Serving Hands. Caring Hearts. Fostering Hope.
Fostering
Welcome to COBYS Family Services
COBYS provides wrap-around foster care services in Pennsylvania in Lancaster County and areas in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Schuylkill, York and Lebanon counties.
The COBYS Difference is care provided with compassion, dignity and hope. It comes down to why we do what we do, and how we do it. Caring for children, individuals and families in need presents many challenges. Our mission focuses on delivering care with a servant spirit. We are called to provide joyful, transformative care.
Wanted: Foster and Adoptive Families
COBYS is looking for loving families for foster care. Is it time for you?
The need for foster families right now is real. There are children in care with no placements available to them.
If you have ever considered becoming a foster or adoptive parent to children in the foster care system, now is the time to contact COBYS Family Services. We’ll help you learn about the ways you can provide a safe and loving home to children in need. There are short and long-term care options to consider.
COBYS is looking for families with: Compassion • Acceptance • A generous heart for kids • A servant spirit • Open arms • Love
We need families across our community to join us in providing loving care to children by becoming foster or foster to adopt parents. Learn more at the Information Session.
For Adoptive families looking for more information about Post Permanency resources, support and hope, learn more here: POST PERMANENCY
COBYS offers unparalleled training and support
We do this so every placement has a chance to be a successful placement.
Foster families are critical in the child welfare system as they serve children and create supportive relationships with birth families. Foster families must complete a rigorous approval process, but there is no “typical” foster family. We need families as unique as the children in care.
The COBYS Difference
Caring for foster children presents many challenges to families. Our mission focuses on what we do and how we do it: with a servant spirit. We are called to provide joyful, transformative care.
• Cutting edge trauma training for staff and resource families
• Manageable caseloads enable us to provide resource families with the help and support they need to succeed
• COBYS supports the foster child and their resource family through regular visits, advice, encouragement, and 24-hour emergency access to a caseworker
We provide financial assistance to the resource families, which helps to cover the child’s living and travel expenses.
May is National Foster Care month.
Listen to the 2024 interviews on The Rich &Casey Show on WIOV radio.INTERVIEW #1 – 5/24 Director of Family Services, Abby Keiser
INTERVIEW #2 – 5/24 Foster and adoptive parents Sarah and Ryan Rutt
INTERVIEW #3 – 5/24 Joey Noble, young adult adopted at 18-years-old
INTERVIEW #4 – 5/25 COBYS Resource Home Senior Specialist Kristin Kuhn
November is National Adoption month
Listen to the 2024 interviews on The Rich &Casey Show on WIOV radio.INTERVIEW #1 – 11/24 Director of Placement Services Mary Sourber
INTERVIEW #2 – 11/24 COBYS Foster-to-Adopt Mom Alison Lewis
INTERVIEW #3 – 11/24 COBYS Adoption Coordinator Stacie LaBarbera
INTERVIEW #4 – 11/24 COBYS Foster Care Caseworker Ashtyn Beers
The wrap-around care of COBYS Family Services
Foster Care: COBYS provides state required services and so much more, to children in the foster care systems through the work of caseworkers who are CAREworkers. COBYS also recruits, approves and trains resource families to care for children in foster care. The approval and training process at COBYS is unmatched for preparing families for the ministry of caring for children with trauma, as all foster children are. Foster families are supported throughout the process with ongoing training and support sessions.
Adoption: We facilitate adoptions of foster children through the Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN). Additionally, we provide a variety of adoption-related services to assist families who are seeking to adopt as well as families in a kinship arrangement. Support is also available for those who already have adopted through free Post Adoption Services.
Counseling: The trained staff at COBYS Family Services offer professional psychotherapy and support to individuals, couples, and families at locations in Lancaster and Lebanon Counties. Our counselors address marital and couples’ therapy, relational issues, family therapy, depression and anxiety. They also address trauma related issues with evidence based therapies including EMDR and TF-CBT.
Family Life Education: COBYS Family Life Education Department offers a broad range of family life education programs. While we are best known for our parenting courses, our programs share the common goal of supporting the development of human potential by providing parents, other adults, and children with information and skills to foster cooperation, courage, responsibility, self-esteem, and respect.
Permanency: The COBYS Permanency Unit is a specialized program whose goal, when possible, is to reunify children in foster care with their biological family. Staffed by COBYS, the program is funded by and serves children and families referred by the Lancaster County Children and Youth Social Service Agency. The two organizations work in partnership to achieve common goals of ensuring the safety of children, strengthening families, and securing permanency for children.