About Fulton County Center for Families
The mission of the Fulton County Center for Families is to help families meet their basic needs and open opportunities for their children. The Center for Families helps parents provide the support, discipline, love, and encouragement their children need to become healthy and productive citizens. To accomplish this mission, the center sponsors and cooperates in programs to improve the education, health, economic circumstances and functioning of the Fulton County Families.
Admissions, the provisions of services, and referrals of clients shall be made without regard to race, color, religious creed, disability, ancestry, national origin, age, or sex. Program services shall be made accessible to eligible persons with disabilities through the most practical and economically feasible methods available.
The Fulton County Center for Families is dedicated to helping families encourage children to develop to their fullest potential. We can help you build a strong foundation for your child's future success in school, and many services are free, all are voluntary. Our programs include; Early Head Start, Parents as Teachers, Preschool and School-age Child Care Services and COPE.
Family Center operations are guided by five comprehensive program outcomes. These outcomes, identified by the state of Pennsylvania for Family Centers, provide the strategic vision for program planning and service delivery.
Family Center Outcome 1: To promote positive child development through effective parenting, early intervention and outreach services.
Family Center Outcome 2: To support and preserve the family unit as the foundation of success for children.
Family Center Outcome 3: To assure healthy development and health care services for children.
Family Center Outcome 4: To provide seamless, comprehensive and easily accessible network of services for families.
Family Center Outcome 5: To encourage economic self-sufficiency for families through adult education, training and employment.
The home - centered partnership that works!
Fulton County Center for Families (FCCF) operates a wide-variety of services and programs aimed at meeting the diverse needs of Fulton County families. Some programs offered include:
Parents As Teachers - Now in the 20th year of operation, the Parents As Teachers program is one of the cornerstone programs provided by the Family Center. A home-based parent education/family support program available to 75 families in Fulton County from pregnancy until the child enters school. The program philosophy is that parents are children’s first and most influential teachers. There are no income eligibility restrictions to qualify for this free service.
Preschool Age Child Care - Licensed by the Department of Welfare to serve 45 children from the age of 6 weeks old until eligible for public school. Parents pay fees for services and child care subsidy is available.
School Age Child Care - Two licensed school-age childcare programs for up to 75 students before and after the regular school day for children and during the summer
Fatherhood Initiative – Programming intended to promote male involvement in their children’s lives offers monthly events specifically designed to provide fathers and children opportunities to play and learn together. Also offering a monthly fatherhood newsletter, When Duct Tape Won't Work, Dr. Dad Workshops, and Lunch n Learns.
Early Head Start program - Home-based Early Head Start services are offered to 32 pregnant women and children up to 3 years of age; provides families with parenting education, child development info and referrals to community support services. In addition to a strong focus on child development and parenting education, EHS helps parents increase awareness of their own potential and work towards achieving family development goals.
Community Outreach Prevention Education – Addresses both child abuse prevention and susbtance abuse prevention in a variety of program options.
COPE offers multi-system child abuse prevention programs to enhance parent education and child development knowledge of at risk families. The COPE program provides both home-based and community educational opportunities to achieve the goal of reducing the incidence of child abuse in Fulton County. Services include in-home parenting education, family development goal planning, facilitated peer group sessions and more.
Fulton/Frankin Drug and Alcohol Prevention Programs - Offer residents of Fulton County prevention literature, substance abuse guidance and support and various prevention programs throuhout the county. Current programing in effect: YLAP( Young Lungs at Play); ENOUGH is ENOUGH (Parent and child interative program held at the Franklin County Courthouse); TATU (Teens Against Tobacco Use); Too Good For Drugs - evidence based school curriculum; NOT (Not on Tobacco) - cessation program to help people stop smoking; and Project Alert - evidence based school curriculum
Substance abuse efforts also include community awareness events, educational activities targeting specific audiences, alternative positive youth activities and Fulton's Realtiy Tour.
The programs of the Fulton County Center for Families are designed to enrich the lives of all county residents. The staff and management of the Family Center work closely with county residents to ensure that the programs we provide are relevant to the needs of the people we serve.
If you are interested in any of the FCCF Programs please call (717) 485-5038 or any of our Staff Members.
Click here to read FCCF's 2011 Annual Report.
“Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future”
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
