About The Alliance

 

Our Mission Statement –

 

The Alliance strives to provide a seamless, uninterrupted system of care which provides a process that builds on a child’s and family’s strengths and resources to address identified needs.  Key values include focus on safety, unconditional and individualized care, building on strengths, and using a family-centered approach toward permanency.  The Alliance’s vision is that every child will have a safe, stable, culturally competent and permanent home that provides the child and family with resources to achieve their full potential. 

 

Alliance History –

 

The Alliance was established in 1995 as a collaborative effort by four community agencies to address permanency issues of children who are involved in the child welfare system.  The agencies of the Alliance are Agape, Children’s Aid Society, Gateway & Glenwood.  Part of the success of the Alliance is due to the efforts of each agency to  pool resources in order to better serve our families. The Alliance has two programs:  STAR and WRAP.

 

STAR (Short Term Assessment and Respite)

 

The STAR program provides specialized foster homes to children in the State’s custody.  Each child receives an assessment that identifies needs and determines the best long-term permanent plan.  A strong emphasis is placed on working with the biological family in order to facilitate reunification or to establish that an alternative plan is needed. 

 

WRAP

 

The Wrap program is an in-home treatment approach providing intensive services to troubled families.  A team approach is used to help families effectively utilize their strengths and to find ways of meeting their own needs within the community.  These services are contracted with Jefferson County DHR as a means of preventing children from entering foster care.  Additionally, the Wrap program works with the families of children in our foster care program in order to assist with the reunification process.   

 

The Four Agencies of the Alliance        

 

Agape of Central Alabama Inc.–

Founded in 1979, this is a licensed child lacing agency with its home office in Montgomery and branch offices in Birmingham, Enterprise, and Mobile.  The agency provides family-based foster home services, supervisory services to the majority of the children in its foster homes, targeted case management services, and a family based shelter program.

 

Glenwood Mental Health –

Incorporated in 1974 as a private, nonprofit organization devoted to the provision of treatment and educational services to autistic, mentally ill, and emotionally conflicted individuals.  The agency offers educational and day treatment services, vocational training, residential care, consultation and training, as well as extensive community based services including individual/family counseling and behavioral aides/respite services.  Glenwood Mental Health, Inc. is licensed by the Department of Mental Health/Mental Retardation and is a member of the Child Welfare League of America.

 

Children’s Aid Society –

A licensed child placing agency that provides both out-of-home and in-home services to children and their families.  It has a long history of providing foster care, including a contract for DHR placement and supervision of special needs children and provision of in-home services and adoption services.  The agency is licensed by DHR, a member of the Child Welfare League of America and United Way of Central Alabama, and accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services of Families and Children.

 

Gateway –

The lead agency, Gateway was founded in 1891 as the Mercy Home, which served as a foundling home, orphanage, industrial school, and “home for aged women.”  For more that 30 years, Gateway (previously Family & Child Services) has offered counseling and residential treatment services, with the modern agency also providing education, consumer credit, and prevention services.  Gateway is a founding partner of the United Way of Central Alabama, accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, and a member of the Child Welfare League of America and the Alliance of Children and Families.