Two Long Island nonprofits — the Family and Children’s Association and The Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence — are merging to expand services to reach more people who need help.

Under the new merger, LICADD, with offices in Mineola, Holbrook and Riverhead, is now an affiliate under Mineola-based Family and Children’s Association, with the latter operating as the governing agency.

The two nonprofits have worked together in the past, but the affiliation is a formal partnership. Under the agreement, LICADD will retain its identity and existing programs, and FCA will help LICADD manage staff, finances, existing grants and new opportunities.

“As Long Island struggles under the weight of a historic heroin crisis and a persistent fiscal crisis, joining forces means more efficiencies, pooled talent, and an even stronger continuum of care for individuals and families impacted by substance use disorders,” said Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of FCA and former executive director of LICADD from 2009-2015, in a statement.

The nonprofits are working together now on a range of services, including: school-based prevention programs; mental health and substance abuse screenings; brief interventions; state-licensed outpatient treatment; and recovery support and relapse prevention.

The FCA has served Long Island for more than 130 years. The nonprofit’s $22 million budget provides a network of human service programs, including two chemical dependency treatment centers, a children’s mental health program, a shelter for homeless teenagers and transitional youth housing. It has 320 full- and part-time employees working at 11 sites in Nassau County and one in Suffolk.

LICADD, founded in 1956, focuses on substance abuse issues, including community education, screening, intervention and wellness, and brings its programs to 82 schools on Long Island, reaching about 30,000 students each year.

The merger will help both nonprofits save money by consolidating administration and streamlining other back-office functions, LICADD executive director Steve Chassman said Sunday. It will also help the two entities reach more people with the dovetailing services LICADD and FCA provide.

For example, LICADD does juvenile prevention and intervention work in schools that could coordinate well with FCA’s diversion work within the criminal justice system, Chassman said.

“LICADD can add dimensions to that support so they [youth] can navigate and redirect some of those behaviors,” he said.

Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV Credit: Newsday

Snowy mix hits region ... What's the future of NUMC? ... LI Swifties ready for the big game ... Chow down in Charleston ... What's up on Long Island

Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV Credit: Newsday

Snowy mix hits region ... What's the future of NUMC? ... LI Swifties ready for the big game ... Chow down in Charleston ... What's up on Long Island

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