Children's center upgrading facilities - BLOG post for news class

“Don’t leave your vehicles running or your keys in the car. Thank you,” reads the welcome sign on the door of a grey, grim-looking administration building.

Once inside, a crowded waiting room resides on the left. A mother sits nervously waiting for her son, three troubled-looking adolescent boys squirm in their seats and the receptionist’s voice echoes, cutting the stiff silence.

A facilitator paces through the room with a clipboard in hand and a walkie-talkie belted to his waist.

This is the operation of Elmcrest Children’s Center, a multi-service treatment center for children with developmental disabilities and serious medical conditions, along with emotional, behavioral and psychiatric disturbances.

With an increasing demand for services, the center needs more space, according to Joe Geglia, the assistant to the center’s executive director.

A 9,000 square-foot family support center is expected to break ground within the next 30 days, which will replace the existing 3,900 immediate crisis facility.

A family support center is a 14-day program where a quick plan is developed to treat families with problems such as alcohol, drug and sexual abuse. In this program, siblings are kept together to reduce separation trauma and the family is more likely to be re-unified sooner.

The Syracuse-based center treats around 1,500 children and families a year through long-term residential treatment, critical care and pediatric respite programs, according to its Web site.

With a larger, more efficient facility millions of dollars could be saved, Geglia said.

The project’s estimated cost is $1.5 million. The project is a part of a five-year campaign to renovate the facility originally built in the 1920s.

It is being financed by the county and has received donations from many, including COR Companies, which is building the new facility at cost.

“[The project] tugged at their heartstrings,” Geglia said.