SITE

Our family-focused programs encourage and fosters the development and healing of children with emotional and behavioral challenges. The common threads that run through our continuum of services include respect for diversity, family enrichment, and family potential. Our service areas are Penobscot, Piscataquis, Waldo, Hancock, Cumberland, and Washington Counties.

Description:
Families And Children Together (FACT) provides Treatment Foster Care services; supervised visits between foster children and their families; parenting education; adoption home studies; and services to people who are raising relatives' children, primarily grandparents raising their grandchildren.

History:
FACT was created in 1993 by a group of foster parents and social workers. The first program was the treatment foster care program. This program provides an array of family focused rehabilitation services for children and youth living with behavioral, emotional, and mental health challenges. Then FACT received a contract with DHS to provide visits between foster children and their families in 1995. FACT provides a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment for parents and children to visit while custody issues are worked out. Family visits occur on-site (in specially designed visit rooms), in the community, or in the family's home. Parenting classes and adoption home studies were added as the needs in the community arose. Our adoption services include home studies for international adoptions, domestic adoption of infants, post adoption support, and supporting individuals who are interested in adopting children in the custody of the Department of Human Services. Family Connections, our kinship support services program, was added in 1998 after receiving a grant from DHS. This program assists aunts, uncles, and grandparents who are stepping in to raise relatives' children. We provide information, support, education, referrals, family activities and a lending library. Support groups occur across the state. The Family Connections program is a collaborative project with Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine, located in Old Town, Maine.

Contact people:

Barbara Kates, Director Of Family Connections, (phone) Ellen Gray, Administrative Assistant, (phone), (email) Janelle Wuoristo, (phone), (email)

Address:

304 Hancock Street, Suite 2B Bangor, ME 04401 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.familiesandchildren.org

Directions:

From I-95 take the Hogan Road exit. Go south on Hogan road until you come to a hilly curve with a light at the bottom of the hill. Continue right (this is State Street). Turn left at the second. . . (more)