Supporting Families – Changing Lives Since 1976

Genesis II for Families Inc.                                                                                                                                           

3036 University Avenue Southeast
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Phone: 612-617-0191
Fax: 612- 617-0193
Website: www.genesis2.org

 

Services / Programs

Parent Education:  Genesis II provides comprehensive parent education and support to families involved with the child protection or corrections system, teen parents, and other at-risk families through our Family Focus, In-Home, and Next Phase parenting programs. Parenting programs lasts between six and nine months and include an extensive therapy/counseling component (see below) as well as intensive case management, parent education (child development, behavior management, parent-child communication, etc.), and life skills training (anger/stress management, social supports, and healthy relationships as well as time/money and household management). Programming for teen parents is targeted towards teen mothers and even some fathers between the ages of 14 and 22 who have a history of out-of-home placement and/or juvenile justice system involvement. A major focus on the teen parent education program, in particular, is prevention of further pregnancies until the parent is able to provide a safe and stable home.

The goal of all parent education programming is to help families at-risk for experiencing child abuse/neglect learn positive parenting skills from the ground up, as well as how to provide a safe and stable home for their children. Genesis II provides day, evening, and in-home parent education services to approximately 200 teen and adult parents each year.

Mentoring:  Because teen parents often experience isolation putting them at high risk for child abuse/neglect, the Bright Beginnings program pairs teen parents with a safe adult mentor to help guide and support the teen for the first critical year of their child’s life. We collaborate closely with hospitals and healthcare facilities to identify young new mothers. Approximately 50 teens per year receive one-on-one mentoring to help them adjust to their new roles as parents.

Therapy/counseling:  Given the high rates of past sexual and physical abuse or neglect, an essential component of Genesis II's parenting program is the therapy and counseling provided in our Behavioral Health Department. Before they can meet the physical and emotional needs of their children, parents who have experienced childhood trauma need to work through their own anger, guilt, shame, or hurt about their past.

Genesis II's Behavioral Health staff also facilitate Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a hands-on, therapeutic program to help mothers and children build positive relationships, replacing the old, negative bond. In PCIT, mothers learn about providing consistency and structure in their children’s lives, making appropriate choices, and  — removing much of their current burden and frustration with parenting. PCIT helps parents learn how to nurture their child's development through play, and set realistic expectations of their child's behavior based on developmental stages.

Genesis II also provides individual, family, couples, and group therapy, and conducts psychological testing and parenting assessments for our program participants, as well as the community at-large (providing a stream of earned income). Genesis II provides a variety of behavioral health services to more than 600 families each year.

Developmental Childcare:  Genesis II offers on-site, developmental childcare for children of parents attending our on-site parenting programs. Children from four weeks to five years old participate in activities that stimulate their physical, social/emotional, cognitive, and language development with the goal of preparing them to enter Kindergarten at an age-appropriate level. In 2006, Genesis II created a licensed childcare center (Buzzy Beehive) that is open to past clients who are now working as well as to the general public. An estimated 100 children participate in Genesis II's developmental childcare services every year.

Independent Living Skills:  Genesis II's comprehensive independent living skills program evolved out of our teen parenting program in response to the needs of youth in that program, but has since grown to serve a much broader population of youth. The independent living skills programs provides youth transitioning from out-of-home placement including foster care and correctional settings training in employment, education, housing, transportation, and medical and mental health.  The focus is on preparing youth for a healthy transition to self-sufficient adulthood and on maintaining stable housing to avoid episodes of homelessness. Approximately 90 youth each year participate in independent living skills training.

Supervised Parenting and Safe Exchange:  In cases of family separation where the well being of

the child is in question, Genesis II provides on-site and in-home supervised parenting between non-custodial parents and their children in a safe, caring, and sensitive environment. An average of 250 families utilize supervised parenting and safe exchange services annually.

Facilities

Most Genesis II services are provided on-site at the building owned by Genesis II located at:

3036 University Avenue Southeast

Minneapolis, MN 55414

Genesis II also provides some services in client homes, at other agencies and in government buildings including correctional settings.

History

Genesis II began with federal funding as the Criminal Justice Project in 1976, and became the first community-based corrections program for women in the state. In 1979, the federally-funded program was incorporated as an independent nonprofit and Genesis II for Women was born. Initially structured as a treatment program for women offenders, our programs have expanded over the years to offer a wide variety of parenting supports to adult and teen parents and other at-risk families as well as women with a history of corrections involvement. We have also added a fully licensed child care center to care for children of families participating in our programs (as well as the broader community) and have developed comprehensive behavioral health services to help address barriers to healthy parenting. In 2003, we became Genesis II for Families to better reflect our services to whole families.  

What makes Genesis II unique is our focus on breaking the cycle of violence that contributes to ongoing child abuse and neglect. As many as 90% of the parents we serve have experienced physical abuse/neglect, sexual abuse, and/or drug/alcohol addiction. Without addressing these issues, many of these parents are doomed to repeat the cycle with their children. Genesis II – as the name implies – provides at-risk families a chance to address the issues in their past and start over.

 

Mission

Genesis II's mission is to promote social change by strengthening families and the community through programs that encourage self-determination, self-sufficiency, and healthy family lifestyles. Our focus is on helping families break free from cycles of violence through intensive and comprehensive parent education and life skills training.

 

Vision

The vision of Genesis II is to:

• Eliminate child abuse and neglect by parent(s);
• Help children reach age-appropriate developmental levels;
• Provide parents with the knowledge and skills they need to provide a stable home environment; and
• Reunify children with their parents, when possible.