Amid growing consensus about the benefits of serving people in the neighborhoods in which they live, WPA is actively working to create a network of services in the East New York section of Brooklyn.

East New York is a community where more than 40% of households have a yearly income of less than $15,000, and 27% of households have a yearly income of less than $10,000; over 25,000 children live below the poverty line; and there are approximately 8 foster care placements and 37 reported cases of child abuse and neglect per thousand residents. Substance abuse, criminal activity, and incarceration rates are high in East New York, compromising the development of children who live there. WPA’s neighborhood-based services are aimed at developing the strengths of women and families in this community.

WPA's Family Treatment/ Rehabilitation Program (FRP) offers intensive preventive case management services to families at risk of having children removed to foster care due to neglect and abuse associated with a mother’s drug use and/ or mental illness. The stressors of poverty, substance abuse, instability and criminal justice involvement greatly compromise a family’s capacity to care for children. This program, located at our Brooklyn Community Office, accepts families referred by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), other government and non-profit agencies and through self-referral. The goal of this program is to improve a family’s chances of staying together by helping mothers identify and address their substance abuse issues and other challenges to maintaining a healthy home and family, including untreated mental or physical health issues, inadequate housing, lack of parenting skills or domestic violence. By helping families harness their own resources, FRP helps all members of the household improve their lives.

For more information about the Family Preservation Program, contact:
Claribel Perez
Director of Operations for Residential Services
Phone: 347-227-4241
Email: cperez AT wpaonline DOT org