Northern Rivers cares about your community! Northern Rivers Family of Services has provided skilled, compassionate, dedicated services to support the children, adults, and families of the region since 1829—and we’re more committed than ever. Northern Rivers means care you can count on. Whether it’s mental health services—in our clinics, at your home, or anywhere you need us—residential and foster care, or special education, we’re here to help you.
How do we do it? Here are a few examples:
Finally, a family
By the time he was 8, Jay had lived in 6 different homes. No one in his life could provide a safe, stable environment. He fell behind in school and his behavior issues challenged everyone who tried to help. Northern Rivers gave him care he could count on, placing him in a supportive foster home with the therapy he needed, and now Jay is part of a family.
School success
Every week it seemed like Selena had another issue at school. Cutting classes, disobeying teachers, fighting with classmates. Her family needed help. Northern Rivers gave them care they could count on. Through individual and family therapy and ongoing support right in their home, Selena and her family built strength. And her last report card? The best one yet!
On her way
Cat is 17, a freshman in college, getting good grades and maintaining her first apartment. She came to Northern Rivers at 11, having experienced abuse and trauma. She didn’t have anyone she could count on, and she was angry at the whole world. Cat found care she could count on at Northern Rivers, and with care, counseling, and support, she’s ready to chase her dreams.
The next chapter
At 35, Chris lost their father and their job in the span of two months. They lost hope. Nothing seemed to matter. In their darkest hour, they made a call for help, and Northern Rivers gave them care that they could count on. Chris found a team of community supports to help them process their feelings and to help make positive steps toward building a better future.
Below you will find plan termination information for the participants of the retirement plan for employees of Parsons Child & Family Center. Click on each link to learn more.
Our 1,400-strong workforce provides life changing care for more than 18,000 children, adults and families in 42 counties, working out of 28 office locations and in the communities.
Office Locations Albany County Broome County Columbia County Franklin County Fulton County Greene County Orange County Otsego County Rensselaer County Saratoga County Schenectady County Ulster County Warren County Washington County
2018.06.30 Parsons Child & Family Center Financial Statements [View / Print]
Our Leadership
William T. (Bill) Gettman Jr., MPA Chief Executive Officer Northern Rivers Family of Services
William T. (Bill) Gettman Jr. joined Northern Rivers Family of Services as Chief Executive Officer in 2016. Joining at a time when the organization was entering a period of transformative change, he is responsible for the development and construction of a system of care that determines how Northern Rivers and its member agencies, Northeast Parent & Child Society, Parsons Child & Family Center, and Unlimited Potential, care for children, adults, and families. He provides strategic guidance, infrastructure oversight, and administrative leadership to the 1,400-strong workforce, and he works as a tireless advocate for Northern Rivers employees as well as the 18,000 children, adults, and families we serve.
Gettman brings more than 30 years' executive management experience in nonprofit, private, and public sector organizations. Before joining Northern Rivers, he served as Executive Director of St. Catherine’s Center for Children in Albany. Previously he was the Executive Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer for the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). He has also held leadership positions for private and public sector organizations focused on providing child welfare services and programs, including MAXIMUS, the New York State Child Support Processing Center (formerly Lockheed Martin IMS), the New York State Department of Social Services, and UNISYS Corporation.
He serves as chairman of the New York State Justice Center Advisory Council. He is a member of the New York State Behavioral Health Services Advisory Council and the Albany County Homeless Coalition. He is treasurer and board member of the State Children’s Mental Health Coalition and serves on the Board of Directors of the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA).
Gettman earned his bachelor’s degree in religion from Ohio Wesleyan University and his Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University.
John J. Malone, CLCS New York State Licensed Property/Casualty and Life/Health Insurance Broker
Denise Mednikov Representative, NYS Department of Motor Vehicles
Janelle Scrivens Regional Manager, Account Services, National Grid
Brittany Vogel Assistant Store Manager, Hannaford Supermarkets Founder, Upstate Cakes for Kids
Lisa M. Wickens-Alteri President & Founder, Capital Health Consulting
Our History
A tale of three cities . . . and one community of caring.
The history of Northern Rivers Family of Services parallels the history of caring for children and families throughout the Capital Region and beyond. Our roots are in the former agencies known as Parsons Child & Family Center and Northeast Parent & Child Society—agencies that were each created from a need to help children and continued to evolve to meet that need.
In 1829 Orissa Healey and Eliza Wilcox founded the Ladies Orphan Society, and within a year the renamed Society for the Relief of Orphan and Destitute Children in the City of Albany was caring for 130 children. By the early 1890s, some 600 children lived and learned at what was then known as the Albany Orphan Asylum.
Meanwhile, in 1888 a group of concerned women in Schenectady formed The Home for Destitute Children, which later became The Children’s Home of Schenectady. The early 1900s saw the formation of a county Humane Society to protect and care for needy families not served by the Children’s Home.
Back in Albany, the Orphan Asylum became known as the Albany Home for Children and evolved to incorporate modern social work, cottage-style residential living, therapeutic services and additional programs to meet the changing needs of the community. In 1976 the Home became known as Parsons Child and Family Center, continuing to expand its geographic and programmatic reach wherever the need arose.
In Schenectady the Children’s Home and Humane Society each expanded their programs to better aid those dealing with abuse, neglect and other barriers to success. In 1983 the agencies came together to form Northeast Parent & Child Society and grew their services to meet the challenges of children, families, and communities.
In the name of providing even better services to the community, 2012 saw these two great organizations, one in Albany and one in Schenectady, officially affiliate to stand together as Northern Rivers Family of Services. In 2019, Northern Rivers’ continuing drive to provide even better care to respond to needs added Unlimited Potential in Saratoga Springs to their family of services.
Founded in 1979, Unlimited Potential provides vocational rehabilitation and supportive services to individuals in recovery after experiencing a mental illness. Their production center provides bulk mailing, fulfillment, and assembly services for area businesses, and their woodshop produces picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, and other items for the public and clients, including Saratoga Race Course, while helping clients build skills and confidence.
The proud traditions of Parsons, Northeast, and Unlimited Potential continue under a shared set of core principles and a universal commitment to serving children and families, while Northern Rivers provides the guidance and leadership to help communities grow.
Today, the united workforce of Northern Rivers, Parsons, Northeast, and Unlimited Potential represents the dedication of those who came before, an unmatched level of talent and drive, and the vision needed to change the way services are delivered to help build a better world.
Northern Rivers Family of Services helps change lives by shaping the future of those we serve. The founders of member agencies, Northeast Parent & Child Society and Parsons Child & Family Center were the earliest social entrepreneurs. Parsons was founded in 1829 by Orissa Healy and Eliza Wilcox, whose mission was to provide shelter, care, and education to the orphaned, neglected, and abused children in the city of Albany. Northeast was formed in 1888 when a group of ladies met in Schenectady to do “something for the homeless children of our city.” The bold and compassionate leadership of our founders set the original course that is still in place today.
1829
The agency known today as Parsons Child & Family Center was founded by Orissa Healy and Eliza Wilcox, whose mission was to provide shelter, care, and education to the orphaned, neglected, and abused children in the city of Albany. It was originally named “The Ladies Orphan Society.”
1888
The agency known today as Northeast Parent & Child Society was founded when a group of ladies met in Schenectady to do “something for the homeless children of our city.” It was named “The Home for Destitute Children” and later renamed the “Children’s Home of Schenectady.” By 1893, there were 24 children from ages 2 to 18 in care.
1902
Schenectady Humane Society was formed to help needy families. In 1916, the Humane Society opens Children’s Shelter.
1959
Children’s Home Opens First Group Home in Upstate New York.
1975
Neil Hellman School opens.
1976
Parsons Child and Family Center is created from The Ladies Orphan Society.
1983
Northeast Parent & Child Society is formed, uniting Children’s Home of Schenectady and the Schenectady Humane Society.
1988
Residential Treatment facility opens at Parsons, providing intensive inpatient mental health care for adolescents.
2012
Northern Rivers Family of Services becomes the new parent company of Parsons Child & Family Center and Northeast Parent & Child Society creating one of the largest human services agencies in upstate New York.
2019
Unlimited Potential in Saratoga is added as an affiliate. Unlimited Potential provides vocational rehabilitation and supportive services to individuals in recovery after experiencing a mental illness.
2019
New Behavioral Health Care Center opens in Albany, New York.
2020
Academy Place, Northern Rivers’ new 24-bed agency-owned boarding house opens; Wasson, Rathbone, and Lathrop Cottages, housing the former Residential Treatment Facility (RTC), demolished; a new Short-Term Crisis Stabilization Program, North Star, opens.
“Culture” implies a pattern of human behavior, including thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, and values of a racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, gender-based, work group, or social group. “Competence” implies the ability to function and interact effectively. Cultural competence incorporates culture, assesses cross cultural relations, attends to the effects of cross cultural differences, increases cultural knowledge, and adapts to meet the needs of those with culturally unique needs.
Family and Youth Driven
We believe that the experience of the families, youth and children we serve must always be our measure of success. As such, it is the youth and families who truly measures the impact of our services for them, and it is a partnership with the families we serve. This creates an environment driven by youth and families who that value and seek out the experience of the youth and families engaged in our services every time they come into contact with Northern Rivers, its member agencies, and its dedicated staff.
Strength-Based
Individuals have strengths, resources, and the ability to recover from adversity. A strength-based approach focuses on opportunities, hope, and solutions. It emphasizes developing skills, abilities, and positive attributes rather than the diminution of negative attributes. We assume individuals have the ability to help themselves. We see beyond the behaviors and characteristics of others—in particular children, youth, and families—to support the potential of what can be.
Safety
Physical safety is the ability to recognize and avoid danger, express feelings appropriately, and engage in practices that are consistent with good physical health. Social safety means feeling accepted for who you are. Boundaries are respected and people care about how you feel. Emotional safety means being free of shame and humiliation and having a sense of self control and self-efficacy. Ethical safety means you can trust that what people tell you is the truth and decisions are made out of a sense of justice rather than self-interest.
Trauma Informed
Adverse experiences may have a negative effect on one’s ability to be successful. Trauma-informed approaches assess for the impact of trauma. These approaches also support the use of strategies and interventions and in creating environments that help achieve safety, manage emotions, and develop healthy relationships. Trauma-informed care focuses on understanding and healing from loss, promoting and supporting self-care and wellness, and working toward a positive and productive future.
Founded where the Mohawk and Hudson meet, like the rivers that shaped our region, Northern Rivers Family of Services helps change lives by shaping the future of those we serve throughout the Capital Region and beyond. We are a family of human services agencies who work together and are committed to helping children, adults, and families. Northern Rivers was formed in 2012 as a necessary response to times of declining resources and increasing demand for services. We are the parent organization to Parsons Child & Family Center (founded in 1829) and Northeast Parent & Child Society (founded in 1888). Our quality of care, depth of programs, combined size, and passion for the mission make us a leading provider. Informed by our 188-year heritage, our 1,400-strong workforce provides services for 14,000 children, adults, and families throughout 36 counties in New York state.
Mission: We braid resources to meet communities’ need for quality services.
Vision: Northern Rivers leads the way in providing coordinated, comprehensive, and responsible delivery of human services to communities in need of our support.
Values: Northern Rivers is guided by a set of universally accepted principles that guide the actions of every member of our family: respect, excellence, ethics, service, safety, and collaboration. We hold ourselves and each other to these high standards out of a sense of duty, propriety, and service to all who look to use our help.
Core Principles: Every member of the Northern Rivers family is guided by a set of five core principles that guide the way we treat our clients and each other: cultural competence, family- and youth-driven, strengths-based, safety, and trauma-informed.
Yes, the numbers are impressive. But what really matters is the individuals behind those numbers. And the dramatic impact we have on their lives.
Keeping our children safe and secure.
Ensuring our students are prepared for tomorrow.
Supporting adults, families and children in times of stress and crisis.
Empowering families to achieve their goals.
Tapping the remarkable resilience of our clients.
Transforming trauma into triumph.
Giving people hope. Health. And homes.
We may have more than 300 combined years of experience, yet we’re not bound by tradition.
Instead, we nurture innovation and focus on outcomes, constantly rethinking and refining our philosophy, services and operations to better meet the needs of the communities we serve.
About Us
One family helping many families thrive.
Founded where the Mohawk and Hudson meet, like the rivers that shaped our region, Northern Rivers Family of Services empowers children, adults, and families to change their lives and build stronger communities.
Comprised of parent company Northern Rivers and member agencies Northeast Parent & Child Society, Parsons Child & Family Center, and Unlimited Potential, we are a family of human services agencies providing help and hope to those who struggle with abuse, neglect, trauma, mental health challenges, educational difficulties, career training and employment, and service navigation through an innovative continuum of home-, clinic-, school-, and community-based, vocational rehabilitative, supported employment, and senior-supporting programs that provide person-centered, trauma-informed innovative solutions to ensure clients live their best lives.
Our quality of care, dedication to best practices, vast knowledge and experience, and passion for our work make us a leading human services provider, nurturing innovation, focusing on outcomes, and constantly rethinking and refining our philosophy, services, and operations to better meet the needs of the communities we serve.
Informed by our 190-year heritage, our 1,400-strong workforce provides life-changing care for 18,000 children, adults, and families throughout 41 counties in New York state.
Our Mission
Empowering children, adults, and families to change their lives and build stronger communities.
Our Vision
Northern Rivers leads the way in providing coordinated, innovative, comprehensive, and responsible delivery of human services.
Our Values
Northern Rivers is guided by a set of universally accepted principles that guide the actions of every member of our family. We organize these values through the acronym HOPE:
Honor: To help others is the highest calling; we strive to do what is right for those in our care
Optimism: We believe things can get better if we work together, aim higher, and set meaningful goals
Progress: Every day provides an opportunity to improve, and we promise to continue striving
Excellence: We hold ourselves to the highest standards, because our communities deserve the best from us
Our Core Principles
Every member of the Northern Rivers family is guided by a set of five core principles that guide the way we treat our clients and each other: cultural competence, family- and youth-driven, strengths-based, safety, and trauma-informed.
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Limited English Proficiency (LEP) of Language Assistance Services Northern Rivers will provide language assistance services, free of charge, when necessary to provide meaningful access to those whose primary language is not English. Contact Quality Management at 518.426.2600. Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame Quality Management at 518.426.2600. Notice of Privacy Practices: English / Spanish Client Rights and Grievance Procedures: English / Spanish
William T. (Bill) Gettman Jr., MPA
