About Us
We are a leading provider of professional counseling and educational services to individuals, children, and families. Established in 1879, we are a private, non-profit agency that is committed to delivering accessible, quality care.
Click here for a list of our Board of Trustees.
FAMILYConnections now delivers services to more than 1,000 individuals and families annually. Most of our clients live in the "Urban Four" communities of Newark, Orange, East Orange and Irvington. Home to only 5% of New Jersey’s population, the Urban Four account for quadruple that number, or 20%, of the State’s people living in poverty. In racial make-up, these communities are mostly black – including many 1st generation African and Haitian immigrants – with a significant and growing Latino minority. Compared to the rest of New Jersey, the Urban Four suffer from:
- the State’s highest crime rate;
- the highest percentage of births to teenaged mothers;
- the highest unemployment rate;
- the highest incidence of AIDS;
- the highest number of teen deaths.
- the highest percentage of drug abusers;
- the most cases of child abuse and neglect.
Faced with these stark conditions, FAMILYConnections is constantly seeking and developing new strategies to meet the complex needs of the primarily families and youth we serve. While our traditional mental health services have a positive effect, we also offer therapeutic in-home and in-school programs and other innovative services, detailed below.
To supplement this range of therapeutic services, FAMILYConnections offers concrete services through our United Way-funded Family Wellness Initiative. This Initiative is a "one-stop-shopping" model offering our clients wraparound services from collaborating partners, including day care, pre-school & afterschool childcare, summer day camp, educational advocacy, vocational training & placement, legal assistance & advocacy, and emergency assistance – all free of charge to our clients.
Outcome data from this Initiative – independently evaluated by the United Way of Essex and West Hudson – has demonstrated strong improvement in family functioning, significant reduction in family conflict, improved school performance, and reduced incidence of high-risk behaviors and criminal involvement among teens.
FAMILYConnections is licensed by the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health Services, and Division of Addiction Services. The Agency is a member of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies (NJAMHA) and the national Alliance for Children & Families.