For families who are either expecting a child or have an infant under the age of 3, and are experiencing challenges that threaten their ability to remain intact, our Infant Parent Empowerment Program provides our most intensive family preservation services and reunification services. Our highest priority is always on the safety and health of the infant. Throughout the six-month, intensive program, our dedicated team never loses focus on this priority.
Our Infant Parent Empowerment Program is a six-month, specialized service that provides intensive, evidence-based training and supports for families with or expecting an infant, with the goal of ensuring that each child can safely remain with the birth family when possible. Whether to preserve families at imminent risk of having a child removed from the home, or to reunify families after a child has been removed, this program works to:
- Develop a Plan of Safe Care for substance-affected infants and caregivers
- Decrease the need for foster care placement
- Reduce the recidivism rate into the child welfare system
- Identify postpartum depression symptoms earlier and link families to treatment
Our skilled and resourceful team have deep experience in developing and implementing individualized plans to correct the areas that challenge each family’s ability to remain intact. Our multi-disciplinary team is made up of bachelor’s level specialists, including:
- Four Infant Parent Empowerment Specialists
- Infant Parent Empowerment Supervisor
- Other internal/external parties specific to case reviews
The Infant Parent Empowerment Program creates an alliance between the social, medical, and judicial systems of the community through collaboration and education. Our program accepts families only through referral by state and state-appointed agencies, including Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland, Beaver, and Butler Counties, as well as drug courts and hospitals.