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History

Family Centered Services was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization on December 28, 1990 with the necessary articles of incorporation and by-laws. It also established 501(c) (3) status with the Internal Revenue Service. The original board was made up of three people who were committed to seeing the fledgling agency through its beginning stages of development. In June of 1991, the agency opened a one-room office in Bluffton, Indiana. The original staff of nine part-time social workers provided home-based family preservation services to families in seven rural counties of Northeast Indiana. As the agency grew the board increased in number and revised its by-laws to better represent the community being served. The agency headquarters are located in downtown Bluffton and a satellite office was opened in Huntington in 1998. New programs were continually developed at the request of the community to offer a variety of ways in which to strengthen and support families.

  • In 1993, a program for divorcing parents (Families in Transition) was developed through collaboration with the local judicial system.
  • In 1994 Family Centered Services became a United Way Agency.
  • In 1998, the agency implemented Huntington and Wells counties Healthy Familes. The Teen Court Program was developed in conjunction with the Wells County Probation Department.
  • In 1999, the Mentor Mom Program was developed with community support.
  • In 2000, the agency became the Wells County Youth Services Bureau and in 2001, it first recieved Huntington County United Way funding.
  • The Closet, Boot Camp for New Dads, Faith Based Mentoring, and Host Homes were all developed in 2002.
  • By 2003, Youth As Resources was fully implemented and Safe Place was operational in 2004.
  • The first community wide fundraiser, The Duck Race on the Wabash, was held in 2006 and has become an annual event.
  • Teen Court developed the SIGNALS classes in 2006. 2007 saw the implementation of Students Out of School in conjunction with the Wells County school systems.
  • In 2008 three programs were discontinued due to lack of funding and lack of participants. These included Faith Based Mentoring, Boot Camp for New Dads, and Parenting classes.
  • 2010 saw the beginning of the DETOURS classes.