The Salvation Army Supervised Visitation Program
Director: Tina Lyon Dell, M.Ed., NCC, LMHC
Phone: (716) 883-9800 x404
Email: Tina.Dell@dfa.state.ny.us
Hours of Operation: On-site: 8:30am - 6:30pm, Monday - Friday;
Off-site: 10:00am - 5:00pm, Saturday & Sunday
For more than 28 years, The Salvation Army has operated the Supervised Visitation Program to address the needs of approximately 17,000 parents and children who are caught in the web of hostile post-divorce conflicts or child protective issues. Since its inception, supervised visitation has produced sound evidence that a combination of factors, including safe access, child-centered advocacy and counselor-assisted monitoring, has worked to reduce the at-risk position of children. The program offers both on-site and off-site supervised visitation and preventive services. In addition, this program teaches healthy parent-child relationships and safely protects children from abuse and neglect.
Supervised Visitation is composed of three components, ECDSS Preventive Services Supervised Visitation, Family Court Supervised Visitation and Off-site Supervised Visitation.
- ECDSS Preventive Services Supervised Visitation offers intake and supervised visits (no mediation) between custodial, non-custodial and foster care parents and their children. These visits take place onsite at The Salvation Army through ECDSS referrals.
- Family Court Supervised Visitation offers intake, mediation and supervised visits between custodial and non-custodial parents that are referred by Erie County Family Court. Intake services at an office in Forensic Mental Health Services, 120 West Eagle Street (downtown) uses behavior contracts to approximate appropriate behavior during the visits and on the premises psycho-educational approach to behavioral change that offers mediation as the alternative to chronic litigation that harms children.
- Off-site Visitation provides a less restrictive environment whereby families in the program are given the opportunity to experience cultural and community-based family events to enhance the quality of the parent/child supervised visits. In 2005, the Off-site component of the Supervised Visitation Program has operated consistently on the weekends, with families receiving services and visiting for two hours at a community based or culturally based event, including places such as: The Buffalo Science Museum; Bison's Baseball; The Theatre of Youth; The Buffalo Zoo; Albright-Knox Art Gallery; and The Buffalo Historical Society. Off-site Supervised Visitation can also be held within bowling centers, miniature golf/arcades and community events including, "The Taste of Buffalo" and "The Allentown Art Festival."