New Directions Youth and Family Services helps youth with emotional and behavioral problems, along with their families. The agency offers programs and services to residents throughout New York State, including preventive & community-based services, educational services, supervised independent living, therapeutic foster care, non-secure detention, group homes and residential treatment. Everything we do is based on "Normative Culture," which uses the four norms of safety, respect, responsibility and goals.

Preventive & Community-Based Services

Children’s Mental Health Programs — New Directions is a key provider of children’s mental health services in Niagara County and offers a full range of community and home-based services to children, adolescents and their families. All these programs have offices on the Wyndham Lawn campus, 6395 Old Niagara Rd., Lockport, NY 14094.

n Intensive Case Management (ICM) — Provides home and community-based case management services to SED* youth in order to prevent psychiatric hospitalization and/or out-of-home placement. The ICM Program provides referral, linkage, coordination, monitoring, advocacy, social support and crisis intervention services. This program is supported by the Niagara County Department of Mental Health and the New York State Office of Mental Health. Contact: Laura Kelemen, Program Director, (716) 433-4487, ext. 429 or lkelemen@ndyfs.org.

n Family Support Services — Parent support group meetings are held twice each month in Lockport and Wheatfield. Information and referral, advocacy and transportation support are provided by a Family Support Specialist, who is trained to address the unique needs of both children and adults with special needs. This service works in collaboration with the Mental Health Association of Niagara County, including its Compeer Programs and In-Home Respite. This program is supported by the Niagara County Department of Mental Health and the New York State Office of Mental Health. Contact: Marge Wright, Family Support Coordinator, (716) 433-4487, ext. 467.

n Home-Based Crisis Intervention — Provides short-term home and community-based services to families with one or more SED youth in the home at imminent risk of psychiatric hospitalization or out-of-home placement by assisting families in learning and developing ways to cope with and prevent crisis situations that lead to psychiatric hospitalization or out-of-home placement. The Home-Based Crisis Intervention Program provides referral, linkage, coordination, monitoring, advocacy, social support and crisis intervention services. This program is supported by the Niagara County Department of Mental Health and the New York State Office of Mental Health. Contact: Laura Kelemen, Program Director, (716) 433-4487, ext. 429 or lkelemen@ndyfs.org.

n Mobile Crisis Outreach — In partnership with the Niagara County Hotline, the Mobile Crisis Team provides on-site assessment and intervention services at homes, schools and within the community to youth in various stages of crisis in order to prevent psychiatric hospitalization by linking and/or re-linking youth with necessary services, including Home-Based Crisis Intervention, which provide the youth with stability. This program is supported by the Niagara County Department of Mental Health and the New York State Office of Mental Health. Contact: Margaret Donohue, Crisis Coordinator, 433-4487, ext. 443.

Community-Based Treatment — This resiliency-based program serves children, youth and families who reside in Allegany and Cattaraugus counties. Referrals to this program are made by the Departments of Social Services. In addition to the prevention aspect of the program, we also provide Supervised Visitation services for Allegany County. Contact: Michael Benjamin, Program Supervisor, 356 Main Street ER, Randolph, NY 14772, (716) 945-0399.

Early Intervention Program–Older — Designed to meet the needs of new 16- and 17-year-old youth and their families to defer the youth from entering the Erie County PINS system. This program provides a 30- to 60-day intervention designed to empower parents through training, support, and referrals to local programs. Parents are also assisted in identifying and strengthening their family’s own natural support system. Program goals are safety, peace within the family, and increased family cooperation. Contact: Sam Coronado, Early Intervention Supervisor, Suite 10, Snyder Square North, 4511 Harlem Rd., Amherst, NY 14226, (716) 839-1392, ext. 221 or scoronado@ndyfs.org.

Early Intervention Program–Younger— Designed to meet the needs of new 15-year-old and younger youth and their families to defer the youth from entering the Erie County PINS system. This program provides a 60- to 90-day intervention designed to empower parents through training, support, and referrals to local programs. Parents are also assisted in identifying and strengthening their family’s own natural support system. Program goals are safety, peace within the family, and increased family cooperation. Contact: Contact: Sam Coronado, Early Intervention Supervisor, Suite 10, Snyder Square North, 4511 Harlem Rd., Amherst, NY 14226, (716) 839-1392, ext. 221 or scoronado@ndyfs.org.

Diversion Respite — Before parents or the youth’s school can file a PINS petition, the county must show that it has tried to work with the family in their home. If the youth needs to be out of the home for interventions to take place, he or she could be sent to a diversion respite site. Diversion respite is voluntary—The parent and youth must consent to the youth’s placement. New Directions can be the lead agency for a county, or, the county’s lead agency can make referrals to us. The New Directions Diversion Respite Facility is located in Lackawanna. Contact: Erin Kent, Director of Family Support Services, 4511 Harlem Rd., Amherst, NY 14226, (716) 839-1392, ext. 204 or ekent@ndyfs.org.

Mobile Crisis Response Team (M.C.R.T.) — This program was developed through collaboration between Crisis Services and New Directions Youth and Family Services. It provides a number of options available when responding to children and adolescents during a crisis, and improves support for the family after the crisis. Contact: Sarah Brownstein, Care Coordination Supervisor, (716) 839-1392, ext. 206, 4511 Harlem Road, Amherst, NY 14226, sbrownstein@ndyfs.org.

Pride-in-Parenting — This intensive program teaches parenting skills in order to prevent the placement of children in foster care, or to expedite their return from placement. It serves Niagara County families that are referred by the Niagara County Department of Social Services, primarily through the Child Protective Services division. Contact: Laura Kelemen, Program Director, (716) 433-4487, ext. 429 or lkelemen@ndyfs.org, 6395 Old Niagara Rd., Lockport, NY 14094.

Wraparound Program — The primary mission of New Directions’ Wraparound Program is to divert placement of at-risk youth from out-of-home placements by promoting the family’s stability, competence and self-sufficiency. Utilizing a culturally competent, strength-based and needs-driven process, families are assisted in developing and organizing supports, services and resources in order to achieve their goals, vision and self-sufficiency. Families are assisted in assembling a Child and Family Team comprised of the youth and family, natural supports, systems and service providers. The Child and Family Team meet at least once a month to develop and implement crisis plans and identify a plan of action to address unmet needs. Services are coordinated through the Child and Family Team process and the family and youth are assisted in reaching out to natural supports existing in their own communities. Contact: Margaret D. Flannery, Clinical Director, Snyder Square North, 4511 Harlem Road, Suite 10, Amherst, NY 14226, (716) 839-1392, ext. 219, mflannery@ndyfs.org.

Wraparound/Shortened Length of Stay Program — This program works with the entire family on issues that led to the youth being in residential care, with the aim of returning the youth home in an average of three months. Work begins the first day of placement at Wyndham Lawn Home for Children or Randolph Children’s Home. Working together as a Child and Family Team are the youth, family, residential staff, other systems/service providers, natural supports and the Wraparound Care coordinator. In addition to ensuring linkage with services to support the youth’s ability to return successfully to the community (such as anger management counseling or psychiatric services), the youth and family will be assisted in reaching out to natural supports existing in their own community and neighborhoods. Contact: Margaret D. Flannery, Clinical Director, Snyder Square North, 4511 Harlem Road, Suite 10, Amherst, NY 14226, (716) 839-1392, ext. 219, mflannery@ndyfs.org.

Wraparound Services — Workers and services are available to all of Erie County’s care coordination agencies through this department. Services include (but are not limited to): mentoring, hourly respite, transportation and recreation. Specialized services include (but are not limited to): substance abuse assessment and counseling, psychological assessment, psychiatric assessment, and individual and family therapy. Contact: Erin Kent, Director of Family Support Services, 4511 Harlem Rd., Amherst, NY 14226, (716) 839-1392, ext. 204 or ekent@ndyfs.org.

Educational Services

Supervised Independent Living Program (S.I.L.P.) — Older children who face living on their own without any family support are at serious risk of homelessness. To help them succeed in the community, the Supervised Independent Living Program places, mentors and closely supervises these young people in their own apartment. Contacts: Laurie Grimm, Family Resource/Intake Coordinator, 1455 Kensington Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14215, (716) 834-9413, ext. 220, or Leslie Shellenbarger, Clinical Director, Global Village Therapeutic Foster Care South, 356 Main St. ER, Randolph, NY 14772, (716) 358-3636, ext. 202, lshellenbarger@ndyfs.org.

Non-Secure Detention

Residential Treament