The Erie County Department of Social Services’ Child Protective Services (“CPS”) Children’s Services and Adoption & Specialized Services units have completed their transition from their former space at 478 Main Street in Buffalo to modern, spacious new offices at the Appletree Business Park in the Town of Cheektowaga, celebrating the official opening of the new facility with a ribbon cutting this morning. Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz joined Commissioner of Social Services Marie Cannon and departmental staff to cut the ribbon in the new offices, which are more accessible, modern, and user-friendly than the previous space.

“The offices at 478 Main Street were housed in a building nearly 100 years old and that was originally designed as a Hens & Kelly department store so accessibility was difficult, the equipment and office furniture was old, the building design was inefficient and the overall layout had too much wasted space,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “The new space at Appletree is modern, has free parking, and has the communications infrastructure this department needs, all housed in a single-floor facility that is easy to reach from anywhere in Erie County.”

There are 450 Erie County employees now based at Appletree’s newly-renovated, approximately 80,000 square foot space, which includes training areas and a conference center for employees’ use. Employee workspaces feature new desks and furniture, as well as new computers, and employees can park easily and for free at the new site, which is very important as half the workforce spends a significant amount of time in the field. In addition, the new Appletree offices are near numerous highways and are accessible by public transportation, making them easy to get to from anywhere in Erie County.

Commissioner of Social Services Marie Cannon added, “The new office space has been a tremendous boost to our staff, providing them with a professional work space with a better layout, more functionality and a better ability to serve our clients. The parking improvement alone has been a huge benefit and allows our staff to do their jobs more efficiently and with fewer problems.” 

Also re-located from 478 Main Street to the Appletree Business Park were units from parts of the Department of Mental Health as well as Probation units from the second floor of 478 Main, including Family Voices Network and the Family Services Team.

 For more information:

On the Erie County Department of Social Services, visit http://www2.erie.gov/socialservices/  

Erie County Child Protective Services investigates reports alleging child abuse or neglect. The purpose of Child Protective Services [CPS] is to ensure that children are safe and to prevent any future abuse or neglect through the provision of supportive services. CPS protects children from physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse by their parents and caretakers. CPS also helps families obtain needed services to guarantee their children are safe from harm.

The Children's Services [CS] Division collaborates with community agencies and service providers to support families based on their cultural and individual strengths and needs to provide preventive and foster care services.

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