Fresh Start: FCCS Partners to Help Mothers Safely Stay with Children During Drug Recovery

Focused on helping mothers recover from drug addiction while staying safely connected to their children, Franklin County Children Services is partnering with Volunteers of America on Ohio’s first family-focused residential treatment program that allows moms and children to remain together during treatment.

The Fresh Start Family-Focused Recovery Program serves pregnant women and mothers actively struggling with addiction, giving them an opportunity to get clean while pregnant, stay with their children as they recover, and maintain custody of their children while in recovery.

“We really do want to be an alternative to out of home placement,” shared Jennifer Martinez, Vice President of Behavioral Health Operations for Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana, which celebrated the ribbon-cutting on its new facility earlier this year and expects to have its first residents in late summer. 

She points to the trauma-informed, evidence-based clinical services provided in the program by licensed and trained treatment professionals with a focus on whole family recovery.

“Negative things happen when you separate a family for both mom and the child. We've seen repeatedly that once that separation takes place, mom doesn't have a lot of motivation for treatment because her mentality is often: ‘Well, the worst thing has already happened. What's the point?’”

“Instead of separating them, send them to us so that we can hopefully get mom on the right track and keep that family together,” Ms. Martinez stressed.

“It won't be the best fit for every mom who's in active addiction. But for many, as we've learned through research, this will be really good,” shared Emily Green, FCCS Director of Family Services. “There are better outcomes if mom can keep her baby and is engaged in the treatment.”

What sets the Fresh Start program apart from other local recovery programs, said Ms. Martinez, is that there's not an area program right now that will take a family regardless of the size of the family or the age of the children, up to 18 years old.

“This is why (at FCCS) we're really excited about the Fresh Start program because we don't have access to something like this right now,” added Ms. Green. 

Located in downtown Columbus near Grant Hospital, the new Fresh Start facility will open with 26 beds and the capacity to serve 120 women annually and their children.

“This is a step in the right direction, but it's definitely not the last,” Ms. Martinez closed. “As a community, we need to continue to grow these programs so that we can serve everyone who has a need.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Forever Family Funfest Celebrates Power of Permanency

Image
Celebrating the nearly 300 children who found “forever homes” over the past year through adoption or finalization of a kinship placement, Franklin County Children Services hosted its first Forever Family Funfest. “When children can no longer safely remain in their parents’ custody, they deserve to have the permanent sense of belonging that comes with finding a family,” said Raquel Breckenridge, Family Service Director for Permanency. “And we want to celebrate those lasting connections.” Over the past year, more than 100 children and teenagers who were in the agency’s care found their forever homes through adoption. In addition, almost 200 children were permanently placed with family relatives - grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, or adult siblings - or close family friends such as teachers and coaches, church members, or neighbors. Dozens of those children and teens who found their forever homes through adoption or permanent kinship placement, along with their families and caregiv...
Read more

FCCS Volunteers Comfort, Care for Children during Crisis

Image
As a volunteer in Franklin County Children Services’ Crisis Center, Michalle DiGiovine fondly recalls dining on “pretend food” and playing “restaurant” with a promising culinary staff of five young children as they tried out recipes prepared on a plastic range.  “It felt good that they could come to me - a stranger - to pretend and laugh a little,” she said, remembering how she connected with the youngsters, all the under the age of 10, who had just endured an extremely traumatic experience at home. As January is National Mentoring Month, it’s a great time to recognize the Crisis Center volunteers who help protect children by allowing them to escape from tumultuous situations for a time and feel safe and cared for.  Mentors and volunteers play an important role at FCCS in surrounding children who come into the agency’s care with kindness and support, letting children know they are not alone. It’s part of the agency’s strategy to protect the “whole” child - mind, body, and hear...
Read more

Mentoring Creates Instant Friends and Lasting Connections

Image
You can see it in the pictures: mentor Jarrett Rardon and his 7-year-old mentee Zidane were instant friends when they first met.  Connected through Franklin County Children Services’ new 60 for Six mentoring program last summer, the two hit it off from the start and have already built a special bond. And during National Mentoring Month in January, the agency is hoping to replicate more of these important mentoring relationships. Zidane is an exuberant second grader who lives with his grandma. He sees Rardon as a cherished friend: “He feels like someone that I have known for a long time.” he says.  In just a few months, the two pals have enjoyed music lessons together, carved pumpkins, and gone fishing. Zidane even caught his very first fish last summer, a bluegill. “It was so cool.” As for Mr. Rardon, who works as a research coordinator at Nationwide Children’s, becoming a mentor was especially important to him. Because of his own time spent in foster care in early adolescence...
Read more