Child Welfare Services

Friendship House offers foster care, kinship care, adoption services and group home placements.

From our offices located in Pottstown, Scranton and Philadelphia, we serve a broad clientele and welcome referrals to our foster care program from all county children and youth agencies. Our foster care program provides dedicated staff and access to a continuum of care and services for children. The needs of the children, which include ensuring a sense of safety, security and overall well-being, are paramount in the delivery of services. Capable and caring foster families are always needed, so if you have ever considered foster parenting, please contact us. Foster parents are key members of our team. Friendship House offers training, financial reimbursement, case manager support and referrals to community services, with 24 hour access to an on-call worker. We carefully match children and families to ensure the best fit and placement success.

For children whose best interests are served by being placed in a Group Home, we provide structured community living settings that offer children a neighborhood living situation when they are unable to live at home, but do not require residential care. Group homes may also serve as a supervised, step-down program from a higher level of care. Serving children in Pottsville, PA, Friendship House maintains a group home for males ages 9-18 years old. These boys attend local schools and participate in community services.

Friendship House endorses a philosophy of collaborative service delivery to adolescents and their families, based on six core principles established by the PA Children and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP). The services provided by Friendship House incorporate a child-centered, family-focused, community-based, multi-system, least restrictive/least intrusive and culturally competent approach to community living. Other needed services, including education, counseling, medical, dental and mental health services, are coordinated by program professionals and delivered by appropriate community providers.