The Division of Family Services, Family Care Center opened in October, 1989. The center receives funding through a combination of local, state, and federal governments in addition to private grants. The Family Care Center facility covers 50,000 square feet and was designed for the mission of serving families. The Center seeks to help families become self-sufficient by providing an array of services on-site including:

Education – The center provides high school diploma and GED classes for mothers in conjunction with Bluegrass Community and Technical College and Fayette County Public Schools. Auxiliary educational services include special education, life skills, parenting skills, parent-child interaction, career skills, job placement, and referrals for vocational training, college, and employment assistance.

Child Care – The developmentally appropriate Child Care Center offers services for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. The Child Care Component receives accreditation from The National Association for the Education for Young Children (NAEYC). The two four year old classrooms are part of the Fayette County Schools Early Start Program. Payment sources accepted include parent fees, Child Care Assistance Program and Foster Care.

Health Clinic – The Pediatric Health and Dental Clinic offers services for children and mothers including acute and preventive primary care, WIC, dental care, individual and family psychotherapy, speech and language therapy, and physical and occupational therapy. Services are provided through partnerships with the University of Kentucky, Cardinal Hill Hospital, and the Fayette County Health Department.

Home Network/HANDS Program – Home Network assists first time parents at critical development points during their child’s first years of life. A trained home visitor visits the family introducing parenting skill development that enhances parent/child relationships. Home Network recognizes that parents are the most important teachers a child will ever have.

Case Management – Case Managers support each family in utilizing necessary services on site as well as off site in order to successfully complete high school, GED, post secondary training, college, employment placement, and to ultimately become self-sufficient.

Volunteers – The Family Care Center has an active Volunteer Board in addition to offering opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. The center is also a federally recognized VISTA volunteer site.

The New Leaf Project – The New Leaf Project promotes self-reliance, economic and employability skills in teen mothers through job training, financial training, and personal development. Learning takes place in an actual work environment where crafts are made, marketed, and sold by the students. The young women are involved in all aspects of the business.

Participants are first introduced to the world of work through a series of developmental classes that include such necessary job skills as resume building, interview techniques, financial planning, money management, working on a team, problem-solving, and conflict management. Unlike the typical academic format where they would be learning about a fictitious world of work, the students are actively engaged in a real worksite that requires acceptable work ethics, personal responsibility as well as interpersonal and management skills. Students become invested in the success of their company and truly want to learn the skills necessary to reach that success.