New Philadelphia, Ohio, February 11, 2010, Personal & Family Counseling Services a nonprofit human service organization located in New Philadelphia, and its Senior Outreach Program, was recently chosen as one of eight organizations to be featured in a case study report by the national membership association, Alliance for Children and Families.

 

The report, Impact and Innovation: Effective Models and Practices in Serving Older Adults, was produced as part of the Alliance’s five-year New Age of Aging initiative. The New Age of Aging is designed to help prepare nonprofit human service organizations throughout North America to best provide services for older adults as the vast baby boom generation ages. The multi-million dollar initiative is funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. All organizations featured in the report are members of the Alliance.

 

Launched in 2008, the Senior Outreach Program is a collaboration between Personal and Family Counseling Services and the Tuscarawas County Senior Center to offer social services for older adults. The Personal and Family Counseling Services geriatric social worker provides comprehensive intake and assessment, typically in the client’s home after contact has been established at the senior center. This is the only program in the county that provides assessment of physical and psychosocial needs of older adults, links them with appropriate services, and collaborates with the client and/or family to develop a service plan. The goals are to improve quality of life and to help the older adult live independently or in the least restrictive community environment as possible.

 

“Collectively, the eight replicable programs demonstrate community need and impact, innovation, attention to diverse populations, and collaboration,” says Jonette N. Arms, director, New Age of Aging. “Individually, programs like Senior Outreach are on the cutting-edge, positively making a difference for older adults in the community.”

 

Impact and Innovation: Effective Models and Practices in Serving Older Adults is designed to help readers identify potential gerontological human service and social work practice models, demonstrate strength-based practices, and offer insights into the expertise and resourcefulness of Alliance member organizations.

 

Personal and Family Counseling Services of Tuscarawas Valley, Inc. (PFCS) is a private, nonprofit family service agency that assists individual and families by providing many social services, such as counseling, support, advocacy and education, focusing on prevention as well as treatment. Its services are available to all residents of Tuscarawas county.

PFCS began its mission of repairing relationships and building strong families in Tuscarawas and Carroll counties more than 35 years ago thanks to the visionary efforts of several community leaders. Over the years, PFCS has helped thousands of children, adults, and their families overcome or prevent serious social and emotional problems and forge stronger, more positive human relationships. PFCS is the community leader for advocacy, service, and collaboration resulting in the empowerment, self-sufficiency, and resourcefulness of families. The agency is committed to providing comprehensive strength-based, individualized services to enhance the lives of residents in the community.

 

The Alliance for Children and Families, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2011, is a national membership association of nonprofit human service providers in the United States and Canada. The Alliance strengthens the capacities of North America’s nonprofit child- and family-serving organizations to serve and advocate for children, families, and communities. The more than 330 members of the Alliance provide an array of community-based programs and services to all generations, serving close to 3.4 million people each year. More information about the Alliance is available at alliance1.org.