Family Counseling Services
of Cortland County
About the Agency

A grant from the Ford Foundation established Volunteer Family Counseling Services of Cortland County in 1970. Cortland’s program was one of four volunteer family counseling services programs funded as demonstration projects in New York State. The demonstration projects were designed to see if community volunteers could be trained to provide effective family counseling services. Cortland County Family Court Judge Richard Shay secured the Ford Foundation funding because he experienced a critical shortage of counseling services for persons coming into his court. The early success of the volunteer family counselors led the agency to add a volunteer youth mentoring program. The youth mentors provided one-to-one counseling and support for troubled and troubling youth.

As a result of the effective volunteer program, the community began to ask the agency to provide expanded counseling services that required the agency to add professional counselors to the staff. As the youth counseling and family counseling requests increased, the agency added more Master’s level clinicians to the staff. The agency hired specialized staff to provide child sexual abuse treatment and court diversion counseling services. The Cortland County Legislature asked the agency to add an alcohol and drug treatment program that was followed by the agency adding a licensed Mental Health Clinic treatment program.

The name of the agency was eventually changed to Family Counseling Services as the agency’s services transitioned from volunteer staff to professional staff. While the agency no longer uses volunteers to provide any adult or family counseling services, the volunteer youth mentoring program continues to thrive and serve youth throughout Cortland County.

Today, Family Counseling is funded in part by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services and Cortland County United Way.