Summit County Children Services has provided visitation services to children in custody and their birth families for many years.

Their goal is to maintain child placement stability, family conectedness and to promote reunification.

Until recently, these family visits had been held in temporary housing for adolescents in custody, a dormitory-style building on the agency campus.

Thanks to the generosity of the community, families can now visit in the new state of the art facility called the Thomas W. Blazey Family Interaction Center.

The total project cost approximately $350,000 with most of the funding coming from the agency's Donated Funds account.

The new center is named after the late Thomas W. Blazey, a former executive at the B.F. Goodrich Company, a 30- year SCCS trustee who died in late 2012 at the age of 92.

New features include modern amenities like open spaces and new play ground, educationally themed. The former patient waiting room was transformed into an area for families to gather and share a meal, play a board game or assemble a puzzle.

For more information on the many programs and services provided by Summit County Children Services call the agency's  Community Relations Department at (330) 379-2089 or go to www.summitkids.org.