Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Brooklyn Eagle Staff
August 29, 2022
Excerpt:
The Administration for Children’s Services announced on Monday an expansion of the “A Safe Way Forward” program, which seeks to provide support to the survivors of domestic violence and intimate partner violence, along with the “persons causing harm” and their children.
Previously, the project offered services to families in The Bronx and Staten Island. The ACS is now partnering with three providers and will expand to serve families in Brooklyn through MercyFirst.
Other contractors partnering with the ACS through the expansion include Safe Horizon in Staten Island and the Children’s Aid Society location itself in The Bronx.“In our mission to protect children and support families, ACS and our partners are working to address the root causes of family violence while we help survivors and children stay safe. That’s why ‘A Safe Way Forward’ provides services to survivors of intimate partner violence and the children in the household, including information about how to make an effective safety plan, as well as interventions for the persons causing harm so that they can work towards changing their behavior and end the cycle of violence,” said Commissioner Jess Dannhauser.
In 2019, A Safe Way Forward was launched for specifically families receiving court-ordered supervision. According to the ACS, the program was launched over 12 months of research including interviews with over 100 national experts and close collaboration with the Mayor’s office.
The program offers case planning therapeutic services to the survivor, children and person causing harm. The person causing harm being involved, if safe to do so, provides them a greater opportunity to “learn more about the triggers and how their behavior is impacting the family,” according to the ACS.
The goal of the program is to interrupt the intergenerational impact that domestic violence can have on families, specifically to create behavior change and protect the survivor and children. An evaluation by Westat, a research corporation, found that people involved in the program yields positive results and high levels of satisfaction.