Family Support & Prevention Services

Children and their families find needed relief in the supportive outreach services CEDARS provides. These services help them maintain valuable personal and community connections while advocating for the child and youth’s safety, stability and well-being. Juvenile offenders, homeless youth, and any other at-risk children, youth, and their families may take advantage of these services. All of our programs are accredited by the well-respected National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and/or the Council on Accreditation (COA).

Our Services

• Child and Family Counseling

  Children and families receive outpatient counseling to help them cope with the stresses of daily life. They focus on resolving interpersonal, family, emotional and behavioral issues.

• Parenting Support Project (PSP)

  At-risk teen moms and single-parent families receive critical prenatal and post-natal services, provided in collaboration with Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department at 3140 N Street. Nurses and social workers use a proven case management model to help young parents respond to children’s needs while offering supportive guidance. This is a home visitation program designed to prevent child abuse.

• Partners in Permanency (PIP)

  A family-driven process for at-risk youth with emotional and behavioral needs, CEDARS wraps services around families in need to address the issues that may cause the family to lose custody of their child. The family’s needs are identified through a comprehensive process that involves both the youth and his or her family, and results in a unique set of community services that support the family and make it possible for the child or youth to remain in the home.

• Juvenile Diversion Services (JDS)

  Lancaster County youth with non-violent law violations can avoid further involvement in the juvenile justice system by completing this program. They learn to accept the consequences of their behavior based upon restorative justice principles.

• Street Outreach Services (SOS)

  Runaway, homeless, and at-risk teens find support through staff officed at CEDARS Northbridge Community Center located at 1533 N. 27th Street. A small team of staff members go out into the community, finding homeless youth, and responding to each youth’s individual needs. They match them with appropriate referrals, crisis intervention, and possible solutions — whether that’s a kit of personal care items or a phone card that lets them reassure family and friends of their well-being.

• Life Skills Center

  State wards and other young people between the ages of 13 and 18 involved in Lancaster County’s juvenile court system find an alternative to incarceration at the Life Skill Center at 6601 Pioneers Blvd., where they learn critical skills that will support their commitment to making better decisions.

• Tracker Services

  Young people between the ages of 13 and 18 involved in the juvenile justice system benefit from advocacy and one-on-one supervision. Whether in the juvenile justice system, at risk of being taken from their homes, or transitioning back into their original homes, youth access educational services, assistance in finding employment, basic living skills, crisis intervention, and family development.

To learn more about any of CEDARS’ services, please call (402) 434-KIDS (5437) or email
info@cedars-kids.org.