Family Safety & Stabilization

Domestic Violence Program for Men

Catholic Charities Domestic Violence Program for Men (DVPM) works for social, gender and racial justice change at the local and national level. The program holds male domestic violence offenders (ages 18+) accountable in conjunction with the mandating agent for acts of domestic violence against an intimate female partner. It is available across all eight counties of Western New York.

Caring Dads

Caring Dads is a group intervention program for men who have abused, neglected, or exposed their children to domestic abuse. The program is intended to offer information to men in the program, that if they so choose, can use to father their child(ren) in ways that meet the emotional and development needs of the child.

Caring Dads works to complement existing efforts to end men’s use of violence, and is intended to be used along with domestic violence or intimate partner violence programs. Caring Dads works in collaboration with other community-based organizations with the goal of addressing men’s violence against women. It is critically important that men attend and complete the Catholic Charities Domestic Violence Program for Men as required by the court or agent of the court.

Women’s Healing & Empowerment Services

An experienced advocate will work with each woman to guide, coach, mentor and support her while providing resources, referrals, advocacy, information and education in a way that is personalized to her situation. Women’s Healing & Empowerment Services (WHES) is available in Erie County. To connect, call (716) 368-0591.

Kinship Caregiver Program

Kinship care is the full-time nurturing and protection of children by relatives who have a kinship bond with children when they have been separated from their biological parents.

Catholic Charities Kinship Caregiver Programs, offered in Cattaraugus and Allegany counties, can help families locate resources in their community and offer personal assistance navigating the challenges of becoming the primary caregiver of another family member’s child/children (for example: grandparent caring for granddaughter/son).

We also offer support groups for kinship families, YMCA family memberships for those who participate in the group activities regularly, and youth groups/family fun nights.

There is no cost for services and home visits can be made if caregivers are unable to come to our offices. To connect with the Allegany County program, contact Danielle Kielar at (716) 372-0101 or (716) 378-7062 or at danielle.kielar@ccwny.org. To connect with the Cattaraugus County program, contact Jennifer Norton at (716) 372-0101 or 701-330-6969 or at jennifer.norton@ccwny.org.

Multisystemic Therapy

Multisystemic Therapy, or MST, is designed to help youth ages 12 to 17 (*10-17 years old in Niagara County) who are experiencing chronic problematic behaviors, such as truancy, verbal and/or physical aggression, running away and criminal activity. The goal of MST is to set the youth on track for success and to give caregivers the tools they need to navigate any future relapses.

MST is facilitated by master’s-level therapists who work with families in their home, school and community multiple times a week to achieve positive changes. Treatment is intensive and typically lasts about 3 to 5 months. Our therapists’ schedules are flexible to ensure that they can meet around the caregivers’ availability, as well as provide support during times of need. Additionally, therapists offer an on-call service, which provides seamless support 24 hours, 7 days a week.

For more information, please call (716) 207-7472.

Our Kids Parent Education & Awareness Program (OKPEAP)

The Our Kids Parent Education and Awareness Program is designed for any parent or guardian who wants to reduce conflict and parent effectively for their children. Parents or guardians can be referred by Family or the local Supreme Court, by another provider, or families can self refer.

Topics covered include the following:

• Impact of separation/divorce on children
• Child development and implications for parenting after separation/divorce
• “Cooperative” and “parallel” approaches to co-parenting
• Family law overview as it affects custody and visitation
• Impact of conflict on children
• Conflict management and problem-solving

For more information or to begin the registration process, call (716) 896-6390. Click here to download a brochure and application. Zoom classes are available to residents of all eight counties of Western New York.

Incredible Years

The Incredible Years Parenting Program is an interactive 12-week, evidenced-based program that assists parents and caregivers to develop nurturing and positive relationships with their children, use effective discipline, and understand the developmental needs of children.

The program uses videos, group discussion, role plays, a textbook and home activities to boost a parent’s ability to understand and respond to their child’s needs, and to create or maintain a healthy, safe and nurturing relationship with children. Weekly phone check-ins offer ongoing support. Individualized parenting education is available via virtual or office visits.

The program is free to parents referred by Erie County Department of Social Services. Transportation assistance is also available to these clients. There is a fee for parents who are not referred through Erie County that is based on a sliding scale.

Incredible Years is funded by a grant from the Erie County Department of Social Services. For more information or to register, please call (716) 896-6390.

Preventive Services

Preventive Services provides family counseling, networking and teaming with resources in families where children are at high risk for placement outside the home because of neglect and/or abuse. Also, families are assisted to focus on child safety, timely child permanency and child well-being.

Preventive Services Kinship

The Preventive Services Kinship program serves Erie County families involved with the child welfare system by placing children under the care of relatives. All families must be referred through the Erie County Department of Social Services.

Our staff conducts home visits to observe family interactions and provide referrals, as well as offers counseling and support for caregivers and biological parents in attaining child permanency, including filing for benefits and petitions in family court.

Our staff is trained to work with families where children have been removed from the natural home and placed in kinship care.

Refugee Preventive Services

The Preventive Services Refugee Program assists refugee families in Erie County involved in the child welfare system. Our staff conducts home visits with the parents/caretakers and the children, with the aid of interpreters through the International Institute or Catholic Charities Immigration and Refugee Assistance Program, to ensure that parents receive the message in their native language.

Child permanency, safety and well-being are the goals in working with the biological parents, and kinship/foster parents if and when there is an out-of-home placement.

Support for parents includes family counseling, networking and linking families with appropriate resources.

Parent/Child Access Program

This service is for divorced, unmarried or separated families who are typically referred by the Family or Supreme Court. Based on court order the program can provide Therapeutic Supervised Visitation or Monitored Exchanges.

Visitation provides children with a safe, secure and healing environment where they can have contact with their non-custodial parent. Typically, these are families with allegations and/or a history of mental illness, physical/emotional abuse, alcohol or chemical dependency, low parent skill or a risk of abduction, and where the court has determined that supervision is required.

Exchanges provides a neutral drop-off and pick-up service that allows children to have safe transitions for scheduled access time. This is a service for families where safe child access to a parent is jeopardized because of existing orders of protection, domestic violence and/or high parental conflict.

A sliding fee scale is available. Please call (716) 896-6390 for more information. To download a fillable application form, click here.

Therapeutic Supervised Visitation

A service to assist children and their parent(s) toward the goal of permanency and family reunification by providing a safe, secure and healing environment where children can have contact with their parents. Three levels of supervision are offered: therapeutic, supportive and step-out community visitation.

Referrals are from the Erie County Department of Social Services only. There is no fee. Please call (716) 896-6390 for more information.

Foster Parents

Note: Catholic Charities does not provide foster care or adoption services.

The following resources may be helpful as you begin the journey to become a foster care parent:

Erie County Foster Care Agencies – AFFCNY

Foster Care Agencies in New York State – AFFCNY

Adoption Agencies in New York State – AFFCNY

Adoption Star is the only private adoption agency in our region.

Adoptees

Note: Catholic Charities does not provide adoption services.

Adoptees looking for their original NYS Birth Certificate:
In January of 2019, New York State law changed to allow adoptees to access their original birth certificate. This document is valuable to adoptees interested in researching their family history because it will provide the adoptee’s birth name and the name of the birth mother and possibly the birth father (if reported). The Birth Certificate is ONLY available from New York State. Please click the link below to be redirected to the New York State Department of Vital Statistics to learn how to order an original adoptee birth certificate. Please note that only the adoptee or a direct descendent of the adoptee is eligible to apply, and those details are provided on the site.