It Takes a Village: How ICAN Is Reimagining Family Support in Oneida County

By Sandra Bellassai, MPH

Vice President of Family Services

"It takes a village to raise a child."

It's a phrase we've all heard. But in today's world, many parents find themselves asking a simple question:

Where is the village?

For many families in Oneida County, that village is becoming a reality inside ICAN's Family Resource Center.

Since opening its doors in September 2022, ICAN's Family Resource Center has been transforming how families experience support. Rather than waiting until challenges become crises, ICAN’s Family Resource Center was created around a simple but powerful belief: when families are connected, supported and empowered early, children, parents and communities all thrive.

That philosophy is at the heart of the Family Resource Center model—a nationally recognized approach that shifts the focus from intervention to prevention. Family Resource Centers are welcoming, community-based hubs that strengthen families by building protective factors, reducing isolation, increasing access to resources and fostering meaningful relationships. They are designed to be places families choose to visit—not because they need help, but because they feel welcomed, valued and connected.

ICAN intentionally built its Family Resource Center in the heart of several Utica neighborhoods, making it easily accessible by neighborhood sidewalks and directly along a public bus route. That location wasn't chosen by chance. Family Resource Centers are most effective when they are embedded within the communities they serve, removing barriers to access and becoming trusted gathering places where support feels like a natural part of everyday life.

Over the past three years, ICAN has continued expanding that vision.

In May 2025, ICAN expanded that vision with the opening of the Utica Children's Museum, owned and operated by ICAN and intentionally housed within the Family Resource Center. Together, they unite two of the region's greatest assets—ICAN's comprehensive youth and family programs and the Utica Children's Museum—creating a vibrant hub for learning, wellness, connection and fun.

More than simply sharing a building, the Family Resource Center and Children's Museum represent a groundbreaking model of family support. To ICAN's knowledge, this is the first partnership of its kind, where a children's museum is fully integrated within a human services nonprofit. The result is an environment where families don't have to choose between play and support—they experience both at the same time.

Together, the Family Resource Center and Children's Museum create a destination where families want to spend time. And when families feel comfortable returning again and again, something powerful begins to happen.

Relationships form.

Research consistently identifies social connection as one of the strongest protective factors for families. Parents who know other parents, trust local organizations and feel connected to their community are better equipped to navigate stress, seek support and raise healthy, resilient children. Family Resource Centers intentionally create opportunities for those relationships to develop because they understand that lasting change happens through connection as much as through services.

That's why ICAN's Family Resource Center is much more than a collection of programs.

It's a place where an expectant mother can enroll in Healthy Families home visiting, where caregivers can participate in evidence-based parenting classes, where children can learn through play at the Utica Children's Museum, where families can gather for playgroups and community events, where supervised visitation helps strengthen family relationships, and where school-based services continue supporting children as they grow.

Each program is valuable on its own.

Together, they create a continuum of support that surrounds families throughout their parenting journey.

One of the newest examples of that vision is ICAN's upcoming Community Baby Shower on July 28, hosted through Healthy Families of Oneida County.

One hundred expectant parents and families with infants under three months old will gather for an afternoon of celebration, learning and connection. Every family will enjoy a catered lunch from Lafa, locally handcrafted honey buttercream cupcakes from Baked by Kristin, games, trivia and opportunities to win dozens of raffle baskets and door prizes generously donated by more than fifteen ICAN programs and community organizations. Every attendee will also leave with essential baby supplies, including diapers, wipes and a baby onesie.

While those tangible supports are important, they are only part of the story.

The Community Baby Shower has been intentionally designed to reflect everything a Family Resource Center stands for.

It isn't simply about giving away baby supplies.

It's about building a village.

Families will sit together over lunch. They'll meet other expectant parents. They'll laugh during games and trivia. They'll connect with organizations that may one day become trusted partners in their parenting journey. They'll discover programs they may not need today, but will know exactly where to turn tomorrow.

The relationships that begin during the baby shower won't end when the last raffle basket is awarded.

They can continue through parenting classes, museum visits, playgroups, family events, Healthy Families home visiting and countless everyday interactions inside the Family Resource Center.

The Community Baby Shower is the introduction. The Family Resource Center is where the village grows.

National research continues to affirm what organizations like ICAN have long believed: when communities invest in prevention, families become stronger. Family Resource Centers have been shown to increase parental resilience, strengthen social connections, improve access to concrete supports, enhance knowledge of child development, and foster nurturing parent-child relationships. Communities with Family Resource Centers have also experienced lower rates of child welfare involvement, demonstrating the long-term value of helping families before they reach a point of crisis.

Since 2022, ICAN has been building more than a building.

It has been building a place where families know they belong.

A place where children learn through play. Where parents gain confidence. Where neighbors become friends. Where community organizations work together instead of in silos. Where support is available before it's desperately needed.

Because a village isn't built in a day.

It's built one relationship at a time.

And every home visit, every parenting class, every museum visit, every playgroup, every community event, and every conversation inside ICAN's Family Resource Center helps strengthen that village for the children and families of Oneida County.

Sources

Center for the Study of Social Policy. (2005). Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework.

Child Trends. (2025). Exploring How Family Resource Centers Work With Young Parents. Supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Casey Family Programs. (September 2024). What Do We Know About Family Resource Centers? Issue Brief.

National Family Support Network. (2025). What Is a Family Resource Center?

New York State Office of Children and Family Services. Family Resource and Opportunity Centers.

National Family Support Network. (2022). Family First Prevention Services Act & Family Resource Center Continuum.

California Family Resource Center Learning Circle. (2000). Family Resource Centers: Vehicles for Change. California Department of Social Services.