimed at reducing child abuse and neglect, and improving children’s health. All are designed to offer parenting education and support to families living in the city of Philadelphia.

Family School is a center-based parenting education program that works with parents and their children (birth to five years old) to address child abuse and neglect. Family School's mission is to create a multidisciplinary service environment that increases the awareness of families' needs, strengths, and limitations, by teaching how child development impacts child behavior. A team of teachers, a parent educator, a chef educator and staff all work with parents to help them learn how to replace harmful behaviors with nurturing ones. The center is in Southwest Philadelphia and is the only program of its kind in Philadelphia.

Family Partnership is a voluntary home visiting preventive program for families with young children. Social workers conduct home visits with families, provide parenting support and help them access community resources.

IHPS - General (In Home Protective Services) and IHPS – CI (In Home Protective Services for cognitively impaired parents and children) are intensive home visiting programs with high-acuity caseloads. Case workers visit families three times each week, engaging in strength-based service delivery that addresses and ameliorates existing safety threats. While in the home our social workers model effective parenting practices, advocate for children’s health and educational needs, connect families with community resources and establish ongoing relationships with all of the necessary service providers. They also try to help the family become a better advocate for its own needs so that as cases are closed, families remain healthy and connected to key service providers and schools. FSS provides IHPS in south Philadelphia, and IHPS – CI throughout Philadelphia. FSS is the only provider of IHPS CI in the city of Philadelphia.

Healthy Start is a home visiting and center-based program for women who are pregnant and/or have children birth to two years old. The program is funded by the Philadelphia Department of Health, Division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health. Case workers provide direct outreach to women at risk for poor birth outcomes and infant health problems, making sure they have ongoing sources of primary and preventive health care. The program fosters linkages to health supports, community resources, and parenting supports that promote positive birth outcomes, good infant health and optimal child health and development. FSS provides Healthy Start services in Southwest Philadelphia.

Program Summary for the Early Intervention Division

Our Early Intervention (EI) programs use EI teachers and individualized speech, physical and occupational therapy to overcome, or reduce, developmental delays in birth to five year-old children. Children who have been diagnosed as having a 25% or greater delay in physical, cognitive, language, social/emotional or motor development are referred through Elwyn, Inc. and the Philadelphia Office of Mental Retardation.

The Penn Early Childhood Program provides individualized specialized therapy in the child’s natural environment to help children with a 25% developmental delay reach their potential. The program is divided according to ages of children served; Birth-to-Three Services and Three-to-Five Services.

The Fairmount Early Intervention Center is a center-based program that provides specialized therapy to three-to-five year-old children with at least a 25% developmental delay.

Program Summary for School-based Childcare

Our fee-for-service School-based Childcare program supports suburban families through an interesting, educational, and fun half-day, Kindergarten-age program that complements the Haverford and Radnor School District’s kindergarten curricula.

At eight elementary school sites we also offer recreational before and after-school programs, with homework supervision, from 7:30 am to 6 pm daily (times vary by site).

Extended Day programs are state licensed. All site directors and assistant teachers are certified. Registration forms can be downloaded from this website by going to the Extended Day home page and clicking on the link in the sidebar.