Thank you for visiting our site - and for sharing our belief that every family matters.
Our mission is to provide families in crisis with free legal assistance and social work services that
enable children to stay with their parents safely - and keep them out of a foster care system that often has devastating consequences.
Our model uses a groundbreaking team approach that offers each family a lawyer and social worker, as
well as a special CFR innovation: Parent Advocates, who have experienced the foster care system firsthand
and can empathize with the struggles vulnerable families face.
Our financial impact is substantial. At least 86 cents on every dollar goes directly to
programming, and our services cost an average of just $5,900 per family - versus a minimum of $24,000 per child in
the foster care system.
Your generosity is crucial to our work. Please read on to learn more about CFR and the ways
you can help vulnerable families to heal and thrive.
Our new videos demonstrate how CFR enables parents and children to reunite.
Learn how Karen, a loving mother struggling against all odds to regain custody of
her children, was successful with the help of CFR.
Wah Ding was devoted to curing her sick child when the system interfered.
Find out how CFR helped put him back into his mother's care.
CFR's Parent Advocates Gain National Attention
CFR Parent Advocate Monique Stanley in her own words
In both December of 2009 and in January of 2010 CFR's parent advocates were highlighted in the American Bar
Association's national publication, "Child Law Practice," reaching readers in all 50 states.
CFR's parent advocates are parents who have personally experienced Family Court, and have had children enter
foster care. Because of their unique vantage point, parent advocates are able to provide critical
support to mothers and fathers struggling with poverty, depression, substance abuse, or domestic violence--
they understand the challenges to becoming a better parent, and importantly, how to overcome adversity.
They also understand what it means to be accused, which helps them to gain the respect and trust of clients.
CFR was the first legal services provider in the city and the state of New York to involve parent advocates
in interdisciplinary Community Advocacy Teams (which consist of an attorney, social worker, and parent advocate),
to help strengthen families in crisis and keep children out of foster care. CFR's team approach
is attracting attention from other states seeking to improve their work with families, and has already been
adopted by organizations in Michigan and Vermont.
Our parent advocates (Robin Lyde, Milagros Sanchez and Monique Stanley) also train students and professionals
throughout the city. By sharing their stories, they help others learn parent engagement strategies
that are compassionate and effective. As one Social Work Professor said after a training, "their
frank honesty, sensitivity and positive outlook as well as their critical view of the system was wonderful to
hear and inspiring for our students."
To read more about how parent advocate Monique Stanley helped a client believe in her team and in herself,
click here (page 152);
to read the ABA article on parent advocates, click here.
CFR Hosts House Party for Supporters and Friends
Executive Director Susan Jacobs, Andrea Mastro-Hoinacki, Board Member Shiva Farouki, Millicent Fortunoff
On Thursday, December 3rd CFR hosted a House Party for friends and supporters.
At the event, CFR introduced our programs and described our results to new friends.
Speakers included CFR Board Chair Deirdre Miller and Development Committee Co-Chair Hunter DuBose.
Thanks so much to everyone for a great evening.
CFR’s Junior Board hosted its Third Annual Client Holiday Party on Thursday, December 10th. The event was
our largest to date—nearly 120 children and parents attended the festivities.
The evening included face painting, balloon styling, ornament making, delicious treats, and a raffle.
Each family left with a gift bag filled with goodies, presents, and essentials.
Thanks so much to everyone who helped make the party such a success for our families. For photos, and a
full list of sponsors and supporters, click here.
CFR Reaches National Audiences
CFR helped bring together the first ever National Parents Attorneys Conference, on May 13th and 14th in Washington, D.C.
This exciting gathering was convened by the National
Project to Improve Representation for Parents Involved in the Child Welfare System,
which is co-sponsored by the American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law and funders including the Annie E. Casey Foundation,
Child Welfare Fund and Casey Family Programs. CFR's Board Member, Martin Guggenheim and Executive Director, Sue Jacobs are
members of the Project's steering committee and presented at the conference along with CFR's Deputy Director, Michele Cortese and Supervising
Social Worker, Jillian Cohen.
Prof. Guggenheim facilitated the inspirational plenary, and exhorted the audience to be more than excellent lawyers for parents and to form a
movement to challenge a national practice in which children in foster care are overwhelming poor children of color. Plenary speakers
also called for federal funding incentives to strengthen families, and reminded participants to learn who their clients are as parents and people
and to strive for equal justice for their families.
This past February, CFR also presented at the Child Welfare League of America's 2009 National Conference in Washington, D.C. Parent
Advocate Robin Lyde, Social Work Supervisor Jill Cohen and Litigation Supervisor Maura Keating addressed an audience of caseworkers, social
workers, parent advocates and agency administrators about the huge impact Parent Advocates can have with parents involved with the child welfare system.
CRR's Parent Advocates are parents who have directly experienced the child protective and foster care systems and have reunified with their children.
Their life experiences afford them the ability to inspire and motivate parents while they plan for their children's futures by improving their own.
The panel provided concrete advice and support to child welfare practitioners across America who want to integrate Parent Advocates into their practice,
or to improve effectiveness of existing parent advocate programs.
