PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS

Children's Bureau is keeping it's promise through it's mission of "innovative programs which improve the quality of life for children and their families." One of the goals for this agency is to position itself so it can offer stronger roots and wings for families and children as it enters the new millennium. With more than twenty board certified and master level social workers on our staff, Children's Bureau offers a complete and impressive cross-section of valuable counseling services to the children and families of the New Orleans Community.

As one of the city's oldest and most established United Way agencies, we offer a wide range of programs and services to our community's youngest constituents.

COUNSELING

Individual, family, and group therapy is offered for children from birth to 17 years of age and their families. Areas of concern include but are not limited to anger management, school behavior problems, parent-child relational difficulties, and the effects of abuse, domestic violence, or other traumatic events. Fees are assessed on a sliding scale based on family income and household size. Families seeking trauma counseling including domestic violence may be eligible for grant funded services at no cost to the family.

Counseling is available for pregnant women and teenagers who want to plan for their expected child. Services include linkage to prenatal medical care, parenting education, lifeskills development, and exploring the adoption option. There is no fee for services to prospective parents.

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH

An infant mental health specialist is on staff to provide developmentally sensitive assessment and treatment services to children birth-6 years and their families. Interventions are relationship based and are offered at the agency and in the community.

FAMILY PRESERVATION

This specialized service offers intensive therapy and counseling in the homes of children and families referred through the mental health system. The primary objective of the program is to prevent out-of-home placement while also ensuring the safety of the children and families. The Metropolitan Human Services District supports family preservation services to families in Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes. Special crisis intervention group and individual services are also funded for Orleans Parish Public School students.

PROJECT LAST

Children’s Bureau Project LAST offers developmentally specific specialized Grief and Trauma Group and Individual Counseling to school aged children affected by trauma/loss or disaster. Our social workers are trained in our own evidence based 10-week Grief and Trauma Intervention Model. Our model was specifically designed after many years of experience working with New Orleans area school age children. The Children’s Bureau Evidence Based Grief and Trauma Intervention Model has been shown to be very effective in reducing symptoms in children who are in crisis due to trauma and community violence.

ADOPTION

Children’s Bureau is licensed by the state of Louisiana to provide adoption/foster care/pregnancy counseling services to Louisiana residents. Services may include assessing and screening prospective adoptive families, providing post placement supervisory services, and post legal counseling for adult adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents. International adoption services are available in conjunction with licensed accredited International Agencies who place children from Asia, the Pacific Rim, South America, and Eastern Europe.

CUSTODY EVALUATION

Trained Evaluators conduct a series of interviews with parents and children and make recommendations regarding custody and visitation to the court in the best interests of the child. Parents must be referred to the custody evaluation program through the court which assigns responsibility for evaluation service fees.

COMMUNITY EDUCATION

Children’s Bureau of New Orleans offers education to parents and community professionals. Topics include: grief and trauma reactions of young children, elementary aged children, and adolescents, and helping children cope after a disaster. Specialized training for clinicians is available on the Project LAST Elementary Age Grief and Trauma Intervention Model.

For more information on the numerous programs offered by the Children's Bureau, Click here(pdf)