Bringing CFR’s Expertise to Communities Across New York City and Colleagues Nationwide

Community-Based Presentations

We host community presentations and events that teach parents and community members about their rights and connect them to resources and services that may benefit their family. These presentations are designed for parents, youth, service providers, funders, elected officials, and their staff. 

Family Court 101/Child Welfare 101

Participate in an informal discussion about the family policing system in New York City. You will follow a family’s path from the initial investigation through the court proceedings. You will hear from a parent who has experienced the system firsthand, get answers to your questions, and learn how our model has helped more families in New York City stay together.

Know Your Rights

Gain an understanding of the family court and foster system in New York City. This session gives an overview, focusing on actions that could trigger an Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) investigation and describing a parent’s rights during an investigation and subsequent court case. Parents and others will learn how to advocate for themselves and what questions to ask during the process. We also offer specialized Know Your Rights sessions focused on pregnant and parenting youth or fathers interested in custody and paternity proceedings.

De-escalating Encounters with the Police (for Youth and their Parents)

Participate in an honest discussion of how Black and Brown youth can protect themselves during police encounters. This workshop is driven by real-life experiences of the audience and facilitators. The conversation will include disparate treatment towards people of color and will advise the audience members on how to navigate a world that will not always be fair or just. The workshop is designed as a trivia game, which allows participants to guess what they think the answer is to a legal question but also allows instruction about what the law really says. The main topics of the session include: the age of criminal and youth liability, search and seizure laws, law enforcement’s policing of social media, and how to handle police encounters.

State Central Register for Child Abuse and Maltreatment Advocacy: Amend and Seal

Learn about ACS investigations and the State Central Registry (SCR), also called the “child abuse hotline.” Anyone can call the SCR and make a report; most people can even remain anonymous when they do. Once a parent is named on the SCR, their name is listed until their youngest child is 28 years old, even if a court of law never found that they did anything wrong. Being listed on the SCR can severely hamper a parent’s ability to keep or secure employment. Get answers to all your questions, such as who are mandated reporters? What are “red flags” for potential calls to the SCR? What does an “indicated” case mean? How can it affect employment? And how can someone advocate to “amend or seal their record”? Learn how a parent can represent themselves in an SCR administrative hearing and what to expect during the hearing, including: who is in the room, what types of evidence you will see, and your rights during the process.

Collateral Consequences of a Child Welfare Investigation

Learn about the wide range of challenges families experience when they are involved with the family policing system. Parents who live in poverty and risk losing their children to the foster system often confront a number of interrelated issues, such as homelessness or unstable housing; interruptions in public benefits; untreated substance use disorder or mental health issues; domestic violence; criminal charges; financial insecurity; or immigration problems. These collateral issues have the potential to undermine a family’s success. Join us for an interactive discussion about the collateral consequences of a family policing investigation or family court case, including the risk of eviction, compromised or lost employment, criminal charges, and immigration complications. We will provide tips and strategies for addressing these issues and make sure participants understand their rights and responsibilities in diverse situations.

Supporting Justice-Involved Parents in the Child Welfare System

Hear an overview of the family policing system and family court process with a focus on supporting parents who have concurrent involvement in the justice system. Participants will learn strategies to help clients engage in mental health care and other services with the goal of improving the quality and frequency of family visits and speeding up safe and lasting reunification. We will also explore the interplay between criminal and family court proceedings and the importance of coordination between systems when their mandates conflict.

Training & Technical Assistance for Practitioners

Each year, CFR trains more than 1,000 professionals throughout the country on our proven interdisciplinary model, unique approach to family and youth defense, and strategies to promote family preservation. Our training and technical assistance are tailored to meet your group’s needs and strives to instill our knowledge, practical techniques and skills, passion, creativity, and enthusiasm for representing parents and youth.

Cornerstone Advocacy

Much of our training and technical assistance focuses on strategies to speed up the safe return of children from the foster system. Our Cornerstone Advocacy model focuses on state specific law, regulations, and policies in the areas of improving service plans, foster system placement, visiting for families separated by the foster system, and opportunities for advocacy at conferences outside of court. Learn more about our Cornerstone Advocacy approach.

Cornerstone Institute

We host multi-day workshops for practitioners representing parents and children or agencies, judges, or other stakeholders who want to pilot, replicate, or fund some or all of the CFR Cornerstone model. We host these workshops in New York City and other states, and design the institute curriculum in close collaboration with the practitioners who will attend.

Since 2010, CFR has trained practitioners from California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Vermont, Wisconsin, and beyond.

Additional Trainings & Technical Assistance

CFR also offers additional trainings, customized technical assistance, and presentations, including:

• Best Practices for Team Communication
• Challenging Out of Court Statements of Children
• Client Centered Representation
• Client Counseling in Challenging Contexts
• Collaboration with Physicians in Child Protective Cases
• Cornerstone Advocacy to Speed Reunification
• Developing a Theory of the Case
• Dismantling and Rebuilding “Best Interests”
• Effective Visiting Practices
• How to Counsel and Represent Clients with Mental Illnesses
• How to Cultivate Institutional Relationships
• Implicit Bias and Microaggressions
• Improving Visiting Arrangements
• Incorporating Social Workers into a Public Defenders Office
• Just Add Water: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies to Develop Interest in Your Work
• Motivational Interviewing
• Parental Involvement in Medical Decision Making for Children in Foster System
• Re-envisioning Reunification: Perfect Parent or Minimum Degree of Care
• Safety Planning and Ethical Obligations
• Strategies for Engaging Clients with Developmental Delays 
• Stress Management and Self Care for Legal Service Providers
• Supporting Justice Involved Parents in the Child Welfare System
• Termination of Parental Rights Proceedings
• The Power of the Narrative
• Troubleshooting and Developing and Interdisciplinary Practice
• Working with Service Providers in Child Welfare Cases