Credit: County of Bucks
A new space in the Levittown area will allow for children in foster care to visit with their parents.
The Bucks County Children and Youth Social Services Agency cut the ribbon Thursday on the county’s first “visit house.” It is located by the Oxford Valley Mall in Middletown Township.
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In addition to providing a meeting space for kids in foster care to meet with parents, it also will allow families to meet with with social workers.
Officials said the location is convenient for families in the lower end of the county.
The facility is expected to soon be staffed with a representative from the county’s Human Services Hub. With its main location in Doylestown Borough, the hub is a centralized resource for connecting Bucks Countians with social services providers.
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“Whether we’re talking about the hub, our police co-responders program or our Children & Youth visit house, the Bucks County Human Services Division has been making huge strides in getting help and support to the most vulnerable people in our community,” said Bucks County Commissioners Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia. “The commissioners are incredibly proud to support the critical work our human services staff is doing every day.”
Federal funds allocated through the Family First Act of 2018 covered the cost of the $330,000 facility.
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“We always want to support and assist our families in their homes, but unfortunately that’s just not always possible,” said Bucks County Children and Youth Social Services Agency Director Marjorie McKeone. “Making the trip to our offices in Doylestown can be a stumbling block for our families in Lower Bucks, so we’ve talked about the idea of this ‘visit house’ for quite some time.”
“It took years of planning, but we’re thrilled to finally make this option available,” she added.
While the ribbon cutting was Thursday, the facility has been in use for several months.
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In just November, the Bucks County Children and Youth Social Services Agency worked with 3,800 children from 2,190 families.
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