Family & Reunification
Safe Horizon
Manhattan
Support for victims of crime and abuse: shelter, advocacy, counseling, legal services and supervised visitation; welcomes all survivors regardless of immigration status. Hotline 800.621.4673.
Family & Reunification in Manhattan
Family services cover reunification with children, custody and visitation, parenting classes, family court support and help for relatives who cared for children during a sentence. Many are free and open to the whole family, not only the person coming home.
Tip: if you have an open case with ACS (NYC's child welfare agency), tell your caseworker and your family court attorney about any program you join, since it may count toward your service plan.
Many citywide organizations also have their main offices in Manhattan, so a short subway ride can widen your options.
35 services based in Manhattan, plus 49 citywide
Based in Manhattan
Education & GED
Literacy Partners
Manhattan
Offers free English-for-parents classes and Spanish-language parenting programs for people with children ages 0-7, basic reading classes for all adults, and HSE prep for Bronx Community College students, both online and in person.
Mental Health & Counseling
NAMI-NYC Metro
Manhattan
Free peer-led classes, support groups and family mentoring; helpline Mon-Fri 10-6 in 180 languages with referrals to services.
Family & Reunification
NYC ACS - Office of Advocacy
Manhattan
Information about rights for parents who had to place a child in foster care while incarcerated; incarcerated parents can call collect at 212.619.1309.
Family & Reunification
Rising Ground - Steps to End Family Violence
Manhattan
Runs the Criminalized Survivors Program, an alternative-to-incarceration program for survivors of intimate partner and gender-based violence who were criminalized for surviving or resisting abuse. Offers individual and group support, legal advocacy, and court accompaniment throughout the survivor's open criminal case.
Family & Reunification
Center for Family Representation (CFR)
Manhattan · Bronx · Queens · Staten Island
Free legal and social work help for parents contacted by ACS, aiming to keep children at home; also represents youth 7-17 facing criminal charges.
Family & Reunification
Children's Aid
Manhattan
Provides adoption and foster care, education, school- and community-based health clinics, Head Start classes, after-school/summer programs, and parenting and substance-use/teen-pregnancy prevention programs in high-need NYC neighborhoods. Also offers high school equivalency prep, job readiness, and housing assistance for youth in the Bronx and Manhattan.
Family & Reunification
New York Foundling
Manhattan
Provides foster care, educational programs, mental health services, and community-based services for children, families, and adults; services for court-involved youth include intervention, alternatives-to-incarceration, and reentry services, plus a mental health clinic for youth and families and support such as counseling, case planning, and emergency food/supply assistance.
Legal Aid & Record Relief
New York Peace Institute
Manhattan
Free mediation, restorative justice services and training for community, housing, co-parenting, civil and criminal court, youth and special education disputes.
Legal Aid & Record Relief
NYCLA Legal Counseling Project
Manhattan
Free phone consultations with an attorney on family, landlord/tenant, employment and tax law; interpreter services available.
Family & Reunification
Sanctuary for Families
Manhattan
Serves survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and gender-based violence with culturally sensitive counseling, case management, crisis intervention, legal representation, and confidentially located shelter for women, men, and families. Also runs a career readiness and technology training program, and, through the EMPOWER Center with NYC Health + Hospitals-Gouverneur, provides resources for survivors of sex trafficking and people in the sex trade.
Family & Reunification
Single Parent Resource Center
Manhattan
Provides programs and support services for single parents and their families, including those living in transitional housing, living with a substance use disorder, or recently incarcerated.
Family & Reunification
Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS) - Incarcerated Mothers Law Project
Manhattan
Provides legal services to incarcerated mothers at Rikers Island, Taconic, Albion, and Bedford Hills correctional facilities, helping them maintain contact with their children and understand foster care and family court proceedings, including adoption and termination of parental rights. Also helps mothers plan for post-incarceration reunification with their children.
Housing & Shelter
Women's Prison Association (WPA)
Manhattan
Provides case management and personalized support for women impacted by the criminal legal system and their families, including help finding safe and affordable housing, developing workplace skills, reunifying families, accessing healthcare and mental health services, and reentry planning for those still incarcerated.
Employment & Job Training
Forging Ahead for Community Empowerment and Support (FACES) - STARS
Manhattan
Offers free vocational services, academic counseling and tutoring, and mentorship for anyone who has had involvement with the criminal legal system. Also provides anger management, substance use treatment and counseling, Narcan training, child support payment reduction assistance, HIV/HCV/STI testing, a food pantry, a clothes bank, and enrollment help for health insurance and SNAP.
Mental Health & Counseling
The Jewish Board - Mental Health Clinics
Manhattan
Individual, couple, family and group therapy, evaluation and medication management, plus programs for children, teens, trauma survivors, addiction support and domestic violence advocacy. Hotline 844.663.2255.
Housing & Shelter
WIN NYC
Manhattan
Provides shelter and supportive services for women with children in NYC, including job-readiness training, HSE classes, childcare, and college preparedness.
Family & Reunification
Alliance of Families for Justice (AFJ)
Manhattan
Supports families of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people: virtual family circles, free counseling, free legal help on conditions of confinement, visitation, parole prep and clemency, plus youth and healing programs.
Family & Reunification
Circles of Support
Manhattan
Leadership and storytelling workshops for people returning from incarceration and for their loved ones; speaking opportunities, alumni programs and youth programs.
Family & Reunification
Social Justice Network (SJN)
Manhattan
Runs three programs for people impacted by incarceration: the Reentry Assessment Program connects currently incarcerated or transitional-housing residents to service providers; the Reentry Educational Program supports access to higher education; and the Family Assistance Program connects families of impacted individuals to clothing, food, mental health, and healthcare providers. Also runs a Comic Books for Justice literacy initiative in correctional facilities and NYC public schools.
Housing & Shelter
Artistic Noise
Manhattan
Works with youth and young adults who are unhoused, on probation, living in the shelter system, or have recently returned to their communities after periods of being incarcerated.
Legal Aid & Record Relief
Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC
Manhattan
A faith-based agency that provides a broad range of services to immigrants and their families. Direct legal services include Green Card renewals, family-based petitions, DACA renewals, FOIA requests, VAWA petition, U visa, and citizenship applications.
Healthcare
Center for Hearing and Communication
Manhattan
Offers a comprehensive program of rehabilitative and human services for those who are deaf or hard of hearing including free hearing testing, hearing aid fitting and repairs, and assistive devices training.
Legal Aid & Record Relief
Center for Justice Innovation - Harlem Community Justice Center
Manhattan
Community justice center in East Harlem offering housing court support, youth programs and reentry services.
Education & GED
Exalt Youth
Brooklyn · Manhattan
Education and paid internships for court-involved youth.
Family & Reunification
Families for Freedom (FFF)
Manhattan
An advocacy organization fighting to end the continued detention and deportation of anyone regardless of immigration status, providing support to families affected by criminalization and deportation. The hotline provides help to those who have a loved one who is facing deportation.
Education & GED
How Our Lives Link Altogether (H.O.L.L.A!)
Manhattan
Conducts youth organizing training programs designed to build capacity for critical social analysis, community organizing, and healing. Programming includes an LGBTQI+ retreat center, political education, intersectional healing, and community organizing skillbuilding.
Legal Aid & Record Relief
Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem
Manhattan
Public defender for Northern Manhattan: criminal, family and immigration defense plus civil help.
Legal Aid & Record Relief
Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights (NMCIR)
Manhattan
Immigration legal services and education in Washington Heights.
Family & Reunification
NYC Administration for Children's Services (ACS) - Juvenile Justice
Manhattan
Provides a wide range of services including prevention programs, alternative-to-detention programs, and placement services for young New Yorkers. A list of borough locations can be found online at www.nyc.gov/site/acs/about/borough-locations.page.
Housing & Shelter
NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) - Adult Family Intake Center (AFIC)
Manhattan
Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays. Interpreter assistance is available for individuals who do not speak English.
Legal Aid & Record Relief
Possibility Project - Youth Justice Program
Manhattan
A performing arts program open to NYC youth ages 15–21 who are or who have been involved in the legal system. Participants meet Mondays and Wednesdays during after-school hours from August through December.
Education & GED
The Brotherhood/Sister Sol
Manhattan
Rites-of-passage, education and leadership programs for Black and Latinx youth in Harlem.
Family & Reunification
The Riverside Church - Prison Ministry
Manhattan
Volunteer faith-based outreach for currently and formerly incarcerated people and families: referrals, holiday gifts for children of incarcerated parents.
Legal Aid & Record Relief
Youth Justice Network
Manhattan
A community-based organization serving young people ages 16–24, including those who have been incarcerated, are on probation, or otherwise court-involved. Each participant is paired with a Youth Advocate who acts as counselor, mentor, and coach.
Citywide services
These serve people from every borough, often by phone, online or at more than one office.
Family & Reunification
NYC HRA - Office of Child Support Services (OCSS)
Citywide
Help with child support orders, license suspensions, lowering or eliminating child support debt owed to the government, paternity, DNA testing, mediation, and free financial counseling.
Healthcare
NYC Health - Doula Care
Citywide
Connects pregnant people and families with doulas who provide non-medical support before, during, and after childbirth. The Citywide Doula Initiative offers free doula and home-visiting support to residents of neighborhoods most affected by COVID-19 and other health disparities.
Family & Reunification
SCO Family of Services
Citywide
Provides services to children, families, and adults, including therapeutic, educational, vocational, and supportive services for young adults on Rikers Island before and after release, Multi-Systemic Therapy for court-involved youth, foster care, early childhood education, and family/community services such as counseling, employment, and substance use treatment.
Family & Reunification
NYC Department of Education (DOE) - Infant and Toddler Programs
Citywide
Offers free or low-cost early childhood education for children ages six weeks to three years old who are not yet eligible for 3-K, including education, health, nutrition, and social services.
Family & Reunification
NYC Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence - Family Justice Centers (FJC)
Citywide
Provides free and confidential legal, counseling, and supportive services for survivors of domestic violence, gender-based violence, elder abuse, and sex trafficking, with immediate assistance regardless of language, immigration, or economic status. Centers operate in all five boroughs.
Housing & Shelter
NYCHA Family Reentry Program
Citywide
Reunites select people leaving prison or jail with family living in qualified NYCHA apartments and provides reentry services and intensive case management.
Family & Reunification
The Child Center of NY
Citywide
Offers counseling, substance use treatment, early childhood mental health and education programs (including Head Start and Early Head Start), and after-school and enrichment programs for youth in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. The Jamaica Family Wellness Center serves court-involved youth, and the Benefits Access program helps families enroll in entitlement benefits and health insurance and get referrals for financial and legal assistance.
Substance Use Recovery
Al-Anon & Alateen - New York City
Citywide
Support groups for family and friends of people with drinking problems.
Benefits & Financial Help
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) - Military Assistance Program (MAP)
Citywide
Provides free immigration legal services to active-duty service members or recent veterans, and their family members, whose legal matters may be complex and require the knowledge of experienced immigration attorneys. Visit the website for full requirements and to request assistance.
Family & Reunification
Black and Pink
Citywide
National network supporting LGBTQ+ and HIV-positive people who are incarcerated, including a pen-pal program.
Education & GED
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) - Justice Initiatives - Telestory
Citywide
The TeleStory program connects families with loved ones incarcerated in 10 NYS DOCCS facilities through free one-hour video calls. Video calls are available at 13 Brooklyn Public Library branches, where families can also access a range of library resources and support.
Education & GED
Center for Anti-Violence Education
Citywide
Offers Self-Defense and Upstander workshops for women, LGBTQIAGNC people, and anyone at risk from racism and xenophobia. Also provides programs and workshops for young people.