Family Connections, Inc.
Where Hope Meets Possibility
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Far too many people and families in our communities struggle with serious challenges—from trauma and mental illness to addiction, domestic violence and child abuse. Since 1879, Family Connections has been here to make sure that no one faces these challenges alone.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Family Connections
Family Connections is a leading New Jersey non-profit that supports children, adults, and families facing many of life’s toughest challenges. We change lives with a wide range of programs to counter trauma, mental illness, addiction, domestic violence, child abuse, and more.
Where we work
External reviews

Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We see a world where no one faces life’s challenges alone—where we all have the opportunities, connections, and resources we need to thrive.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Family Connections delivers a wide range of services across Northern New Jersey, including counseling, social and emotional skills-building, prevention and training initiatives, programs to strengthen family bonding and reunify families, and more.
Our highly trained staff bring their expertise, big hearts, and commitment to excellence to work every day—not only in our offices, but on-site in schools and directly in the home. Our cutting-edge programs ensure that families thrive and that thousands of mothers, fathers, veterans, seniors, and others can heal and succeed in school, work, and life.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Family Connections has been in operation since 1879, providing families with the support they need to face all of lives challenges. We have become experts in the field of trauma and run high-quality, outcome-oriented programs and are well known in Northern New Jersey as the best of the best in program delivery.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
What we do really works. We rigorously track data across programs, so we know that we increase social and coping skills, school success, and employability, while decreasing child abuse, drug abuse, gang involvement, and crime.
In addition to overcoming immediate obstacles, our clients develop social and emotional skills that equip them with smart, effective ways to approach future challenges. We motivate people to advance their education, achieve stable employment, and build healthy relationships—all of which drive positive change in their lives and in our communities. Our programs save money by preventing the need for severe and costly interventions in the future. Every dollar invested in our services today saves taxpayers nearly fifty dollars down the road.
Click on the link to view specific outcomes: https://www.familyconnectionsnj.org/our-approach/our-results/
What's next for Family Connections is to continue to expand our services in order to provide increased supports to families in Northern NJ, in addition to expanding the service delivery areas of our programs.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Family Connections, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 10/19/2023
Braden Schipke
Jody Lipsky
Jacqueline Breslauer
Susan Gilbert Cohen
Cathy Coloff
Felicia Fdyfil-Horne
John Feldman
Mary Grace Finn
Alan Levine
Joan McGeough
Braden Schipke
Marie McGehee
Saryu Patel
Allan Tananbaum
Jami Thall
William Kelly
Marsha Atkind
Daryl Epstein
Carl Feinberg
Autumn Finney
Patti Kent
Karyn Miller
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 07/29/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.