EOTC has my vote this holiday season for PLANNED GIVING. As a recently appointed board member for EOTC I would like to raise some funds for our program. The supports offered to individuals/families and their growth is broad. (CLICK on the DONATE Button to the right of this post).
Won't you join me? A brief description of services is below. A more thorough look at the details of service is below that.
- Workforce Development
- Parent-Child Services
- Court-Related Programs
- Reentry Initiatives
- Community Collaboration
The services provided
through the dedicate teams at EOTC reach deep into the need of the community
for stability, independence, and growth. Helping individuals and families land
on their feet and stay there are in the backdrop of all our serving.
You can reach out and
donate to our work by CLICKING HERE and you can add EOTC to your Amazon Smile by CLICKING HERE
ABOUT EOTC From the Executive Director
EOTC is a welcoming place, a gathering place, a
safe place … A center for Advancing Families.
EOTC offers strengths-based support, respect,
acceptance, perseverance,excellence, inter-dependence … With a focus
on Advancing Families.
EOTC is looking toward the future of our
community … And, Advancing Families. Our life experiences shape who we are
and what we become. Where do individuals and families go to learn and
experience life differently when they did not have the best
of circumstances or support?
EOTC’s mission is driven toward enhancing the lives
of those in our community through evidenced-based programs and services
that encourage family stability and economic self-sufficiency. We believe
that there is value and potential in every person. We believe in building
trusting relationships in any stage of our lives that carry us through the
journey that lies ahead. We believe through Advancing Families, our community
can enjoy a better, brighter tomorrow!
EOTC welcomes YOU to join us
in our mission in promoting family stability and economic
self-sufficiency! (from www.eotc.org)
- Linda A. Ciampi,
M.C.Ed. / Executive Director
A DETAIL of the programs
made available through EOTC:
1. Workforce Development
EOTC introduced the community’s first
employment program for single parent/displaced homemakers and the region’s
first open-entry career center for dislocated workers. Recognized as a top
performer by Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, EOTC was also selected by the National League of
Cities to pilot a Transitional Jobs model. Today, EOTC assists unemployed and under-employed
individuals of all backgrounds,particularly those with multiple barriers to
employment.
Job Search Support
EOTC offers life skills and personal development for
individuals seeking to obtain or upgrade employment. Job Search Group meets Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. and
serves as a weekly, open-entry access point to assist any job
seeker. Examples of services: Customized resumes and
interview preparation Career advising and coaching for job success Computer lab
to support job readiness and job search
Fatherhood Initiative
EOTC‘s Responsible Fatherhood programming includes
group and individual services to promote job readiness, responsible parenting,
and healthy child/family relationships.
2. Parent-Child Services
EOTC promotes child development and strengthens
families through early child screenings, pre-kindergarten activities, parenting
classes and intervention for families with critical needs. For
information, contact the EOTC Scranton
Area Family Center at 348-6484.
Parents as Teachers/Early Head Start
Parents as Teachers is
the flagship curriculum for Pennsylvania Family Centers. Certified specialists
work with parents during the early critical years of their children’s
lives, from conception to kindergarten. Parents as Teachers home visits
emphasize positive parenting, school readiness, and overall family
well-being. Activities include guided parent-child interaction, healthy
development screenings, and information/referral. Through a grant from Pennsylvania
Children’s Trust Fund, EOTC offers intensive
case management services to assist Parents as Teachers participants exhibiting
critical needs. Click to learn more about Home Visitation.
Play & Learn Group
This weekly early
learning program for young children and their parents encourages socialization
and experiential learning through play. Group sessions focus on early literacy
and child development, and address relevant parenting topics. The program is
funded entirely by local donors.
Incredible Years®
One of the biggest
challenges facing parents is to help their children handle strong emotions,
particularly negative ones like frustration and anger. The research-based Incredible Years® curriculum helps parents foster their child’s
confidence, problem solving abilities and learning skills. Three distinct
programs are available to address typical child behavior concerns as well as
specialized needs such as autism and hyperactivity. Parents/caretakers of
children ages 3-12 are invited to register by calling 348-6484. EOTC offers meals, transportation and childcare to
participants.
Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance
EOTC/Scranton
Area Family Center is affiliated with
Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance, the state’s leading provider of training
on how to recognize and report child abuse and neglect.
EOTC works with other state, national and local
organizations to promote the safety and well-being of children through
research-based prevention and education models. Cost-benefit analyses by the
Penn State Prevention Research Center and other researchers reflect that, for
every $1.00 spent on high-quality programs, taxpayers receive savings related
to child health, education, substance abuse and crime. Penn State researchers
found an estimated average return of up to $12 million per community for a
single program funded by Pennsylvania taxpayers – from $54 to nearly $80,000
per youth over time.
3. Court-Related Programs
Examples
of EOTC programs that help
individuals or families affected by court-ordered directives:
Access and Visitation
For parents with child
custody issues, EOTC offers supervised
visitation for non-custodial parents at the Scranton Area Family Center.
Parents and children can meet regularly in a safe, welcoming environment.
Adults improve parenting skills and receive help with child support
questions.Parent-child bonds are maintained and strengthened.Currently, over 30
families participate in EOTC’s supervised
visitation services — benefitting about 90 children. Because of the program,
more than 90% of participants reach co-parenting agreements, and child support
payments are maintained or increased. Based on EOTC outcomes
compared to national supervised visitation expectations, the taxpayer benefit
is $3.00 of increased child support for every $1.00 spent for the program.
Time Limited Family Reunification
The Family Reunification
program is offered in partnership with Lackawanna County Children and Youth
Services, with the goal of finding stable, permanent placement for certain
children in the foster care system. EOTC provides intensive
case management to assist 34 families each year, benefitting
approximately 65 children. EOTC reunification
specialists work with the children and their foster families in order to reduce
the number of placement moves during foster care. During this period, our
specialists also work with parents to help stabilize the family situation, with
the hope of reuniting children with their families within 15 months or
less. EOTC helps families to address
parenting and substance abuse issues, medical and mental health needs, housing
and employment, and other concerns that detract from a safe, stable home
environment.
Specialized Case Management – Support for Women and Veterans
Each year, EOTC provides life skills and employment
services for more than 70 men and women involved in Lackawanna County diversion
programs. Working in collaboration with County Treatment Court, the Probation/Parole
system and other partners, EOTC provides
family-focused assessments, individual case management, job coaching and a
safety net of resources. Last year, over half of these former offenders made
strides through sobriety and other positive life changes. Over 75 children
benefited from their parents’ involvement in these EOTC services.
4. Reentry Initiatives
Life Skills and Job Readiness Training at Lackawanna County Prison
For over 15 years, EOTC has helped prepare former offenders for
successful return to the community. The family members of prisoners are
encouraged to participate in EOTC’scommunity-based
programs. EOTC provides a variety of services inside
Lackawanna County Prison including:
Criminogenic
Risk Assessments
EOTC provides assessments and recommendations
for approximately 1,900 County prisoners annually. Based on assessment, each
individual is provided with information on resources for productive return to
the community.
Life
Skills/Reintegration Classes
Each year more than 600
incarcerated men and women participate in EOTC‘s pre-release
program. Classes are voluntary. Programming includes education in
drug/alcohol recovery, anger management, employment readiness, healthy
relationships and other life-work skills.
Reentry
Improvement Initiative is
an intensive 45 day pre-release program serving more than 120 men
annually. Drawing from evidence-based strategies, the cognitive behavioral
course addresses addictions recovery, personal responsibility, parenting,
workplace literacy, budgeting and other practical skills for positive
transition.
Women-in-Transition
Mentoring
EOTC facilitates pre- and post-release
programming for more than 150 women annually. In addition to classes in life
and work skills, the program includes innovative strategies such as artistic
expressions and mentoring. Volunteer community mentors provide
supportive relationships to help participants set positive goals and acclimate
to the local community.
Post-Release Reintegration
Returning citizens are
encouraged to follow-up with program instructors upon release and to
participate in services offered at the EOTC Seventh Avenue Center.
Women’s
Support Groups meet twice weekly to
provide an integrated support system of caring relationships and transitional
services that guide and support women returning to the community.
Job
Search Support Group meets
weekly on Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m.– noon. Our specialists can provide resume
assistance, job leads, and other resources to address the complicated issues
that arise for men and women during community reentry.
GED
Preparation/Educational Tutoring is offered to returning citizens. Individual instruction and
practice tests are provided in preparation for the GED exam.
5. Community Collaboration
In its mission to
provide vital services to the community, EOTC actively
collaborates with other agencies and partners. These cooperative efforts assess
community needs, seek consumer input, identify appropriate models, and steer
programs and fund development efforts. In addition to serving as managing
partner for the collaborative Scranton Area Family Center, EOTC is active on several community boards
such as the Lackawanna County Criminal Justice Advisory Board and the Center
for Family Engagement (child welfare planning).
Communities That Care
For more than a
decade, EOTC has promoted the nationally recognized
Communities That Care model for positive youth development. Examples of
our work include: facilitation of the PA Youth Survey to help identify
community needs; involvement in the County’s anti-truancy initiative;
leadership of an interagency consortium to increase the availability of
mentoring for at-risk youth; and the replication of research-based violence
prevention programs, such as the Incredible Years model.
Child Welfare and Education Initiatives
EOTC is a member of Lackawanna County’s Success by
Six coalition, the Drug and Alcohol Commission’s service improvement team, the
Interagency Council and similar strategic efforts. The agency spearheads
efforts to proliferate effective programs. For example, EOTC facilitated training for area case workers to
learn Family-Group
Decision Making, a strategy that helps
families overcome challenging issues such as reunification after a child’s
foster care placement.
Special Court Case Management Teams
EOTC works collaboratively with cross-agency teams
supporting Lackawanna County Court initiatives, including Treatment Court,
Mental Health Court and Intensive Reunification Court (dependency
cases). In addition to providing case management services for
individuals and families referred by the Court, EOTC responds
with innovative group programs such as a new Women’s Transition program offered
in collaboration with the County Treatment Court.
from www.eotcworks.org
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