NCJ Number
119470
Editor(s)
J Dustan
Date Published
1979
Length
34 pages
Annotation
The Lower East Side Family Union is a nonprofit social welfare agency in New York City in 1974 to sustain families by preventing foster care and to help poor, multiethnic families deal with childrearing problems.
Abstract
The primary service of the agency is rehabilitation of families for whom disintegration is an immediate threat. Because it is located in the same neighborhoods as the families it serves, the agency is in a position to know which families are in trouble or need help. This neighborhood approach is based on the integration of available neighborhood services. Agency staff enter into a partnership with the parent or parents of families to help them find and organize support services. The agency recognizes the importance of culture as a behavior determinant, enters into contracts with major organizations serving the area, uses homemakers as substitutes for parents during emergencies, relies on neighbors or nearby relatives for the short-term placement of children, and provides inservice training to assure continuing staff development. Approximately 400 families are served yearly by the agency. Appendixes contain sample child development and family service contracts.