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 Puerto Rico, The Foundling serves 1,500 children through Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Our Early Head Start program is home-based and serves expecting mothers, infants, and toddlers. The program promotes strong parent-child relationships and helps provide high-quality early learning experiences. Our Head Start program delivers high-quality early education and child development services to children ages 3-5 in San Juan, Cataño, Vega Alta, Coamo, and Toa Baja.

The families and Foundling staff in Puerto Rico have shown tremendous resilience and perseverance, despite the devastation caused by the 2017 hurricanes, a series of earthquakes at the start of 2020, and now, ongoing hardship as families try and stay safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In response to devastation caused by hurricanes in 2017 and earthquakes in 2020, The Foundling’s Early Head Start and Head Start programs in Puerto Rico were already accustomed to delivering services in new and creative ways when COVID-19 hit. “How school and teaching is conducted here changed after Hurricane Maria,” says Carmen Villafane, Senior Vice President of the two programs. “We’ve had some practice with online learning and using digital tools.” Throughout the pandemic, our teachers have become more and more creative with their teaching methods. They’re finding new online learning and practice programs for students. They’re posting instructional videos on how to do the day’s activities, and they are recording videos of themselves reading stories and sending them to the families.

Since schools in Puerto Rico have been closed since March due to the pandemic, teachers and staff have also been sending care packages to students and their families with materials including scissors, paper, pencils, markers, glue, crayons, and other craft materials. That way, when teachers assign activities and projects to do, the families are able to complete them. “Without these materials, the children would lose the crucial skills they need to progress to the next step in their education,” Carmen explains.  “So, we’re doing everything we can prepare them and ensure that nothing stands in their way of educational success.”

Activities are geared towards promoting children’s cognitive, social, and emotional growth for later success in school. The program delivers developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate learning experiences in language, literacy, mathematics, social and emotional functioning, science, physical skills, and creative arts.

Teachers host a weekly virtual class and support activities throughout the week. In addition to engaging children and parents, other members of the household are welcome to join as well. During this time together, everyone is able to participate in activities such as songs, stories, and crafts, as well as teacher-guided discussions about COVID-19 and general health and safety measures. “Off-screen, the parents have done a wonderful job working with their children on educational activities,” Carmen commented. For example, teachers will recommend an activity for parents to work on with their children at home, such as making homemade Play-Doh or “Plastilina,” and the parents will share their videos of family craft-time with the teachers.

Early Head Start, which provided home-based services to 36 families before COVID-19, is now held online. Vocational home visitors, who work with a child’s family to ensure their home environment supports their well-being and education, are trained to identify family needs in both online and in-person settings. They develop programming, handle assessments, and if a need arises that requires specialized care, they provide referrals to nurses, social workers, mental health professionals, or other community resources.

Throughout the year, and especially in times of crisis — be it a hurricane, an earthquake, or a global pandemic — the families served by our Head Start programs often struggle to have their basic needs met. “Food is too often in short supply,” Carmen notes, “It’s a common challenge our families face. But with the help of local charities and generous donations, we have been able to buy and supply grocery bags full of food to the families we serve.”

“I am so proud of my employees,” Carmen adds, “They have all gone the extra mile, which is what we need in this moment, and what we’ve needed in every moment since Hurricane Maria. Earthquakes still affect south Puerto Rico every day, and there’s no end in sight. And yet, despite the uncertainty, our staff wakes up every morning prepared and ready to serve. I couldn’t be more proud of them for their hard work and continued commitment. The Foundling’s presence here in Puerto Rico really makes all the difference.”

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:

• Camp Felix at Home Keeps Camp Magic Alive this Summer for Foundling Kids
• Keeping Students in Foster Care on Track for Educational Success
• Rehabilitating Youth and Families with Alternatives to Incarceration
• Closing the Achievement Gap for Youth in Foster Care
• Community Services Keep Staten Island Families Connected
• Perseverance and Compassion in our Homes for Adults with Developmental Disabilities (Part 2)
• Perseverance and Compassion in our Homes for Adults with Developmental Disabilities (Part 1)
• School Based Mental Health Services still Mitigating Crises
• Bringing Day Habilitation into the Homes of People with Developmental Disabilities
• Foster Care Systems Supporting Families Despite Social Distancing Challenges
• Supporting Youth as they Age out of Foster Care
• Preventing Child Abuse for Families in Social Isolation
• Mobilizing a School to Support a Community

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.

Four years ago, a partnership was created by The New York Foundling which brought together New York City’s Administration of Children’s Services (ACS) and the City University of New York (CUNY) with the goal to help more young people in foster care attend college and earn a college degree. This partnership is more commonly known as The Dormitory Project. The program provides a wide range of supports – academic, social, financial, and professional – to ensure students graduate from college. Students are supported by College Success Coaches, who live alongside them on CUNY campuses across New York City and are deeply attuned and trained to respond to the challenges and stressors that young people in foster care face. The Dormitory Project also includes academic support led by a team of tutors who ensure that each student is prepared to do well in their classes, develop effective study habits, choose a major, and identify a long-term academic plan.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, The Foundling’s dedicated staff have worked tirelessly to help students adjust to remote learning and support those who are facing further hurdles and obstacles so they have an equal shot at educational success.

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Before COVID-19, the achievement gap between students in foster care and their peers was already significant. Now, says Joni Rivera, who oversees The Foundling’s Dormitory Project, “students and staff face challenges exacerbated by COVID-19.” Staff spent the first month of the outbreak trying to get students access to technology, adjust to a remote learning format, and stay on track with their courses. But it’s been tough.

“Not only are they switching over to remote learning, they also had to worry about finding a place to live mid-semester and move,” says Joni, “It had an impact on their learning.”

In March, when CUNY campuses shut down, The Foundling’s staff helped its Dormitory Project students find new places to live for the short term—this ranged from family and friends, to foster families, and if that wasn’t possible, limited housing at Queens College remained available.

“CUNY has been incredibly supportive through the pandemic,” says Elizabeth Tremblay, who currently acts as the director of The Dormitory Project, and is an Associate Vice president for The Foundling’s School Based Mental Health Services. “When we couldn’t find alternative summer housing for about 40 students, CUNY graciously agreed to keep one of their dormitories open and house them there. CUNY is also letting our students store some of their belongings in secure places on campus, especially since many have moved into housing arrangements where there isn’t a lot of extra space.”

All tutoring sessions and meetings with College Success Coaches are now done online. Students connect with them on a weekly basis for career counseling, educational advocacy training, and help navigating personal and peer conflicts. Students are also hearing from their tutors on a daily basis, which is an increase from the weekly sessions that took place before COVID-19. Typical tutoring sessions last one to two hours, depending on the students’ needs.

However, the transition from in-person meetings and learning to remote formats was harder for some students than others. “Some students were stressed and frustrated,” says Joni, “It was just difficult in the beginning.”

However, tutors were able to reel in struggling students and get them back on track. “Overall, we saw an increase in student engagement and participation,” Joni continues, “and real progress with students advocating for themselves. That is, students talking to their professors about problems they were having, asking for extensions, and make-up work.”

As a result, the program reported a lot of A’s and B’s on student final exams and – in very exciting news – thirteen students graduated this spring: ten with associates degrees, and three with a four-year degree. These results “really shine a light on how important it is for older youth in foster care to have someone in their lives who will advocate for their education,” Joni says.

CUNY is now offering credit/no credit courses, and program staff are helping students decide which to choose, as well as register for summer and fall classes. Online learning will continue through the summer and possibly also the fall.

“The work we do has a profound effect, especially during these difficult times,” Joni adds, “A huge push from our staff brought students who fell off the map back around. If it weren’t for them, these struggling students might have dropped out. So, we’re really giving these kids a fighting chance.”

“But our students are resilient, too,” Elizabeth says, “COVID-19 has highlighted that with support and the right people around them, older youth in foster care can acclimate to change and achieve successful outcomes in education no matter what their circumstances.”

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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:

• Community Services Keep Staten Island Families Connected
• Perseverance and Compassion in our Homes for Adults with Developmental Disabilities (Part 2)
• Perseverance and Compassion in our Homes for Adults with Developmental Disabilities (Part 1)
• School Based Mental Health Services still Mitigating Crises
• Bringing Day Habilitation into the Homes of People with Developmental Disabilities
• Foster Care Systems Supporting Families Despite Social Distancing Challenges
• Supporting Youth as they Age out of Foster Care
• Preventing Child Abuse for Families in Social Isolation
• Mobilizing a School to Support a Community