 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
Center for Family Representation, Inc. (CFR)
2009 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- CFR served more than 1,000 families with approximately 2,000 children. Nearly 600 of
these families were new clients.
- Over 50% of the children of CFR's CAT families did not enter foster care.
- For those children who did enter foster care, CFR’s average length of stay was just over 4 months,
compared to the City median of 8.3 months, and the State average of nearly 3 years.
- CFR launched its new Young Parents Program (YPP) to provide specialized legal and social work
services to parents under the age of 25, the majority of whom have experienced foster care at some
time in their lives.
- CFR provided 28 training sessions to help family court and child welfare practitioners, including
judges, to employ new strategies to strengthen families. Four of these trainings were
conducted to statewide audiences in New York, and three of these trainings were for out-of-state
audiences in Colorado, Michigan, and Washington DC. Additionally, CFR provided technical
assistance to child welfare professionals from Georgia and Vermont.
- CFR helped establish the first-ever national parent representation conference, sponsored by the
American Bar Association, Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Child Welfare Fund, and Casey Family Programs.
- CFR’s Deputy Director Michele Cortese, Esq., and Social Work Supervisor Jillian Cohen, LMSW,
authored an article entitled: “Cornerstone Advocacy in the First 60 Days: Achieving safe
and lasting reunification for families,” which was published in the May 2009 issue of the American
Bar Association’s Child Law Practice.
|
2010 GOALS
- Serve at least 500 new families, with the goal that at least 50-75 will be families served prior
to a court proceeding and that 65 will be served by the Young Parents Project.
- Maintain an average length of stay in foster care that is significantly less than City and State
averages in cases where placement in care in unavoidable.
- Provide 10-20 training sessions to professionals on topics in child welfare, including sessions on
best practices for working with young parents.
- Further develop CAT replication material and curricula; and provide 2-3 training and/or TA sessions
in the City, Upstate New York, and possibly one other state region on interdisciplinary team practice and design.
- Publish an article or toolkit on best practices for working with young parents, and an article on best
practices for working with families during a child protective investigation to avoid foster care and court involvement.
- Host a policy forum on a current topic in child welfare for professionals and policymakers.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
