It is clear from watching families interact at children's museums that, while they may well be learning about the physics of water or the history of the region, there is something else important and powerful taking place. As children and adults play together in a carefully designed environment, they talk, imagine, tell stories, and listen--these elements are the building blocks of healthy, strong relationships. Recognizing this, Providence Children's Museum (PCM) joined with the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to offer an environment for learning and fun to families most in need of positive shared experiences. The result is PCM's Families Together program, now in its seventh year.

The Program

Families Together serves parents and children who have been separated by DCYF because of abuse or neglect. While the children have been removed from the home and are living in foster care or with a relative, the goal is for the family to be rehabilitated and the children returned to their parents. Families Together is one part of the family's comprehensive case plan.

Participants--children ages 1 to 11, their parents, and, in some cases, extended family members--make a series of visits to the museum where, under the guidance of the program's family therapists, they play and learn together. The families visit PCM for one hour biweekly for three to six months; some continue their visits for as long as a year. When referring clients to PCM's program, caseworkers must have confidence...