Volume XII | January 19, 2022

The Good Stuff in Child Welfare
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Welcome to The Good Stuff in Child Welfare!
 
Our team at the Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice, & Research recognizes that between the all too frequent and grim child welfare stories that make us teary-eyed, clenched-fisted, and faint-hearted, there are inspiring accomplishments and heartening endeavors taking place all over this country at every level of practice. To elevate and promote these encouraging stories, we are pleased to bring you this monthly newsletter emphasizing news stories only about “The Good Stuff” from the broad field of child welfare. This month, we are highlighting programmatic and governmental innovation in pursuit of equity for the children and families served by the child welfare system. We also share some stories of creative philanthropy targeting transition aged youth. We hope this read gives you a few moments of hopefulness and a sense of possibility.
 
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Local Woman is Giving Aged-Out Foster Kids the Chance of a Lifetime
Liz Sutherland, a Tampa, FL woman who herself aged out of foster care, is facilitating a one-of-a-kind opportunity for older youth aging out of foster care. A private sailboat, leaving from Tampa Bay in early 2022, will allow six to eight young adults to have a hands-on sailing experience while learning life lessons such as cooking and looking out for one another. Sutherland, who has written about her adolescent foster care experience, was approached by a non-profit organization, Wisdom Collective. “They wanted to assist underprivileged youth, and when they heard about aged out foster youth, they never knew what it was,” Sutherland said. If the first sailing trip goes well, they will be looking to do this three to four times each year.

Health Department Announces New Home Visiting Services For First Time Parents And Infants With Focus On Equity
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Last month, the New York City Health Department launched the “New Family Home Visits” program. The voluntary and free program, serving first-time parents in 33 select neighborhoods and families citywide who are engaged with ACS, will provide evidence-based services to families based on their unique needs. Though the New Family Home Visits program was initially slated to launch in February 2020, the rollout was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last spring, as part of the City’s COVID-19 recovery plan, Mayor de Blasio announced $28.4 million in funding for the program. Eleven of the 33 sites are up and running, with 22 more sites to be added early this year. Child welfare-involved families across the city are eligible to participate. The goal is to reach 7,000 new families by June 30, 2022. “Becoming a new parent can be overwhelming, and many families need help and support to raise healthy and thriving children,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi. “The New Family Home Visits program will offer critical support to underserved families and help reduce the persistent inequities in maternal and infant health in our city.”

Organization Donates $25K to Stepping Stones Tiny Homes
Stepping Stones’ Youth Transition Project (YTP), a public-private partnership and tiny home village serving youth ages 16-23 transitioning from foster care or experiencing homelessness, recently received a $25k donation to outfit the tiny homes with appliances, including a stove, refrigerator and a stackable washer and dryer. Donor Steven Ritz, urban farmer, educator, and founder of the Green Bronx Machine, says “By providing these young people with a place to live, to develop the wings they need in order to fly, and the skill-set and infrastructure to learn how to grow their own food, how to cook their food and share their food, teaches these people to inspire healthy living, inspire healthy learning and grow communities all around the world.”

New CA Law Hopes to Prevent Homelessness Among Foster Youth
In California, as is likely the case in many jurisdictions, prior to this year there was no legal requirement to make sure young adults leaving foster care have a housing plan. However, a new law co-sponsored by the Children’s Advocacy Institute was passed last year and signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsome that will require counties to report a foster youth’s housing plan to a judge before they exit the system. The new law doesn’t require housing to be provided, but advocates anticipate that the increased accountability and requirement to asses a young person’s plans for housing will reduce the number of youth who age out of care without a secure residence. The new law went into effect on January 2, 2022.

Connecticut Sees 19% Reduction In Children In Foster Care
When Vanessa Dorantes was named DCF Commissioner in Connecticut in January 2019, she set out to improve services to families and decrease the number of children in foster care. When she was appointed there were more than 4,300 children in foster care statewide, but today that number has dropped to 3,467 – a 19% reduction. A large part of the reduction is due to successful family reunifications for 900 children. Other practices include bringing children back from out of state; ten years ago, hundreds of children were placed in different states, but now there are only six. Commissioner Dorantes says “We are evolving with the needs of society, and the pandemic sure has exposed significant needs for families. You don't want that revolving door, you don't want a child to be reunified only to come back in. We haven't seen a huge swing of children coming back into care.”

NYC Education Dept. to Create First Division Dedicated to Supporting Kids in Foster Care
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This month, New York City’s Education Department is creating a brand new division dedicated to addressing the needs of public school students in foster care. The team, which will likely include one policy director, one data analyst and six on-the-ground “foster care support coordinators”, can help schools navigate myriad challenges for the approximately 7,600 students currently being served. The department hopes to complete hiring half of the new staff this month with the rest in place by June. “This work will strengthen connections between schools, [the Administration for Children’s Services] and foster care providers, leverage resources, and deepen the necessary technical and emotional supports that these vulnerable students need while they are in our schools and beyond,” Education Department spokesman Nathaniel Styer said.

The Field Center team would like to thank the staff who brought this newsletter together and their contributions in providing readers with this uplifting content. Many thanks to our Program Manager Sarah Wasch for editing and our Administrative Coordinator Felicia Saunders for handling design and distribution. Special thanks to our Managing Faculty Director, Dr. Johanna Greeson for her idea to curate the “good news stories” happening in child welfare!