From Staff Reports

PELHAM-Thanks to a generous grant from the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention – Children’s Trust Fund of Alabama, Gateway’s Shelby County Wraparound Program (Wrap) will be expanding provision of in-home services to families in Shelby County to help keep children free from abuse and neglect.

Gateway’s Wraparound Program is a home-based service for families identified by the Shelby County Department of Human Resources as at-risk for child abuse or neglect, with a goal of helping families remain safely intact or safely reunifying families with children who had been removed from their homes.

Wrap staff members identify the strengths and needs within each family and “wrap” services around the families to eliminate barriers to safety and permanency.

State legislators, Mike Hill, Jim McClendon, Cam Ward, April Weaver and Jabo Waggoner attended the event in support of the organizations with their districts.

“We are very grateful to Sallye Longshore and all our friends at the Children’s Trust Fund for their support of the work we do,” Director of Gateway’s outpatient counseling offices and the Shelby Wraparound Program Elizabeth Steward wrote in a news release. “If we can provide services in the home that keep children safe, we prevent the trauma that a family disruption can cause. Through this Children’s Trust Fund grant, we can help families develop the skills they need to be successful, and we can break the cycle of abuse and neglect for this and future generations.”

For more information about Gateway or the Shelby County Wraparound Program, visit Gway.org.