SAFE KIDS. STRONG FAMILIES.
WE HELP BY PROVIDING safe opportunities for hOPE, Healing and a brighter future
MercyFirst operates short-term residential intervention, and family support and youth development programs designed to help children, youth and families succeed. Through a team of experts, MercyFirst provides safe opportunities for hope and healing in communities throughout New York City (Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island), and across Long Island. Our services are trauma-informed, family-focused, gender-responsive, and evidence- and strengths-based, and every year we provide this level of critical care to thousands of struggling individuals, giving them the foundation for a better tomorrow.
Each of our program areas are designed to keep families together, and ensure children are safe, supported and that they have a chance to thrive in life. We know that each person has unique and complex needs, so we partner with children and families to create an individual plan to help them succeed and believe in and realize a brighter future.
MercyFirst is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) and is Sanctuary Certified as an organization that is trauma-informed in all that it does. We are proud to be an LGBTQIA+ inclusive, welcoming, and affirming organization. All residential programs are licensed either through NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) or NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH). MercyFirst also participates in the Federal Breakfast/Lunch Snack Program. Click here to access a copy of our Wellness Policy and Self-Assessment. More information about this federal program, as well as locations in the community where free meals are available to low income families, can be found at this link: National School Lunch Program.
COMMUNITY-BASED FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAMS
MercyFirst provides critical support to youth and their families through a comprehensive array of innovative programs that help them succeed and thrive in the communities where they live. This includes individual support and planning to help youth plan for their future, college and employment readiness and support, and family support to build strengths and ensure safety, well-being and stability. Programs include:
Family Support/Prevention Services Program (Case Management and Support Services to prevent family disruption and improve functioning in Brooklyn and Queens)
Circle of Security Parenting Program (Parenting education program available to Parents, Foster Parents and Expectant Moms; LEARN MORE)
Care Management Services Program (Member of The Collaborative for Children and Families Health Home, providing care coordination and support services, Medicaid funded, in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island)
Post-Permanency Support Program (Partnership with New Yorkers for Children; services for children and their families who are exiting the foster care system to adoption or kinship guardianship in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island; REACH OUT)
Safe Way Forward (Supportive prevention services program that offer an innovative and holistic response to families in which domestic violence presents serious risks to children)
S.T.A.R.T. (Safe Transition and Reunification Track) with Hope – Home Study and Post-Release Services Program (Support for Unaccompanied Minors in Sponsor Homes, Nationwide)
FAMILY FOSTER CARE & Adoption
MercyFirst is committed to ensuring safe, temporary care for children and adolescents in the homes of trained foster/kinship parents when foster care placement becomes necessary. We work in close partnership with birth parents and caregivers to provide the support they need so families can be reunited safely and permanently. When reunification with a child’s birth parents is not possible, MercyFirst also provides adoption and kinship guardianship (KinGAP) services working closely with the child’s extended family whenever possible. MercyFirst works with children and families in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and across Long Island. All of our children and families receive:
Case Management
Behavioral Health Services
Physical Health Services
Creative Arts Therapies
Educational Evaluations and Services
Bridges to the Future (Fair Futures - Youth Development Services)
Parent & Youth Advocacy
Aftercare Support Services
Interested in beCOMING a Foster Parent?
GROUP HOMES IN THE COMMUNITY
Our Group Homes provide family-like, community settings to help meet the needs of children in crisis when staying at home is not possible. All youth who stay in one of our Group Homes are assigned a Treatment Team that develops a personalized program that incorporates evidence-based clinical, experiential, and academic elements for superior, comprehensive care. Youth learn new coping skills while caseworkers engage with parents and foster families to ensure their safe return home.
Teen Parent & Child Group Homes (Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk County)
Foster Care Group Homes (Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island)
S.T.A.R.T. with Hope Group Homes for Unaccompanied Migrant Children (Suffolk County)
Children & Youth Community Residence (Behavioral & Mental Health Focused; Nassau County)
ALL YOUTH IN GROUP HOMES RECEIVE:
Case Management
Behavioral Health Services
Physical Health Services
Creative Arts Therapies
Educational Evaluations & Services
Bridges to the Future (Fair Futures Youth Development Services for PP and FC Group Homes)
Parent & Youth Advocacy
Aftercare Support Services
CAMPUS-BASED PROGRAMS
Our campus-based, short-term residential program located in Nassau County (Syosset, NY), provides youth with a safe and nurturing environment when staying at home is not possible. All youth who come to stay on our campus are assigned a dedicated Treatment Team that develops a personalized intervention plan that incorporates evidence-informed clinical, experiential, and academic elements (including an on-campus school) for superior, comprehensive care. Youth learn new coping skills while caseworkers engage with parents and foster families to ensure their safe return home. Our campus programs include:
S.T.A.R.T. with Hope (Residential Services for Unaccompanied Migrant Children)
R.I.S.E. (Resilient Individuals Striving for Excellence) (Raise The Age Juvenile Program)
Justice Involved Youth
ALL PROGRAMS INCLUDE:
Case Management
Behavioral Health Services
Physical Health Services
Creative Arts and Animal Assisted Therapies
Recreation Services
Educational Evaluations and an On-Campus School (operated by NYC DOE)