Blog
TRAC Family Services Community Changemaker
At A Second Chance, Inc. (ASCI), we honor organizations that are reshaping communities through vision, commitment, and lived experience. Three Rivers Adoption Council (TRAC) Services for Families is one such changemaker, delivering critical child welfare, foster care, adoption, kinship support, and behavioral health services across Allegheny County and surrounding regions. Guiding much of this work is Ja-Neen Jones, CEO of TRAC. Her leadership ensures that TRAC’s programs are responsive to the real needs of children, caregivers, and families navigating complex systems, with a strong focus on equity, relationship-building, and community connection.
I have been here for twenty-one years and what we do is focus on creating emotionally healthy, stable, and enduring relationships.
Ja-Neen Jones
Under her leadership, TRAC has grown from its origins as a small adoption support organization into a comprehensive, full-service agency rooted in care and connection. Established in 1979, the organization began as a resource for adoptive families seeking guidance and support at a time when services were limited.
Over time, it has expanded into a multi-dimensional system of care that includes foster care, adoption services, kinship support, in-home services, therapeutic child preparation, recruitment and training, and outpatient mental health services.
We are in full involved with our families. It’s about being present. When people see you, trust is built, and that’s when the real work begins.
Ja-Neen Jones
That philosophy of presence is reflected in TRAC’s deep commitment to community engagement. The organization actively meets families where they are in schools, neighborhoods, community events, and through cross-sector partnerships that expand access to care.
Whether responding to community needs during public health efforts or engaging families through outreach events, TRAC’s approach is grounded in visibility, consistency, and trust-building.
A central pillar of TRAC’s work is expanding access to mental health care and reducing barriers that prevent families from receiving support. Through its outpatient mental health clinic and initiatives like Black Mental Health Matters, TRAC has worked to ensure that care is available, accessible, and grounded in trust, reflecting the unique needs and experiences of the families they serve. The organization emphasizes meeting people where they are whether geographically, emotionally, or systemically.
We knew we had to meet people where they are and make sure they had access to care they can trust.
Ja-Neen Jones
At the heart of TRAC’s model is a relationship-centered approach that integrates services across the full continuum of child welfare. Families are supported through recruitment, training, placement, birth family engagement, therapy, and post-permanency services within one coordinated system. This design reduces fragmentation and strengthens continuity for children and caregivers alike.
We want to empower birth parents, foster families, and kinship caregivers because connection matters at every stage.
Ja-Neen Jones
TRAC also remains deeply committed to fairness within child welfare systems. Ja-Neen emphasizes that long-standing gaps in outcomes affecting Black and Brown children require ongoing attention, support, and intentional system change. Her leadership continues to push for practices that improve outcomes and ensure that families are supported with dignity and consistent, just treatment.
We cannot talk about children and families without addressing equity. The data tells us there is still work to be done.
Ja-Neen Jones
Across all services, TRAC works to ensure that children and families remain connected and supported beyond initial placement. Whether through foster care, kinship arrangements, or adoption, the organization provides long-term engagement designed to promote stability, healing, and permanency.
For Ja-Neen, community changemaking is not just leadership, it is action rooted in responsibility. It is about being present, responding to need, and building systems that people can trust. It is also about transforming child welfare from within by prioritizing relationships, accountability, and consistent care.
The goal is always to help children and families stay connected, supported, and stable. It is hard work, but it matters. We are here to change outcomes for children and families.
Ja-Neen Jones
At its core, TRAC represents what is possible when organizations lead with relationship and responsiveness. Through decades of service and continued innovation, TRAC remains committed to ensuring that families are not only served but are seen, supported, and sustained.
ASCI is proud to highlight TRAC Services for Families as a Community Changemaker, recognizing its enduring commitment to children, caregivers, and families across the region.