The Family Visitation Center has been providing a safe setting for supervised family visitation in Sioux Falls since 2000.
It started in 1999. The Sioux Falls Child Protection Council (CPC) noticed an increase in service providers across the South Dakota region offering a safe place for kids to visit their parents and other non-custodial adults. After further investigation into this emerging practice, the local CPC partnered with Avera McKennan, Volunteers of America-Dakotas and Children’s Inn to bring a program to Sioux Falls. With Avera McKennan leading the efforts, the Family Visitation Center (FVC) opened its doors in September 2000.
Demand for FVC programming continued to grow and, as a result, so did the demand on available resources. In pursuit of long-term sustainability, the FVC Advisory Board—along with support from the community—took the next step by incorporating Family Visitation Center as a 501(c)3 agency on October 30, 2008. A founding Board of Directors was elected and by January 1, 2009 FVC began operating as a program independent of Avera McKennan.
Rapidly growing needs in the region have positioned Family Visitation Center as a crucial regional provider of safe supervised visitations and exchanges. The number of hours of service has grown from 1,071 hours in 2001 to over 5,200 hours in 2017. In that time, more than 4,000 children have benefited from FVC’s efforts.
Today Family Visitation Center is a regional and national leader in the field of safe supervised visitations and safe exchanges. And, with an average of of 140 families served each month, the need—and impact—continues to grow.
Our visitation rooms are filled with games, toys and plenty of activities to help children and families have a fun and memorable experience in a home-like atmosphere.
Our professional staff receives training in 12 key areas and have backgrounds in fields such as education, social work, child development and counseling.
Family Visitation Center opened in September 2000 and has provided supervised visitation services to over 3,000 children and their families.
On average 125 families access our supervised visit and exchange programs each month at our downtown location.
FVC works closely with CPC and other government programs to serve families across the region.
FVC began with a collaboration between Avera McKennan, Volunteers of America-Dakotas and Children’s Inn and continues it’s engagement today.