About Family Resources
Our mission is to prevent and treat child abuse by strengthening families and neighborhoods. Since 1986, Family Resources has distinguished itself as a leader in combating child abuse and providing support and treatment services in western Pennsylvania.
We make families stronger by giving parents the skills and support they need to raise their children in safe and healthy ways. We work with children, with neighborhoods, and with other agencies so that kids can grow up into successful adults.
Family Resources began almost 150 years ago, when two Pittsburgh women organized a home visiting program to aid poor families beset by mass crowding, social problems, and ill health. In the late 1800s, we pioneered “fresh air” activities for inner-city children, and we soon grew into the region’s leading agency devoted to helping distressed families. As society and our community have evolved, we’ve responded by redefining our mission and dedicating our energies to one of the 21st century’s most intractable challenges.
Our Values
Competence and Quality
Each of us strives to provide the highest quality service and work, and to meet and exceed standards established at Family Resources, in our professional fields, and by our funders. We ensure that documentation is accurate, adheres to high standards of professional presentation, and is well written and produced. We use evidenced-based models of care whenever possible, and we rely on research and best practice standards at all times. We follow the ethical guidelines and code of conduct of the American Psychological Association and the National Association of Social Workers. We hold one another responsible and accountable for quality, making that principle more important than our professional and personal relationships with one another.
Non-violence and Safety
We believe that all human relations—including parenting and workplace relations—can occur without coercion, force, or threat of injury. We provide services to our consumers in order to help them learn how to keep themselves and their children safe and healthy. We will not place others at risk of harm, and we work to increase safety—particularly of children.
Diversity
Child abuse is a problem in every community in America. We will help to prevent child abuse when our staff, boards, and volunteers reflect the rich diversity of America. Education, ethnicity, religious belief, age, gender, professional experience, socio-economic class, and ability are all expressions of this diversity. We value differences and want to create an environment at Family Resources where different perspectives, viewpoints, and ideas are embraced and respected.
Supervision and Training
A competent staff has high-level skills to do their work, and we assure the safety and quality of services through extensive supervision and training. Supervision and training are integrally linked and focused on skill building, professional development, quality assurance, and quality services.
Comprehensive and Integrated Activities and Services
Since families at risk of child abuse include all of us, we aim to have a wide variety of services that reach community members in many different ways and through many different doors. Our services will cut across funding silos to include mental health, child welfare and community-based programs, and business practices. We will aim to reach families at low risk, at higher risk, and those with injured children. This requires that we combine our services to fit the individualized needs of each family.
Consumer-driven Activities
We promote our consumers’ autonomy and independence. We believe that consumers should always direct, guide, inform, and evaluate the services they receive. Our aim is to serve families and not to direct their lives with our own values. We use outcome data to manage service delivery and direct innovation.
Fiscally Responsible
We believe that we earn the trust of consumers, funders, and other stakeholders by responsibly managing the resources given to us. This requires us to observe the highest standards of fiscal management and use fiscal information as a measure of service efficacy.
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