Family PEACE Program

Program Overview:
The Family PEACE (Promoting, Education, Advocacy, Collaboration, and Empowerment) Program is dedicated to improving the safety and well-being of mothers and children who have been exposed to violence in their homes.
To address the effects of domestic violence on children and on mothers’ parenting, the FPP combines several evidence-based intervention models to create an integrated treatment program for mothers and children aged zero to fifteen (0-15) living with domestic violence.

Children aged zero to five (0-5) and their mothers receive Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), children aged six to twelve (6-12) participate in the Kids’ Club while their mothers participate in a Parenting Group that runs concurrently with the children’s group, and teens aged thirteen to fifteen (13-15) participate in a twelve week group.

Mission/ Goals:
• Improve the safety and well-being of mothers and children who have been exposed to violence in their homes
• Foster stronger parent-child bonds
• Improve coping strategies
• Provide developmental guidance
• Prevent the intergenerational transmission of violence and trauma.

Number of people served per year:
• 65-90 families per year
• 30 families with children under 5yrs of age receive intense Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
• 25-30 families receive Group Treatment
• 20-30 families receive crisis intervention and/or case management services
• Medical Providers and Social Work staff are trained on domestic violence and the effects of DV on children
• Education and training for various community partners on the effects of domestic violence on children

Outcomes/ Results:
• Over 425 families treated since inception of program.
• Over 1000 hospital staff, including medical providers, social workers and interns, has been trained on domestic violence, its impact on children, and how to effectively screen patients.

Partners:
• Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC)
• Manhattan Legal Services
• Help USA
• Violence Intervention Program (VIP)
• Children’s Aid Society- Family Wellness Program
• Free Arts New York
• Centro Altagracia de Fe y Justicia
• Harlem Independent Living Center
• New York County District Attorney’s Office


Contact Information:

Program Manager
C
ynthia Arreola, LMSW
Phone (212) 491-2326
Email: cya9006@nyp.org

Faculty Leader/ Medical Director
Mary McCord, MD, MPH
Associate Clinical Professor - Pediatrics and Public Health
Phone (212) 305-0902
Email: mm26@columbia.edu