Pioneer's PACS Program Accredited as First SafeCare Site in Washington State

Pioneer Human Services is very proud to announce that our Parental and Adolescent Counseling Services (PACS) program that serves Snohomish and Skagit Counties is now the very FIRST SafeCare accredited site in the state of Washington! SafeCare is an evidence-based parenting program and one of the array of services offered by PACS.

Marie Preftes-Arenz, Pioneer's clinical manager, was previously certified as a SafeCare trainer and then through her hard work, PACS was accredited as a SafeCare site. At PACS, child safety is the top priority and the program strives to help build healthier families. The program offers in-home services to families that are at risk of having their children removed from the home, and it supports reunification of families that are currently separated due to an open dependency case. A case manager and/or therapist works with families to identify specific barriers, challenges and needs. Goals are created with families focusing on creating positive changes.

The PACS program serves families with children from birth to five years of age. Parents served in the program include:

• Mothers and fathers who have been incarcerated and are returned home to be a parent again
• Mothers and fathers who have completed inpatient and/or IOP and are reunifying to the infant, toddler or preschooler
• Mothers and fathers who have mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, that led to the neglect of their young child
• Caregivers in need of support for a recent placement of a young child in their care.

SafeCare is divided into three modules:

• Health
• Home Safety
• Parent-Child or Parent-Infant Interaction

The focus on the "Health" module is to help parents discern when their child’s healthcare condition requires emergency room care, care from a doctor or treatment at home. The focus of the "Home Safety" module is on appropriate supervision and childproofing to eliminate safety hazards from the home, and the "Parent-Child or Parent-Infant Interaction" module teaches parents positive interaction skills with their infant, toddler or preschooler. Many of the children served in the SafeCare program were drug-affected at birth. Currently, the youngest parent being served is 16 years old and the youngest SafeCare participant is just 2 weeks old!