Our Services

A family assessment is one way that Erie County Children Services helps our community maintain safe and nurturing homes for children. Assessments are our first response to a report of possible child abuse or neglect. They help us understand how well families are functioning and determine if children are safe and getting adequate care.

Our caseworkers visit homes, talk to family members and help them access services to make changes to ensure the children are cared for and safe. Many concerns can be resolved without any services beyond the assessment.

Our goal is to keep families living together. However, if children cannot remain safely within their own home, we work with families to develop a temporary, safe living arrangement.

Family support is offered when cases need service beyond the assessment. While most children remain in their home, it is sometimes necessary to remove a child to protect him/her from danger. Family support helps families develop the problem-solving skills they need to remain intact and live together in a safe and stable environment.

For children who have been or are at risk of being abused or neglected, we first attempt to keep the family together by coordinating needed services. When it is necessary to remove a child from the home, we work with families to develop the problem-solving skills they need to live together in a safe and stable environment.

Whether the children are in the home, with relatives, or with a foster family, we work in partnership with families to make changes that will reduce the potential for abuse and neglect.