Family Services
FCS provides an array of services to families to ensure that they can maintain a safe home for their children.
Family and Children’s Services (FCS) is responsible for responding to reports of child abuse and neglect in San Francisco County. FCS provides child welfare services focused on the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, youth, and families.
Additional Information can be found in the FCS Handbook for Parents.
FCS is comprised of the following service components:
Hotline and Emergency Response
FCS operates a hotline that receives reports related to child abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Once information is gathered via the hotline, FCS uses assessment tools to determine a response to the report. If further investigation is warranted, then FCS shall respond in-person to conduct a comprehensive safety and risk assessment, and intervene when necessary to protect the safety of children.
If a child must be removed from their home to ensure safety, FCS and our partners recruit, train, and support Resource Families to care for children in foster care. This is to ensure that families are prepared to meet the needs of a child in foster care. Resource Families may include relatives.
Foster Care and Family Services
FCS also provides an array of services to help families address the child safety issues that led to on-going FCS involvement.
Services for FCS clients include but are not limited to:
- Parenting classes, visitation and other supports via San Francisco’s Family Resource Centers located in communities around the City
- Specialized support to assess and address housing, substance abuse issues and other issues with Homeless Prenatal Programs and the Family Treatment Court
- Coordinated services with CalWORKs to assist families with basic needs
- Home-based services for parenting education and support, including SafeCare™, provided by Family Support Services, Epiphany Center and nurses working with the Department of Public Health
- Comprehensive Wraparound Services and family visitation support in partnership with Seneca Family of Agencies
- Behavioral Health Services, including assessment and treatment, coordinated by our partners at Foster Care Mental Health at the Department of Mental Health
- Peer parent support, supervised visitation and other services via A Better Way
- Domestic Violence services via Riley Center
- Support for relatives who are caring for foster children via Edgewood Center for Children and Families
- Free Respite Child Care services for San Francisco foster parents and relative caregivers through Family Support Services