Family Preservation Service

Bobby was a student with a lot of energy, some of it very negative. His younger sister was an excellent student but his older brother had some of the same problems that Bobby did. Bobby's teacher knew his mother was doing her best to help her sons, in fact she knew that attending school meetings and trying to get help for them had cost Bobby's mother more than one job, but she also knew she could use some help.

She stopped by the Casey office at the Dr. Martin Luther King Elementary School to see what Casey Family Services Family Preservation program might be able to do for Bobbie and his family. The step Odessie Preston, the Team Leader, took was to contact Bobby's mom and explaining Family Preservation to her. She was enthused, especially when she learned that her older son could be part of the program too.

"We have a consulting psychiatrist," explains Preston, "who was able to prescribe medications which helped Bobby with his academic and behavioral problems. We were also able to help his older brother, who began to thrive when he went to Job Corps for a year."

As things were really looking up for this family, the oldest son was shot and killed just a block and a half from home. "We just did all we could to help them," says Preston, "including getting help with the burial." Bobby's mom got a job in a department store, which occupied her and helped her through the grief process. "In spite of losing her child, she's managed to keep it together and make things better for her children," says Preston with admiration. "We did our best to help them through the grieving process. In spite of the traumas they endured, there was a good deal of resiliency and accomplishment for this family: the mother has a full-time job with benefits and the kids are doing well in school. During the two years they were part of Family Preservation we were able to support their efforts to make a better life."

Founded in 1994, Family Preservation has served 78 families from the Dr. Martin Luther King Elementary School, a school of 750 children in grades K through 5 in Providence, Rhode Island. The program was the brainchild of the Rhode Island Division Direction Jim Gannaway and Casey Family Services Associate Director of Program and Planning Joy Duva. "Anyone in the school can refer a child to us," says Preston. "We work with the entire family not just the child in our school. Sometimes they need recreational activities, academic help, medical services or something even more basic like clothes to wear, food to eat and a bed to sleep on," she explains. "We try to find what they need in the community. If it's not there, we try to create it with our Casey resources."

There are no strict time limits on how long a family can participate in Family Preservation. Preston thinks this is a distinct advantage. "You can't always erase the problem. But, with time, you can help children and their families develop better coping skills."

Most of the Family Preservation contacts are in the home so parents don't have to come in for appointments. The Family Preservation team also facilitates parent meetings with school officials and others by providing transportation and going with them, if necessary. "It's not just a referral service," says Preston. "We help them to access services so they and the children are getting what they need. We do a lot of matching with families and community services."

Although obviously proud of the progress Bobby's family made, Preston concedes that "some situations can be considered successes, while with a few others, we really havenŐt been able to make a dent. It can be frustrating at times because it's hard to measure progress. If you look hard enough it's usually there but not always manifested in the ways you had hoped for or expected."

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