The Year Ahead
As we settle into 2013, The New York Foundling is focusing on our goals for the year to come with an agenda that will help expand the reach, quality and breadth of the care we provide to people and families in need.
First, we have applied for an Article 28 License which, if granted, would allow The Foundling to operate as a community medical center. This is very exciting news for us and the communities we serve. In addition to providing medical, dental and vision services to the children directly in our care, we would be able to expand and provide services to foster children in the care of other agencies, those who are in our own preventative programs but not in the child welfare system and even to the general population of the community. We hope to be licensed this year.
Great things lie ahead for our Mott Haven Academy Charter School in the Bronx, as well. Having completed our first five years, we have applied for, and hope to see Haven Academy’s initial charter renewed by NYC’s Department of Education this year. The nation’s first and only charter school that serves students who are in foster care and preventative care, it is located in the poorest Congressional District in the country. We recognized when the school opened just over five years ago that we would face challenges. This was uncharted territory. No one had ever designed a school and curriculum devoted almost exclusively to those in the child welfare system. We’ve had some successes and hit some bumps along the way. But we’ve also learned from our experiences and the future is bright. The staff at Haven Academy is dedicated to ensuring that our scholars excel and succeed.
One of our important programmatic goals this year is to fully implement the City’s new foster care model, Child Success NYC. This model establishes clear guidelines and goals that will help foster care agencies reach desired outcomes for children in the system. The Foundling is committed to reaching these important goals and through supportive aftercare we are reuniting families faster; limiting re-entry into the system; reducing staff caseloads, step-ups and lateral moves by children in the system; and accelerating adoption for children who have been in care for more than two years.
Last, but not least, The Foundling will continue to share our expertise with our sister agencies through the Implementation Support Center. Opened in August 2012, The ISC is a training center where members of The Foundling staff teach other child welfare and juvenile justice programs how to use Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) programs. With New York City and ACS requiring that its contract agencies use evidence based practices, The Foundling’s expertise is in demand. We’re proud to play this important role in the system and will work alongside our sister agencies to ensure that we are all meeting the needs of the families and children we serve.
We are excited to face the new year and the challenges and successes it will bring. http://www.nyfounding.org
**Watch Bill discuss the points covered in this post on camera! Our brand new video blogs will be available here with their corresponding posts, or directly on our youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/NYFoundling **
