Child Welfare Archives - Page 8 of 12 - The New York Foundling

Be a Hero this Giving Tuesday

Every year, The Foundling partners with 30,000 children, adults, and families as they strive to create transformational change in their own lives –this year, our neighbors need your help more than ever. Our New York and Puerto Rico communities were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. But through hardships and uncertainty, The Foundling has represented a source of strength and hope.

With help from our generous supporters we responded directly to new community needs, allowing those we serve to persevere and stand tall. But our work is not over. As new COVID-19 cases continue to rise in our community, we have a long road ahead. This Giving Tuesday, you can be a hero for our neighbors, and help them continue to move forward and work to keep themselves and their families safe. The time to act is now.

Rodney, a participant in Camp Felix and our Developmental Disabilities Community Habilitation program.

Make a donation today. Your gift will bring immediate support to people like Rodney, who has blossomed thanks to the partnership of his Community Habilitation therapist and his Camp Felix counselors, despite the immense challenges faced by children with developmental disabilities during the pandemic.

Your gift of:

$25 provides PPE for five children, adults, and families in our programs
$100 provides a full day of Camp Felix fun for a young person
$500 provides one month of weekly skills training and therapy for a person with a developmental disability

DID YOU KNOW: This year’s CARES Act makes a new charitable deduction available to taxpayers that do not itemize their deductions. Taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions may be able to deduct up to $300 for cash contributions.*

*Please consult your accountant or financial advisor to learn more about the CARES Act and your eligibility.

P.S. Interested in other ways to support The Foundling? Visit AmazonSmile and choose The New York Foundling as your AmazonSmile charity. The Foundling will receive a portion of every dollar you spend – a simple way to give back as you shop online, at no cost to you!

November 30, 2020/by Elefant Design

The New York Times: Finding Help to Take Their Next Steps

The most recent installment of The New York Times’ Neediest Cases profiles Denisha, a participant in our Supportive Housing program. She had a turbulent home life growing up, and spent much of her adolescence in the foster care system. Her love of school, however, was always a constant. With The Foundling’s support, Denisha has been able to continue her academic journey and now, as a teacher, is inspiring others.

Read more at The New York Times.

October 2, 2020/by Elefant Design

Blog, Child Welfare

Understanding Cultural Norms in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community

Each September, cities and states across the country recognize and pay tribute to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Month. It’s a time when there’s greater attention and focus on members of this community, a celebration of their cultural norms and traditions, and a deeper understanding of how they communicate with one another.

For nearly 40 years, The New York Foundling has been one of the only specialized providers of family support and prevention programs for New York City’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. Members of our staff who work with Deaf or Hard of Hearing children and adults are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), and in many cases, are also Deaf or Hard of Hearing themselves. The services we provide at The Foundling improve family relationships and dynamics, empower each person to be more independent and expressive in what they need to grow stronger, and help families and individuals advocate for services and support.

There’s a strong sense of community and belonging among those who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. A unique aspect of their culture is the tradition of giving someone a personal “name sign” instead of fingerspelling out the person’s name.

“A name sign can only be given by a Deaf person, or member of the Deaf community, and typically is meant to be representative of something specific about the individual,” says Anna Poiarkoff, Clinical Model Accessibility Coordinator for Deaf Services at The Foundling. In the video below, Anna shares the poignant story of how she received her name sign. We hope you’ll watch and be inspired to learn more about Deaf culture.

For more information on The Foundling’s Deaf Services, check out our program page and our recent blog post: Our Work Continues: Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Families with Communication and Advocacy.

September 30, 2020/by Elefant Design

Blog, Child Welfare

Empowering School Staff and Students to Report Child Abuse

Our award-winning Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP) has reached nearly 600,000 elementary school students in New York City since 1986. The program teaches up to 20,000 children every year to recognize, resist, and report abuse and neglect using life-sized puppets during in-school workshops. Over the last 34 years, the program has shown its effectiveness in helping children escape abuse.

This school year will be very different in many ways, but one thing that won’t change is The Foundling’s work to protect some of our City’s most at-risk children. The CAPP program operates on the understanding that school staff are often the first to notice signs of neglect or abuse and report it. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in children being out of school for months, and The Foundling and CAPP want to ensure that children are still safe, despite these challenging times.

Before the effects of COVID-19 came to New York City, the CAPP team performed their Child Safety Workshops all school year long in school libraries or gymnasiums for large groups of third and fourth graders. With the limitations on in-person gatherings and the drastic change to school operations, our team has pivoted to a virtual format for this coming school year, aiming to reach thousands of students even if our Workshops can’t be performed in person. As part of their annual curriculum, students whose parents have opted for in-person learning in New York City will watch a pre-recorded video of the CAPP workshop with their teacher and a school counselor. Staff from The Foundling will be “with” the students virtually on camera– watching alongside them. The team is also developing plans to work with students are attending school completely virtually.

“Stephen,” is one of the CAPP puppets who speaks with students about physical and sexual abuse, and provides children with the tools they need to decipher between safe and unsafe touch. Although he can’t meet with students this year, he did have this message to share as kids begin their remote learning:

“Before each virtual workshop, all participating schools will receive training on how to speak with children who disclose abuse and neglect,” said Marion White, Program Director of CAPP. “The workshop is incredibly important, especially today with many children not attending school in-person—not only does the work give children a prevention education—it also gives children who may have already experienced abuse the chance to get help.”

Click here to learn more about The Foundling’s Child Abuse Prevention Program.

September 22, 2020/by Elefant Design

Child Welfare, Media Coverage

Hypebae: For the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Clear Face Masks are More Than an Aesthetic Choice

Hypebae reports on the proliferation of accessible PPE that allows the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community to better communicate. “We jointly designed a clear face covering to ‘unmask’ masked communication with the deaf and hard of hearing community,” Goldstein said. Sprayground, another brand expanding into the clear face mask category, makes an entirely transparent version featuring two valves, one on each side of the face, that single-use filters can be inserted into. Founder David Ben David shared that the brand has partnered with The New York Foundling’s Family Services for Deaf Children program and will donate masks for distribution in the New York City area.

Read more at Hypebae.

September 21, 2020/by Elefant Design

Child Welfare, Events, Other, The Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection

Preventing Abuse and Neglect in Our Lifetime: A Virtual Conference

The New York Foundling and the National Initiative to End Corporal Punishment proudly presents:

Preventing Abuse and Neglect in Our Lifetime: A Virtual Conference

Thursday, October 15, 2020 and Friday, October 16, 2020

Co-sponsored by:

American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
US Alliance to End the Hitting of Children
Academy on Violence and Abuse
Prevent Child Abuse America
Stop Spanking

Keynote Speakers

Joan Durrant, Ph.D.
Child-Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba
“The Global Movement to End Corporal Punishment of Children”

David Finkelhor, Ph.D.
Director, Crimes against Children Research Center; Co-Director, Family Research
Laboratory; Professor of Sociology, University of New Hampshire
“The End of Spanking in Historical and Sociological Context”

David Hansell, JD.
Commissioner, NYC Administration for Children’s Services
“Supporting Children and Families Now and in the Future: Lessons from COVID-19”

Melissa Merrick, Ph.D.
CEO, Prevent Child Abuse America
“The Power of Prevention”

Pricing and Registration

Pricing

General Admission:
Day One (October 15, 2020): $25.00 | Day Two (October 16, 2020): $25.00
Both Days: $50.00

American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children members: You will receive your discount automatically when registering.
Day One (October 15, 2020): $15.00 | Day Two (October 16, 2020): $15.00
Both Days: $30.00

US Alliance to End the Hitting of Children, and Academy on Violence and Abuse members: Please email FontanaCenter@nyfoundling.org to request your discount code.
Day One (October 15, 2020): $15.00 | Day Two (October 16, 2020): $15.00
Both Days: $30.00

New York Foundling Staff: The event is free for Foundling staff. Please email FontanaCenter@nyfoundling.org to request your entry code.

Registration:

Please click on the links provided to register:
Day 1 Only | Day 2 Only | Day 1 and 2

Once you have registered, you will receive an email with a link to your event portal which contains all the appropriate zoom links.

For questions, please email FontanaCenter@nyfoundling.org

Event Program

Day One: October 15, 2020

All times are in Eastern Standard Time

10:00am – 10:10am
Welcome: Viola Vaughan-Eden, Ph.D., MJ.; Professor and Ph.D. Director, The Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work, Norfolk State University

10:10am – 11:00am
Keynote Speakers:
Joan Durrant, Ph.D.; Child-Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba
“The Global Movement to End Corporal Punishment of Children”
David Finkelhor, Ph.D.; Director, Crimes against Children Research Center; Co-Director, Family Research Laboratory; Professor of Sociology, University of New Hampshire
“The End of Spanking in Historical and Sociological Context”

11:00am – 12:00pm
Workshop: “Recent Research Trends and Topics”
Presenters: George Holden, Ph.D.; Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department at Southern Methodist University
Elizabeth Gershoff, Ph.D.; Amy Johnson McLaughlin Centennial Professor, University of Texas at Austin

12:00pm – 1:00pm: Lunch

1:00pm – 2:00pm
Workshop: “Spare the Rod: The Intersectionality of Race, Religion, and the Raising of America’s Children”
Presenters: Victor Vieth, JD, MA.; Director of Education and Research, Zero Abuse Project
Darrell Armstrong, DDiv, MDiv, EdS-MFT.; Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church

2:00pm – 3:00pm
Workshop: “Let’s Talk about Race, Culture, Corporal Punishment and Child Abuse Prevention”
Presenter: Stacey Patton, Ph.D.; Research Associate Professor, Institute for Urban Research, Morgan State University

3:00pm – 3:15pm: Break

3:15pm – 4:15pm
Workshop: “No Hit Zones: A Promising Solution to Ending Corporal Punishment”
Presenter: Stacie LeBlanc, MEd, JD.; CEO, The UP Institute; President, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children No Hit Zone National Committee

4:15pm – 4:30pm:
Closing Remarks: George W. Holden, Ph.D.; Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department, Southern Methodist University

Day Two: October 16, 2020

All times are in Eastern Standard Time

9:00am – 9:15am
Welcome: Bill Baccaglini, CEO and President, The New York Foundling

9:15am – 10:15am
Keynote Speaker:
Melissa Merrick, Ph.D.; CEO, Prevent Child Abuse America
“The Power of Prevention”

10:15am – 10:30am: Break

10:30am – 11:30pm
Workshops: Separate links will be given for the individual workshops once you have registered. Each workshop has limited capacity. You can enter another workshop if your first choice is full.

A. What’s New in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and How to Make it Work for You
From Erin’s Law to Sex-Wise Parenting, innovations in child sexual abuse prevention policy and practice are available to help keep children safer. This workshop will review current innovations in policy and practice, and end with a focus on how professionals in child welfare and protection can support parents to promote sexual health and safety in their homes and community.
Presenter: Janet Rosenzweig, Ph.D.; Author, The Sex-Wise Parent; Executive Director, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children

B. Preventing Child Maltreatment in New York State
This session will provide an examination of prevention efforts in New York State. The workshop will focus on the primary prevention of child sexual abuse, corporal punishment and neglect. The role of ACES and resilience in preventing child maltreatment and toxic stress will be discussed. Presenter: Timothy Hathaway; Executive Director, Prevent Child Abuse New York

C. Prevention of Psychological Maltreatment
Psychological maltreatment/emotional abuse is the least understood and most pervasive form of child maltreatment. This workshop will enable participants to define the term and will describe the FAIR system, an approach to assessment allegations and substantiation determinations that is now in use across the U.S. armed services. Our research has found that this approach to assessment and substantiation results in significant declines in subsequent maltreatment as compared with typical approaches. The implications for child welfare systems and families will be explored. Presenter: Amy Slep, Ph.D.; Professor, New York University

11:30pm – 12:30pm: Lunch

12:30pm – 1:30pm
Keynote Speaker:
“Supporting Children & Families Now and in the Future: Lessons from COVID-19”
David A. Hansell, JD.; Commissioner, NYC Administration for Children’s Services

1:30pm – 1:45pm: Break

1:45pm – 2:45pm
Workshops: Separate links will be given for the individual workshops once you have registered. Each workshop has limited capacity. You can enter another workshop if your first choice is full.

A. Effective Program Models for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment
This workshop will highlight effective program models for the prevention of child maltreatment. There are quite a few prevention methods useful to effectively address and mitigate various types of child maltreatment. We will review the risk factors, the absence of which could be considered protective factors. Examples of highlighted models are home visiting interventions, parent education programs, school and child-care based interventions, and community level interventions. Finally, there will be a discussion regarding barriers to child maltreatment prevention programming in the context of historically oppressive systems.
Presenter: Darcey Merritt, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor, New York University

B. Work in The Education and Child Welfare Intersection
Jessica Nauiokas is the co-founder and head of school at Mott Haven Academy Charter School. She will be discussing lessons learned from the first-of-its-kind charter school for child welfare-involved children and youth in grades Pre-K – 8. Haven Academy is a public charter school that utilizes a specialized trauma-sensitive curriculum to help close the achievement gap for children in foster care and the child welfare system, some of whom have been victims of trauma, abuse, or neglect. The revolutionary school will be discussed in depth during this workshop.
Presenter: Jessica Nauiokas, B.S.W., M.Ed.; Principal, Mott Haven Academy Charter School

C. Professionalizing Roles to Prevent Abuse & Neglect for People with Developmental Disabilities
This workshop will examine important career pathways and stepping stones in professionalizing the role of Direct Support Professionals (DSP), to prevent abuse and neglect. We will explore Core Competencies and access to educational opportunities, which will also increase retention. By offering access to information and education in an enjoyable and engaging way for DSPs and other professionals supporting people with developmental disabilities, DSPs can obtain the necessary prerequisite skills to provide support to people in the way they choose to be supported.
Presenters: Renee Pili; Assistant Vice President, DD Division, The New York Foundling MaryBeth Witkop; Assistant Vice President, DD Division, The New York Foundling

3:00pm-3:30pm
Closing Session: Haven Kids Rock Video and Q&A
Haven Kids Rock is a music program that was created for at-risk kids in the New York City child welfare and foster care systems. Rock guitarist Jimi K. Bones and musician and casting director Nefertiti Jones founded Haven Kids Rock in 2008 to provide children with a creative/enriching/therapeutic outlet. The weekly music program resides within Mott Haven Academy Charter School in the South Bronx and shares a close partnership with The New York Foundling.

September 16, 2020/by Elefant Design

Invisible Children - Washington Examiner

Child Welfare, Media Coverage

Washington Examiner: Invisible Children

Washington Examiner reports on how the COVID-19 pandemic has led to decreased reports of child maltreatment across the country, with insight from The New York Foundling:

“Bill Baccaglini, the president and CEO of the New York Foundling (the city’s oldest foster care agency), said he is “very concerned that once the clouds lift, that we will see a spike in reports.” He told me, “I have a bunch of friends in the domestic violence world. They are already seeing it now.” The Foundling also runs a school in the Bronx that serves children who have spent time in foster care and who are at risk in other ways. Baccaglini said the “stressors of the last four to five months will hit those kids’ families harder than your family or my family. And sometimes, the reaction is to strike out at the most vulnerable. Those tend to be kids.””

Read more at Washington Examiner.

September 3, 2020/by Elefant Design

Child Welfare, Media Coverage

The Bronx Daily: NYC Administration For Children’s Services Celebrates National Kinship Care Month

The Bronx Daily reports on National Kinship Care Month, providing quotes from NYC’s Administration for Children’s Services and kinship care organizations and providers – including The New York Foundling.

“This “National Kinship Month,” The New York Foundling honors and celebrates the countless extended family members who, every day, share and join our mission of providing children with familiar, stable, and caring homes,” said Bill Baccaglini, President and CEO of The New York Foundling. “While all of us strive to keep families together, when temporary removal of a child is required, The Foundling believes that the long-term outcome for a family is much more positive if the care is provided by kin. This work wouldn’t be possible without the tremendous commitment of kin caregivers across New York City, who support their family members and provide children with a safe and nurturing family setting as parents address the stressors that led to separation and disruption of the family unit.”

Read more at The Bronx Daily.

September 2, 2020/by Elefant Design

Blog, Child Welfare, Health and Behavioral Health, Our Work Continues

Our Work Continues: Providing Health Services to Children in New York City During the COVID-19 Pandemic

For over 150 years, The New York Foundling has worked in partnership with our neighbors to ensure that everyone can meet their full potential when facing challenging situations. This hasn’t changed, and our staff continue to provide life-changing and meaningful support in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This series shares how The Foundling’s many programs are responding to the needs of their community.

In the final post for our blog series, “Our Work Continues”, we share how The Foundling’s medical clinics adapted their efforts and work to deliver essential health services to youth in foster care over the past five months. With clinics located in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, The Foundling provides free medical services to all young people in Foundling foster care programs, as well as children in other agencies city-wide. Using a personalized, multi-faceted, and wide-reaching support model, The Foundling’s medical staff work as a team to improve the health and wellbeing of children each and every day.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Across The Foundling’s four medical clinics, 38 medical staff care for nearly 700 children in foster care at any given time and track about 3,000 visits to the clinic each year. “We do the same kind of work a regular pediatrician’s office does,” says Kendra Morgan, a Nurse Practitioner, “but our clinics are designed specifically for helping children in foster care.”

Like pediatrician’s offices across the country, The Foundling’s clinics have remained open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but with safety measures in place to protect both staff and our patients. “We schedule telehealth appointments when possible, but many still need to be seen in person—particularly infants and children due for vaccinations,” explains Bonni Krauss, a Registered Nurse.

“Many children across the country are falling behind on their vaccinations because of COVID-19,” elaborates Margaret Dewar, Assistant Vice President of Medical Services. “But not our kids. Not if we can help it.”

Every family member coming into the clinic is screened before they come through the door and given a face mask if they aren’t wearing one already. Additionally, staff coordinate transportation if needed, so families can travel to and from their appointments safely.

“Managing fears and educating families about COVID-19 has been a large part of the work we’ve been doing since March,” says Margaret. “We sent letters and made phone calls whenever we received new information about the virus.”

Staff who work across The Foundling’s medical clinics attend weekly webinars and receive updates on New York’s guidelines as they evolve. They also make themselves available to families for consultations on nights and weekends. “We have after hours staff covering the phones 24/7, and we also give families our work cell phone numbers, too. We want our families to know that we are there for them to answer COVID-19-related questions,” Bonni says.

Both Kendra and Bonni agree that the increased communication between staff and the families has brought them closer together and is resulting in more positive outcomes. One patient, who found out she was pregnant during this challenging time, wasn’t really engaged with her prenatal care at first. “But Bonni was persistent in scheduling all her appointments, coordinating all her rides, and talking her through her fears surrounding being a new mother during COVID-19,” Kendra continues. “In the end, the patient went from not being engaged to being very engaged in her pregnancy, because she had Bonni to plan with and confide in. She knew she wasn’t alone.”

The health services staff has relied heavily on each other over the past five months. “Everyone was willing to help each other out and cover shifts across clinics,” says Margaret. For example, “one of our psychiatrists is also a trained pediatrician. She offered to fill in should the need arise.”

“We had a few patients test positive for COVID-19, but thankfully a lot less than we expected,” Margaret continues. “It was tough. We had to grapple with test shortages, PPE shortages, and adhere to the State’s frequently changing guidelines. The great collaboration we needed to happen in a time of uncertainty did happen. I am very proud of our team.”

July 31, 2020/by Elefant Design

Blog, Child Welfare, Our Work Continues

Our Work Continues: Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Families with Communication and Advocacy

For over 150 years, The New York Foundling has worked in partnership with our neighbors to ensure that everyone can meet their full potential when facing challenging situations. This hasn’t changed, and our staff continue to provide life-changing and meaningful support in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This series shares how The Foundling’s many programs are responding to the needs of their community.

Since 1982, The Foundling has been the only specialized provider of family support and prevention programs that serves the Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing community in all five boroughs of New York City The Foundling’s Family Services for Deaf Children and Adults helps keep children out of foster care by strengthening the family system and increasing access to available community supports. All of our therapists and interventionists are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), and pre-COVID-19, they met with families in their homes and in their communities.

Since the onset of COVID-19, our team has been helping families overcome the hurdles that followed, ensuring that they stayed on their continued path to family stability.

The Foundling’s Family Services for Deaf Children and Adults is supported by 11 staff members, including therapists, interventionists, supervisors, and an interpreter. Since March, home visits shifted to videoconference – using platforms like videophone devices that simultaneously transmit and receive both audio and video signals over telephone lines, or online solutions like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. These weekly sessions run for 45 minutes or up to an hour and a half, depending on each family’s needs.

“We’re used to meeting in person,” says Diana Abayeva, a program interventionist. “It was a hard transition at first, because some of our families didn’t have smartphones or cellular reception. But thankfully we were able to resolve these technology issues.”

“Our families are managing just like the rest of us,” adds Diana. “Homeschooling their children on top of their parental and work duties or finding childcare when daycare was closed—it’s a challenge. And they want to get this right.”

“Some have reported loneliness and frustration at home, particularly when family members they’re quarantined with don’t know sign language,” therapist Kenya Bryant says.

That’s why program staff are working with the families to improve their communications skills and encouraging family members to learn American Sign Language. “And it’s working,” Kenya continues. “It’s bringing families closer together.”

Families have used this time to pick up new hobbies, and they’re reporting a heightened focus on practicing self-care at home.

And practicing self-care is needed: the virus has posed unique challenges to the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community. “One of the downsides to our families’ ability to communicate during the pandemic is that people are wearing masks,” Diana explains. “Many people who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing rely on reading lips, but this is not possible with the speaker is wearing a mask. This hinders their ability to be independent.”

As an alternative, some Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing prefer to communicate in writing using the Notes app on their smartphones.

Another challenge revolves around doctor’s appointments. One family needed mental health services for their child, but the provider only conducted telehealth sessions through an encrypted videoconference platform. While the child logged into that platform, their mother, who is Deaf, had to join separately via videophone. She had a hard time keeping track of who said what across the different platforms during the appointment. Not being able to know what the doctor said about her child’s health—or what her child was saying about their own health—was incredibly emotional and frustrating. “I talked to the provider and convinced them to switch to Zoom and hire an interpreter to join the sessions to the conversation for the mother,” says Diana. “That worked out so much better.”

Getting credible and reliable news resources can be another challenge. “We have been directing them to vloggers and reporters who use sign language when posting daily news,” Kenya says.

In response to COVID-19, families have received donations such as household items, electronic devices for communication and remote learning, clothing, and money to purchase food. “We are doing everything we can to help get them through a tough time,” says Diana.

To learn more about how The New York Foundling is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, visit our emergency response page. Stay tuned for more stories from the frontlines as we continue to support our neighbors on paths to stability and strength.

Read past posts in the ‘Our Work Continues’ blog series:

July 24, 2020/by Elefant Design

Preventing Abuse and Neglect in Our Lifetime: A Virtual Conference

Thursday, October 15, 2020 and Friday, October 16, 2020

Keynote Speakers

Pricing and Registration

Pricing

Registration:

Event Program

Day One: October 15, 2020

Day Two: October 16, 2020

Contact us.