The Cradle Won’t Fall — Austin Recovery Provides New Home for Family Connections CRADLES Program

Published December 8, 2010

Austin, TX (PRWEB) November 15, 2010

Soon after the shocking disintegration of the Family Connections agency, Austin Recovery, the largest drug and alcohol treatment center in Central Texas, opened its doors to the CRADLES Program and its clients. Now the Children’s Bureau, a U.S. Government department, has approved the transfer of grant funds from Family Connections to Austin Recovery to ensure Travis County residents continue to receive the high quality and much-needed services provided to at-risk families by the CRADLES Program.

“It’s a great partnership and the perfect home for CRADLES,” said Trish Rivera, Project Manager of the CRADLES Program. “Because we both serve a unique substance abuse population, it’s a real advantage for us to be with Austin Recovery. It puts us in direct daily contact with our primary population.”

The CRADLES Program serves women in Travis County who are either pregnant or have a child under the age of six that are considered high risk for abandonment or separation from their mothers. “The majority of our mothers have substance abuse issues,” said Rivera. “By partnering with Austin Recovery, we now treat the substance abuse while providing consistent and ongoing programs for mothers focused on family needs, parenting skills and the creation or restoration of the family system.”

Families in the CRADLES Program are assigned a case manager who works with them to create a plan to address the needs of the children and the family. Services provided by CRADLES include: intensive in-home case management, in-home parenting coaching and child development education, child development assessment, short-term child care stipends, limited transportation assistance and permanency planning. Travis County is the only county in Texas to provide these services through an Abandoned Infants Assistance grant.

“When Travis County began looking for new ways to work with moms at risk of abandoning their children, the CRADLES Program was a natural fit for our county,” said Judge Darlene Byrne, presiding judge over the Travis County Family Drug Treatment Court. Byrne added, “The majority of the moms in our program and in the CRADLES program are in absolute survival mode. Many do not have the support at home to stay clean and provide a healthy environment for their children. CRADLES and Austin Recovery are crucial to the success of our families.” The transfer of CRADLES to Austin Recovery had support from community leaders, including Representative Lloyd Doggett who provided a letter of support in the transfer process.

Established in 1967, Austin Recovery has been an integral part of the Travis County Family Drug Treatment Court providing 90-days of drug and alcohol rehab to mothers of young children. “Austin Recovery’s Family House program allows mothers to bring two children under the age of six with them into treatment,” said Austin Recovery CEO Jonathan Ross. “Treating the moms and reuniting them with their families while in treatment allows us to work with them on parenting skills and the everyday stressors that make parenthood challenging.” He continued, “We’re thrilled to have the CRADLES Program under the same roof as we can provide their and our clients seamless care and services.”

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