Represent Magazine recently featured ACS’ College Choice program, a new initiative operating in partnership with The Foundling. Reporter Faith Ornstein, a high school senior in foster care, spoke with Bonnie Loughner, Assistant Vice President of our Fostering College Success Initiative program, and others on how this new program will help young people in foster care achieve their college dreams without being saddled with large amounts of debt.
City & State New York has recognized Melanie Hartzog, The Foundling’s President & CEO, in this year’s Nonprofit Power 100! This annual list reflects the movers and shakers in the New York nonprofit community, honoring influential leaders that provide essential social services and advocate on the behalf of our community.
As the list notes, “As the deputy mayor for health and human services during COVID-19, Melanie Hartzog helped steer New York City through the worst of the pandemic via the city’s social services agencies and the vaccine rollout. Now she leads The New York Foundling – and its operating budget of over $200 million – serving close to 30,000 residents across the five boroughs.”
News 12 Brooklyn reported on Vital Brookdale, our new supportive housing complex serving those aging out of foster care and those with developmental disabilities.
In their video report, the news crew speaks to Foundling staff member Cathy Branche and resident Patricia Jackson – who speaks to the complex’s focus on accessibility and best serving the needs of its community.
The Council on Quality and Leadership published a feature interview on our recent accreditation from their agency, which provides additional perspective about our inclusive approach to transforming our services for people with developmental disabilities.
As Michael Clausen, CQL Director of Personal Outcomes, writes, “It was obvious that [The Foundling] didn’t just view it as ‘passing a test.’ It was so much more than that… The New York Foundling demonstrated that they were ‘in it’ for the right reasons, treating accreditation as a time to reflect, celebrate, and plan out their journey to strengthen the quality of their services and help improve the lives of people they support.”
ABC 7 recently covered the opening of our Vital Brookdale supportive housing complex, highlighting the project’s role in providing housing for people with developmental disabilities and young adults aging out of foster care – allowing them to live independently and thrive.
Watch the video below to see the units and hear from Anthony McQueen, a resident with developmental disabilities who is proud to have moved into his new home.
Dr. Ruth Gerson, our Senior Vice President for Mental Health Services, was recently featured in an article focusing on the heightened need for mental health support for young people. A new Columbia University study reports that in 2020, nearly one in five Americans between the ages of 12 and 25 were affected by depression.
“What we saw for a long time leading up to the pandemic and subsequently since is an increase in kids ending up in emergency rooms for mental health concerns because they don’t have anywhere else to go,” she says.
For the New York Mets’ September 2 game at Citi Field, pitcher Taijuan Walker partnered with The New York Foundling for his Tai’s Taco Truck initiative, where he gave out free tacos and solicited donations on behalf of The Foundling.
In an article in the latest edition of Social Work Today, Shannon Ghramm-Smith, our Senior Vice President of our Child Welfare & Behavioral Health Division, draws on her experience at The Foundling to discuss the benefits and challenges of integrated care. This is where medical and behavioral health providers collaborate to provide holistic, wrap-around services. “Having interrelated services easily accessible in one location or being able to do warm handoffs to a care team member from the same agency allows the client to focus more on what they need—and on building a relationship with the provider—instead of focusing on finding the services they need, referral forms, eligibility, and scheduling,” she says.
In this op-ed published in MedPage Today, Mel Schneiderman, PhD and Amy Baker, PhD – both of The Foundling’s Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection – discuss the mental health care crisis that is impacting young people nationwide, and how family stress (intensified by the pressures of COVID-19) is a major contributing factor. They argue that psychological maltreatment can be decreased by educating families and providing parenting support.
In a press release from The American Foundation of Savoy Orders (Savoy Foundation), the foundation shared that they recently granted $150,000 for The Foundling’s Camp Felix.
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