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Statement from The Foundling

Bill Baccaglini, President and CEO

We are in the middle of a storm—in New York City and across the nation. It is unfathomable to think that so many members of our communities: colleagues, friends, and loved ones – our “gorgeous mosaic” of many races and nationalities – are living in fear.

I cannot say that I know what it’s like to be a person of color, but I know enough to recognize deep, systemic problems when I see them. We all know they exist – that’s why many of us have chosen to work at The Foundling – to try to bridge some of those gaps and heal some of that suffering.

Our opportunity structure is broken and it has been for generations. Black and brown children go to schools, play in parks, and live in neighborhoods with fewer resources and services than those typically utilized by white children. And they are going to grow up with less access to quality healthcare – something made apparent by the disparate impact of COVID-19. Our clients and our staff, the overwhelming majority of whom are non-white, live this reality every day and we see the effects of these structural inequities.

And now, over and over, we have seen the difference in how black and brown people experience the criminal justice system. Each time, we all vow “never again.” How many times can we say “never again?”

This is not a New York City problem, it’s not an Atlanta problem, and it’s not a Minneapolis problem. It’s not a few isolated and unrelated incidents – this is a profound, systemic, American problem. We cannot allow ourselves, as the deniers would like, to analyze each incident – each killing of a person of color – as a separate event. We cannot continue to allow our political leaders to settle for marginal remedies that fail to address the larger condition.

The Foundling has represented, supported, and served people facing hardship in New York for over 150 years – people of all colors, religions, backgrounds, and beliefs. We represent those who feel voiceless and vulnerable, whose opportunities are limited.  Every member of our team is committed to serving people in need, to working in our communities, to saving lives. We are all in pain.

We cannot allow this issue to devolve into discussions about looters – a small number of people whose mission is to hijack a peaceful movement to create chaos for their own personal gain. These individuals give credibility to the deniers, who use the looting as a justification for their dismissal of the tragedy that is taking place and the larger issues at hand.

The stakes are higher than ever and we need our elected leaders to rise to the challenge. We need reforms that are equal to this moment. At The Foundling, we have focused on education for the past 15 years, not because we began with any expertise in the field, but to find ways of rebalancing the opportunity structure for black and brown children in our City. Our hope was that if we could intervene in the educational experience for one generation, we could reset the opportunity structure in an enduring way.  But we are one organization, with limited scope and resources. Much more is needed in the fight against racism and racial injustice.  Government must step up.

Leaders in every city in America must resolve to change. They must understand the urgency of this situation and rise to the challenge. There can be no greater priority than to recognize the very real pain that exists, to work to restore faith in our institutions, and to remove the need for our citizens to feel fear. Simply put, systemic racism must be acknowledged and addressed. Let this be the last time we have to say “never again.”

Liv Lauser

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.

While some adults with developmental disabilities are able to live independently, or in the care of a close family member, others require more intensive round-the-clock services tailored to their level of need. For these people, many of whom have complex medical needs, The Foundling provides supportive and nurturing housing that is fully integrated into the surrounding community. The Foundling provides residential services for people with developmental disabilities in all five boroughs of New York City and in Westchester, Rockland, and Orange Counties.

We help the people in our residential programs engage with their community, gain more autonomy, and participate in gainful activities – from day programs to volunteer work and paying jobs.


As we featured last week, the incredible residential services staff of our Developmental Disabilities Division have selflessly worked the frontlines since the pandemic began, adapting to every challenge they have been faced with, while also providing round-the-clock support to the people in our care.

Across all of our residences, we’ve heard countless stories of staff working tirelessly – and often beyond their usual schedule – to fill the needs in our programs. Direct Support Provider Sandra Thompson, for example, did not hesitate to cover an overnight shift the day a client in the residence where she works received confirmation of COVID-19 infection.  “She had just become an American citizen and felt it was her civic duty to go in and help wherever needed,” Assistant Vice President Mary Pell Bidwell, supervisor for Sandra’s residence, shared.

Similarly, Brian Montilla was asked to temporarily relocate his work to a residence that was hit hard by COVID-19. As one might imagine, this was a difficult request to make, as Brian would be going from a familiar workplace where no clients were COVID positive to a home that had multiple cases of sick residents and staff. In addition to an unfamiliar location, he did not know any of the residents or staff, and had to quickly adapt in a crisis situation with new and different stressors.

“Brian is a team player,” Assistant Vice President Renee Pili shared, “and, as usual, he politely accepted the directive and provided support at the other location for over a month as the situation there stabilized. Through all of this, Brian performed his duties calmly, professionally, and with a smile.”

In the same vein, Felecia Sloan immediately adjusted her schedule to fill shifts after our day habilitation programs closed. Felecia went above and beyond to arrange a socially distant celebration for a resident who was hospitalized on his birthday. Thanks to Felecia’s initiative, via a video call, the staff and residents sang happy birthday and watched the candles be blown out.

“Our staff have really gone above and beyond to uplift the spirits of our residents,” Mary Pell continued, “Von Hemert, one of our residence managers, connected with the community to receive deli food donations for residences. She personally picked up the donations and delivered them to residents!”

Staff members Diaka Doumbouya and Reginald Mason have displayed the same degree of creativity and thoughtfulness. “Diaka brings her skills as a beautician to the residence and pampers the ladies who are accustomed to going to the hair salon,” Assistant Vice President Thelma Adams Moore said, “And Reginald has served residents roast duck with stuffing and all the fixings. He also does smoothie bars and engages them in the kitchen with meal preparation.”

Liv Lauser

Residence Manager Liv Lauser received PPE donations from the city government to protect residents.

Despite the incredible pressure they’ve endured, these staff members – and many others – have displayed incredible compassion and creativity. Thank you to the valiant staff of our residential services for their selfless service.


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.

Denise

Due to COVID-19, organizations have had to change the way their group homes are run and also help the residents cope with the new reality of the pandemic.

Denise Flores, the assistant vice president for the developmental disabilities’ division at The New York Foundling, said that during the beginning of the pandemic they had to ration out the protective equipment they had. They would only give masks, gloves and gowns to residences with sick individuals.

“I mean we don’t have any to waste, but we do have a system in place that everyone has now either face shields, gowns or masks,” said Flores.

Read more at Our Town NY.

Carl

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.

While some adults with developmental disabilities are able to live independently or in the care of a close family member, others require more intensive round-the-clock services tailored to their level of independence. For these people, many of whom have complex medical needs, The Foundling provides supportive and nurturing housing that is fully integrated into the surrounding community. The Foundling provides residential services for people with developmental disabilities in all five boroughs of New York City and in Westchester, Rockland, and Orange Counties.

We support the people in our residential programs as they work to engage with their community, gain more autonomy, and participate in gainful activities – from day programs to volunteer work and employment.


On any given day, hundreds of staff from The Foundling’s Developmental Disabilities Division are reporting to work at 104 separate supportive residences across the New York metropolitan area. Each home houses several individuals, and is staffed by direct care workers and nurses. With so many in people in every home, the possibility of a COVID-19 outbreak among our staff and the people we serve has been a critical focus of The Foundling since the onset of the pandemic, especially as many of these residents live with complex pre-existing conditions or are otherwise immunocompromised.

The dedicated nurses who work with our residents have fought tirelessly since March to keep their community healthy. They rely on the incredible perseverance and commitment of the direct care staff in every home to ensure that the residents – many of whom have suffered trauma from isolation and abuse – are comfortable and happy at home, despite these challenging times. Our Developmental Disabilities division staff members have faced incredible challenges and heartbreaks over the last two months, but they, have and continue to go above and beyond to bring joy and hope to the residents in their care.

There are hundreds of stories of perseverance and compassion from our many residences for people with development disabilities.

When our residents could no longer visit the barbershop or salon for a haircut, staff from The Bronx to Staten Island stepped in – including Ricardo Wright, Jeremiah Harris, and Okechukwu “Stanley” Nwanyanwu – and established makeshift barbershops, cutting residents hair for both hygiene and fun.

Elsewhere, staff members went above the call of duty in efforts to fill in for staff who were sick, taking care of a loved one, or unable to come to work. Their colleagues took on additional shifts and worked non-stop with no questions asked, knowing that their clients needed them. Nichole Guions took on extra shifts and stayed late even while caring for her fiancé, who was ill with the virus at home. Randy Brown, meanwhile, even slept at the residence where he was assigned, to be sure he would be there if any of the residents needed him.

Wood Street Staff

With the return of warm weather, our residential staff have sought to comfort residents by planning barbecues and cookouts.

There are countless stories like these to share, but Renee Pili, Assistant Vice President of Residential Services, summarized the sentiment best:

“In times like these, it is very easy to succumb to frustration, anxiety, and fear. The easy way out would be to run, hide, and leave the worrying to other people. But that has not been the case for our residential managers and staff.”

Renee elaborated that despite incredible personal challenges, staff have risen above the call of duty, “Many have endured illnesses and passings, have embraced new roles as teachers for their children, or are living separately from their families, because they work with sick residents and do not want to risk bringing the virus home.

“They have faced crisis after crisis, and yet our people remain united and strong. They keep persevering—not only adapting to challenging new work routines but offering support to the individuals in our residences in new and creative ways. They are valuable team members, and I cannot express my gratitude enough.”

We are humbled daily by the care that our team gives to make others’ lives better. Thank you to all of our residential staff. Stay tuned next week for more updates from our Developmental Disabilities Division.


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.

Ben Arubuola

Healthcare workers are – and have always been – essential to the work we do at The Foundling. From 1880 to 2005, we operated a pediatric hospital, and from 1927 to 1973, our Nurse Training School taught nurses to care for infants and children. Now, we operate four medical clinics for children in our programs, have a nursing team to care for those in our Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Puerto Rico, and provide medical care to those residing in our supportive residences for people with developmental disabilities. The Foundling aims to support our neighbors in reaching their full potential – and our nursing staff ensure that the children, adults, and families we serve are in the best physical shape possible.

Since February, the role of nurses and our entire medical team has become even more prominent at The Foundling. Working on the frontlines, our compassionate and caring staff are currently facing the COVID-19 crisis with strength and resilience. In honor of National Nurses Month – which usually spans a week – we wanted to give our nurses the opportunity to share their experiences in their own words.


What does being a nurse at The Foundling mean to you?

 

Ben Arubuola

Ben Arubuola

Registered Nurse, Developmental Disabilities Division

“Nursing is not just a job. A patient in my care must be able to trust me. More so, it also means treating my patients and colleagues with respect, kindness, dignity and compassion.

Being a nurse at The New York Foundling during this challenging period is an avenue for me to foster positive difference in the lives of those we serve and their families.”

 

Nannette Wharton

Nannette Wharton

Registered Nurse, Developmental Disabilities Division

“Being a nurse at The Foundling means having compassion and patience, empathy and sensitivity. It means being there for others, at all hours of the day, and all hours of the night.

During COVID19, we are on the frontlines caring for our patients day in and day out, and implementing strategies to prevent us and others from risk. Nurses are a vital link between the patient and the rest of the health care team.”

 

Maribel

Maribel Cardona

Nurse, San Juan, Puerto Rico

“Por qué me apasiona servir, ayudar a los demás y saber las necesidades de las personas especialmente de los niños. La enfermera es un todo así que somos un poco de trabajadoras sociales también, un poco psicólogas, un poco nutricionistas y un poco maestras. Lo más que me gusta de mi trabajo es ver como las enfermeras evolucionan de diferentes maneras, sirviendo como yo de diferentes recursos. Me encantan los niños lo genuinos que son.”

I am passionate about serving, helping others and knowing the needs of people, especially children. The nurse is a whole so we are a little bit of a social worker, a little bit of a psychologist, a little bit of nutritionist and a little bit of teacher. What I like most about my work is seeing how nurses evolve in different ways, serving as I do with different resources. I love how genuine children are.

 

Delores Lawrence

Delores Lawrence

Assistant VP of Nursing, Developmental Disabilities Division

“Working with the Foundling has enabled me to utilize my nursing skills which includes showing compassion, listening to both verbal and nonverbal expressions, to acknowledgeable each person’s beliefs, and building relationships.

We are now in the middle of a global crisis where we all are learning new routines. I am willing to work long hours and provide help where help is needed most. With the help and support I receive; I feel the sacrifice is worth it.”

 

Rashunda Ross

Rashunda Ross

Assistant Nursing Supervisor, Developmental Disabilities Division

“Being a Nurse at The Foundling is an acquired identity in which we are committed to excellence. We are compassionate, ethical and selfless.

We are healthcare advocates for those we serve; we are a part of The Foundling’s heart.“

 

Jessenia Molina

Jessenia Molina

Health Coordinator, Puerto Rico

“En NYF, trabajamos con amor. Desde mis inicios en la organización tengo el compromiso tanto con las familias servidas, personal, como el garantizar la salud y seguridad de nuestros centros. Me apasiona ayudar, servir, ser un ente de apoyo, educar sobre la promoción y prevención de la salud.

La pandemia no nos ha detenido. Nos hemos reinventado utilizando la tecnología a nuestro favor para lograr continuar ofreciendo un servicio de excelencia y calidad e identificando recursos en la comunidad para poder ayudar a las familias y empleados.”

At The New York Foundling, we work with love. From my beginnings in the organization, I have been committed to serving families, staff, and guaranteeing the health and safety of our centers. I am passionate about helping, serving, being a support entity, and educating about health promotion and prevention.

The pandemic has not stopped us. We have reinvented ourselves using technology in our favor to continue offering excellent and quality services, and identifying resources in the community to help families and employees.

 

Sashoi

Sashoi Grant

Vice President of Nursing

“Being a nurse at The Foundling means you are a part of a diverse family. As the caregiver of the family, we have to ensure that medical, physical and emotional needs are met. Being a part of The Foundling is rewarding, because you get to be a part of the lives of some amazing individuals and you get to work alongside dedicated and caring colleagues.

Nursing is a work of heart and art, and as we face the COVID pandemic, we have been challenged to be more creative and innovative with our delivery of care. We have a great team of nurses at The Foundling who rose to the occasion and have been working tirelessly to ensure that our individuals are cared for. They have selflessly did whatever was necessary to successfully overcome some difficult situations. Our Foundling nurses are truly superheroes.”


Happy National Nurses Month to our wonderful nurses!

To learn more about how The New York Foundling is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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.

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.


The Foundling’s School Based Mental Health Services team embeds staff within partnered New York City public schools to identify and address the individual mental health needs of students. Trained staff work with the school to develop and monitor intervention plans for in-school counseling as well as provide referrals out to community-based services.

The program works to educate families about emotional wellness while identifying children and teenagers in need of mental health services. In each partner school, staff aim to promote engagement with families, establish physical environments that encourage participation in services when needed, create processes that facilitate prompt referral, and incorporate evidence-based treatment practices.

Launched in 2014, the School Based Mental Health Services program is based on a growing body of evidence showing that an integrated focus on academics, health and mental health services, social services, expanded learning opportunities, positive youth development, and family and community supports are critical to improving student achievement. Schools that utilize this approach are often referred to as community schools.

In the face of COVID-19, our dedicated clinicians and support staff are adapting, so they can provide the same level of services to young people, their families, and the school community.

School Based Mental HealthAs of April, the School Based Mental Health Services team has provided Telehealth treatment to 212 students and families, 277 therapeutic sessions, and helped schools respond to six community member mental health crises. Unsurprisingly, these statistics are on par with our impact when schools are in session, demonstrating the team’s adaptability as well as the essential nature of the program.

Last year, the School Based Mental Health Services program served approximately 1,000 kids across its 30 partnering elementary, middle, and high schools. “We are in every New York City neighborhood except Brooklyn, which we hope to expand into,” notes Assistant Vice President Elizabeth Tremblay.

Assistant Vice President Bonnie Loughner, who oversees the program alongside Elizabeth, adds: “We are there to help the greater school community meet their students’ social-emotional and academic needs. If any kids are starting to rise to the level of depressed or anxious, we’re there to teach them skills to work through their symptoms.”

Should a crisis situation arise, the School Based Mental Health Services team is ready. When the pandemic began, Elizabeth and Bonnie sat down with their team to assess how their crisis response might change. “We’re following the same procedures as before, but instead of it being in-person, it’s all done via Telehealth now,” Bonnie explains.

“It has been exciting to see the clinicians and youth adapt to telehealth,” Stephanie Riley, a program supervisor, expresses, “the staff have been so open and creative in trying new engagement strategies such as scavenger hunts and incorporating them into therapy.”

Crisis cases typically involve self-harm or suicidal thoughts. In those situations, the program’s staff are the school community’s first responders. “Pre-COVID-19, the student would be brought to our assigned rooms at the school for a full, in-person assessment,” Elizabeth says, “But the advantage of having to do that assessment by video now is that we actually get to see the student’s home. That allows us to work with the family and create an even better safety plan—one that’s tailored to the student’s specific home situation in that moment.”

But mental health doesn’t just exist in the therapy room or on video conferences. The program also works closely with the PTA and school staff to bring mental health resources and awareness to the broader school community, including workshops for students, parents, and teachers. Workshops focus on topics like mental health stigma, behavior management in the classroom, identifying suicidal ideation, and anxiety management techniques. “All our workshops are done virtually now,” Bonnie says, “We’ve also pre-recorded staff trainings for teachers to use.”

Before COVID-19, the program staff would also conduct classroom observations and work with teachers to incorporate social-emotional learning into the classroom. Though this is now difficult, staff have had many teachers contact the program to manage their own stress and to learn how to better support students during this time.

Despite the many challenges posed by the pandemic, recently, the team launched a new partnership with The Foundling’s charter school, Haven Academy. The new initiative will bring the evidence-based model, Incredible Years, to Haven Academy scholars. Used in other elementary schools served by the School Based Mental Health team, Incredible Years is designed for 4 to 6 year-old children, and uses puppets and roleplaying to teach academic and social-emotional skills like sharing and persistence.

“We’re using video vignettes and roleplaying scenarios via videoconference,” Bonnie explains, describing the evidence-based therapeutic interventions they provide. A version designed for parents has similar content, but it teaches the parents how to apply those lessons with their 6 to 12 year-old children at home. Both groups last approximately 16 to 18 weeks, encouraging families to create healthy households where mental health concerns are destigmatized.

“Overall, we’ve seen increased school engagement,” Bonnie says, “School staff and administrators were harder to track down before, but now that everyone is working from home, a lot of schools are having weekly meetings with us. Pre-COVID-19, those meetings were only taking place once, maybe twice a month. It makes me really hopeful for the future that we are setting new expectations for more regular meetings and communications.”


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.

During the pandemic, foster parents throughout the city are finding solace in their foster children. For the past two months, Arlene Thomas – who is a foster mother with The Foundling – experienced COVID-19 firsthand. First her foster child contracted the virus, then she did as well. “No matter how sick you are, you still have a child,” she said.

Read more on New York Daily News.

Developmental Disabilities Day Hab

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.

The Foundling’s Day Habilitation programs for people with developmental disabilities are based in the community and give participants an opportunity to connect with others through social, volunteer, and work-related activities. Such personalized activities help participants experience new things, get to know their likes and dislikes, and create rich experiences shaped by their preferences. These programs are offered to people living both in the community and in Foundling residences across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and surrounding counties.


Our dedicated Day Habilitation staff continues to provide meaningful engagement and support to individuals with developmental disabilities both in and out of The Foundling’s residences.

For people living with developmental disabilities, confinement can quickly become a serious emotional burden. That’s why our Day Habilitation Specialists continue to provide meaningful daily services and programs, despite the limitations of social distancing. Instead of picking participants up and bringing them to program or classroom sites as they normally would, staff members have now donned their personal protective gear and signed on to their laptops to bring the programs to them.

For about eight hours each day, Monday through Friday, Day Habilitation Specialists are spending in-person time with program participants living in Foundling group residences, keeping their spirits up while guiding them through various academic and social activities to keep their minds occupied and engaged.

As much as possible, staff and participants are maintaining six feet of distance from each other. In cases where individuals are focusing on building their fine motor skills, like handwashing, staff are wearing masks and gloves to protect themselves and our clients as they complete the tasks at hand.

For program participants living at home, however, Day Habilitation staff like Monee Smith are forced to stay in touch by phone. “We’d do basic math skills over the phone or work on vocabulary,” Monee says.

Recently, she’s been transitioning participants to live video chatting. While technology accessibility was an issue for many at the beginning of the outbreak, The Foundling’s programs have worked to distribute tablets, Monee says.

The plan is to hold two-hour sessions with each group of participants every day. “Some will be able to join the sessions on their own, but for those that need help, a parent, guardian, or in-house staff member will help them log on.”

The ability to share screens, show videos, and see familiar faces makes the day’s lessons and activities so much more engaging. “And it’s teaching them how to use modern technology,” explains Monee.

“We want to make sure that those who don’t live in our residences are not forgotten,” said Ashley Gibbs, Coordinator for The Foundling’s Day Habilitation Services, highlighting the importance of engaging with home participants.

Whether staff meet participants in-person or virtually, many of the day-to-day activities remain the same – and there have been some special surprises as well. When our programs shifted the delivery of services from community-based to home-based, all participants received personalized care packages with materials like worksheets, crayons, and construction paper. Some participants work on their math, writing, and reading skills, while others are guided through sensory and motor skill-building activities. Additionally, there’s also time allocated during the day for puzzles, games, art, and crafting projects like Mother’s Day cards.

Unfortunately, staff can no longer take participants on recreational field trips. Steven Moore used to take his group to the beach or the pier for fishing. Stephanie Tauly took her group to the movies every Tuesday.

But staff have been creative in finding special ways for participants to feel engaged. Movie day still happens, only now through streaming services. YouTube videos guide groups through stretches, yoga poses, and simple exercises. And others have taken virtual museum tours together.

Program participants often like routines, and COVID-19 has unfortunately disrupted them. “I try to redirect them when they are feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or frustrated,” Monee relates, “They miss peer-to-peer contact, going outside, going on trips, socializing, just being out and about.”

“I find ways to keep them productive. When they’re inside their homes, they get very comfortable and sometimes lose focus,” KiAndre Caldwell, a Day Habilitation Specialist in the Bronx, says. “When that happens, I give them an activity to do that teaches them something new. Or we’ll stop and talk about what they’re feeling, what’s going on in their lives, and what they want to do instead.”

Seeing participants in their homes has some upsides. “We get to know them better. We see them cook, clean, do laundry, use the buses and trains to go to the store, and other things that demonstrate their level of independence that we otherwise may never have seen,” KiAndre notes, adding that everyone exercises utmost safety. “Whenever we go out, they’ll grab their gloves and masks. They know how far away to walk from other people, when to wash their hands and for how long—it’s a new routine.”

Despite the many struggles and challenges the pandemic has wrought, our Day Habilitation Specialists are thankful to be able to continue working with the people in their care. “They’ve become my family, too,” says Odessa Forde, a Day Habilitation Specialist in Brooklyn.

“Our staff has been doing a wonderful job working through this difficult time,” Ashley Gibbs expresses. “I’m proud of how creative they’ve been to overcome the many challenges this pandemic has thrown our way.”


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

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 recognition of National Foster Care Month in May, we are pleased to share updates from our foster care programs. The Foundling’s foster care programs serve over 1,000 young people, from newborns to young adults, every year. Recognizing the trauma and risks associated with family separation, as well as the abuse and maltreatment that lead to it, our programs are specially designed to support families through challenging times. In cases where more extensive support is needed, specialized foster care programming helps address significant behavioral or mental health concerns.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, The Foundling’s foster care staff are working with families and children to address serious challenges to wellbeing while also facing their own personal struggles. Despite the difficulties, they have not only managed to continue providing essential support, but have also worked tirelessly to adapt their work and support to be effective within our current situation.


It’s no secret that family separation is a harrowing experience. For many young people in foster care, separation causes serious trauma, in turn causing anxiety and depression. Stressful situations, like stay at-home isolation, can easily trigger those symptoms.

“I tell them it’s okay to feel this way,” says Maria Lubina Qadeer, a sociotherapist in our Treatment Family Foster Care (TFFC) Program, “but to focus our energy on what we have control over and not what we don’t have control over.”

With stay at home orders keeping New Yorkers isolated in their homes, the support that Maria and other foster care staff provide to families is critical now more than ever. Many young people in foster care are dealing with incredibly difficult emotions on top of existing challenges. Some have withdrawn, are eating less and have isolated themselves in their rooms; others have acted out by disobeying stay at home orders.

“My role overall is to make sure the child is thriving in their home. If they are not, I try to support them with different interventions.”

To that end, Maria and her team have added daily check-ins, in addition to normal weekly check-ins, for more extensive support. This time ensures that families aren’t displaying COVID-19 symptoms and have access to necessities, while also providing more regular emotional support.

“The current sessions, in light of COVID-19, are foremost about ‘how are you feeling and managing today?’ Living in isolation, this additional social emotional support is what they need,” Maria explains.

“It may be harder to get the children to describe difficult emotions by phone or video conference… we are working harder to keep those relationships strong so we can help them work through whatever they’re feeling.”

Simultaneously, one of the greatest challenges facing our families and staff is the loss of foster parent lives to COVID-19. Due to various socioeconomic factors, foster parents – especially those who are relatives of the young people in foster care – generally tend to be older, and may suffer from pre-existing conditions. As a result, many fall into the virus’s most at-risk populations.

“The foster parent losses have been tragic,” Elizabeth Wright, Vice President of Family Foster Care mourns, “especially because we can’t express sympathy in the usual ways we would.” To compound this, many foster care staff have suffered tremendous losses of their own family and friends. “They go from those difficult situations at home to more difficult situations at work,” Elizabeth says, “That weighs on me, and certainly it weighs on my team.”

Nonetheless, foster care staff have rallied to support each other in order to continue supporting the families. “I’ve been amazed by their ongoing, overwhelming commitment and dedication,” Elizabeth adds, “It’s made me feel really proud.”

Maria feels the love and support on her own team: “[We are] good at utilizing each other for processing the different situations that occur with our families and youth. The most important thing during difficult times like these is being a part of a communicative team.”

Meanwhile, foster parents and birth parents alike have remained understanding and supportive as they work with staff to push through together. The Foundling’s staff have been able to continue frequent family visitation virtually, keeping birth parents in touch with their children through the crisis. Though visitation with young children and babies has been more challenging, foster parents have risen to the occasion by sending regular photos and videos to birth parents in lieu of in-person visitation.

“In the beginning there was a lot of uneasiness around how much support we would get, but there has been clear support,” Elizabeth says, explaining that the system is adapting to meet the current needs. While permanency placement had been made difficult with temporary closure of family courts, the system has started to go virtual.

The capacity is seriously limited, however, and in the interim The Foundling has pushed to review cases where extended visitation and trial discharge had already been granted. This has helped reunite youth with their birth parents sooner than originally anticipated, bringing families back together in this difficult time.

There is still work to be done and more challenges lie ahead, but Elizabeth is optimistic about things to come. “System-wide it’s been really collaborative… [it’s] been really encouraging and hopeful.”


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.

Fox 5 Parent

With COVID-related school shut downs, students are missing out on a third of their traditional school year – and children in the child welfare system may need additional tutoring to avoid falling behind. To illuminate this issue, Fox 5 NY spoke to our CEO and President, Bill Baccaglini, as well as a Foundling foster parent who is currently balancing online schooling for 5 kids.

Watch on Fox 5 NY.

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