[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 22]
[House]
[Pages 29239-29240]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           CONGRATULATING THE PARSONS CHILD AND FAMILY CENTER

  (Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
congratulate Parsons Child and Family Center for immaculate community 
services that they provide for the needs of children and families in 
the capital region of upstate New York, which I represent.
  Parsons was founded some 180 years ago and has become one of the 
largest human service agencies in upstate New York. Its contributions 
to the 9,000 children and families it serves include counseling 
services, parenting education, child abuse prevention and treatment, 
and mental services.
  While there is no typical child served by Parsons, most have endured 
a significant traumatic event in their lives.

[[Page 29240]]

The highly trained staff at Parsons using the latest techniques work to 
improve the lives of all they serve. The role and importance of the 
family are stressed, with the ultimate goal of preserving the family 
unit whenever and wherever possible.
  Today I want to commend Parsons' service and commitment to our 
region's families and children. I encourage us all to look towards them 
as a model of positive support and outcomes in a system that has turned 
around the lives of so many. With one in every five American children 
living in poverty, we commend the role of the professionals at Parsons 
for the work it does.

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