Working on a Project - COBYS Family Services

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Ministry by the Numbers 2012/13 Statistical Report Motivated by Christian faith, COBYS Family Services educates, supports, and empowers children and adults to reach their full potential. During the past year (July 1, 2012– June 30, 2013), 59 staff (28 full-time) helped to carry out this mission in these ways: Adoption. Adoption staff finalized 28 adoptions of foster children and provided additional services to 163 foster children and 28 foster/adoptive resource families. Thirty-one families received support services after their adoption. An affiliate of the Statewide Adoption & Permanency Network (SWAN), the COBYS adoption program offers six services: family profiles, child profiles, child preparation services, child specific recruitment (for harder to place children), legal finalization, and post permanency services for adoptive families. In addition to these SWAN-related services, COBYS provided free birth parent counseling to seven families facing unplanned pregnancies and worked with eight families who were seeking to adopt an infant. One infant adoption was finalized. COBYS birth parent counselors are available as a resource to pastors, churches, and others as they assist families facing unplanned pregnancies. Counseling. COBYS therapists provided some 2,500 hours of therapy during the year, an increase of about 200 hours from the previous year. COBYS offers individual, family, and marital counseling on a sliding scale basis for uninsured clients and also accepts payment from some major health insurers. Therapists address relational issues with couples and families; depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders; ADHD; and more. Counseling centers are located at the COBYS main office, north of Lancaster; Mechanic Grove Church of the Brethren, Quarryville; and First United Methodist Church in Palmyra. Family Life Education. The move of the Family Life Education program to a new facility in Lancaster in December was a 2012/13 highlight (see pages 2 & 7). During the year COBYS educators led 47 courses and 16 workshops, providing 634 classroom hours and serving 1,085 adults, youth, and children. Programs were offered at 31 different sites, including the new Family Life Center, community locations, schools, churches, and Lancaster County Prison. Foster Care. Foster care staff facilitated 19,953 days of care for 101 foster children, many of whom were placed with their brothers and sisters. Fostering Hope 4
Eleven new sibling groups came into care and COBYS families cared for a total of 28 sibling groups, including 18 groups of two children, seven groups of three, and three groups of four! We also provided care to seven children with special medical needs, such as brain trauma, prenatal drug addiction, and congenital defects. During the year, 20 foster children were reunited with their birth parents or relatives and 21 were adopted by their COBYS foster family. Among those adopted were six sibling groups. We approved 11 new foster/adoptive resource families, bringing our total number of families at year-end to 64. COBYS offers monthly informational sessions at the COBYS main office and at the Wyomissing Church of the Brethren for families interested in exploring foster care or adoption. Permanency. The Permanency Unit provided services for 70 children from 45 families. Five of those children took steps toward adoption, while 17 were able to return home to their parents. Two others were placed with Private Giving Comparison a Permanent Legal Custodian, and two more reached age 18 and signed out of foster care to live independently. The goal of this specialized program—which is based in Lancaster and operated in partnership with the Lancaster County Children & Youth Social Service Agency—is to find a permanent home for foster children as quickly and safely as possible. Staff monitor the well-being of foster children, support foster parents, and assist birth parents to overcome the issues that led to their children’s placement in care. Year ANE Churches Other General Total General Bequests 2012/13 $81,685.04 $460,688.24 $542,373.28 $33,196.96 2011/12 $91,120.41 $442,446.37 $533,566.78 $9,375.00 2010/11 $94,608.62 $412,110.84 $506,719.46 2009/10 $93,651.16 $399,492.80 $493,143.96 $8,179.37 2008/09 $107,590.67 $489,569.90 $597,160.57 Community Connections. In this program’s second year, COBYS partnered with four churches to help them meet the emotional and material needs of people in their congregations and communities. COBYS provides case management services to assist local churches as they serve dependent families. Caseworkers help clients set goals and utilize community services, so churches can stay focused on spiritual needs and friendship. As their support network widens, families’ financial dependence on the church lessens. Community Connections provided services to eight families. Financial Support COBYS Family Services’ annual budget of $2.9 million is supported by public funding, grants, fees for services, and private donations. This report focuses on private giving, which accounts for one fifth of COBYS’ income. For the third consecutive year private giving grew, but still has not reached pre-recession levels. A strong year in bequests further strengthened our financial position. A long-term downward trend in giving from Brethren congregations through the Atlantic Northeast District (ANE) was even more pronounced this year, although some of that can be attributed to congregations sending support in a variety of other ways. Taking into account all giving from ANE congregations (such as special outreach, Bible school offerings, in kind donations, etc.) total giving from churches actually increased slightly. We are grateful for the strong financial support that enables us to continue to serve children and families in Christ’s name! A version of this report that includes a list of donors is available on the News & Events page at www.cobys.org. Audited financial statements are available upon request. Fostering Hope 5
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