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CFR is a groundbreaking, nonprofit law and policy organization whose mission is to guarantee that every family that can live safely together has the chance to do so.

We assist families when the combination of poverty and a crisis – one borne of anything from addiction to inadequate day care – may lead to separation and a child being placed in foster care.  We provide free legal services to parents in crisis, train practitioners in the child welfare and court systems on best practices to support families and provide leadership at the city, state and national level on how best to strengthen families.


 

CFR Reaches National Audiences


CFR helped bring together the first ever National Parents Attorneys Conference, on May 13th and 14th in Washington, D.C.   This exciting gathering was convened by the National Project to Improve Representation for Parents Involved in the Child Welfare System, which is co-sponsored by the American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law and funders including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Child Welfare Fund and Casey Family Programs.  CFR's Board Member, Martin Guggenheim and Executive Director, Sue Jacobs are members of the Project's steering committee and presented at the conference along with CFR's Deputy Director, Michele Cortese and Supervising Social Worker, Jillian Cohen.

Prof. Guggenheim facilitated the inspirational plenary, and exhorted the audience to be more than excellent lawyers for parents and to form a movement to challenge a national practice in which children in foster care are overwhelming poor children of color.  Plenary speakers also called for federal funding incentives to strengthen families, and reminded participants to learn who their clients are as parents and people and to strive for equal justice for their families.

The conference continued with sessions on practice and on theory:  Ms. Cortese and Ms. Cohen co-led a workshop on Cornerstone Advocacy © about what advocates could do in the first 60 days of a child protective case to help families reunite.  CFR's approach, which focuses on the four cornerstone areas of visiting, placement, services, and conferencing, is also featured in the May 2009 issue of ABA:  Child Law Practice.   Click here to read the article by Jillian Cohen & Michele Cortese.

This past February, CFR also presented at the Child Welfare League of America's 2009 National Conference in Washington, D.C.  Parent Advocate Robin Lyde, Social Work Supervisor Jill Cohen and Litigation Supervisor Maura Keating addressed an audience of caseworkers, social workers, parent advocates and agency administrators about the huge impact Parent Advocates can have with parents involved with the child welfare system.   CRR's Parent Advocates are parents who have directly experienced the child protective and foster care systems and have reunified with their children.   Their life experiences afford them the ability to inspire and motivate parents while they plan for their children's futures by improving their own.

The panel provided concrete advice and support to child welfare practitioners across America who want to integrate Parent Advocates into their practice, or to improve effectiveness of existing parent advocate programs.


The New York Bar Foundation Awards $5,000 Grant
to CFR's CAT Program



Robert Haig presents CFR Board Chair Deirdre Miller with a check from the New York Bar Foundation.
Pictured: Genevieve Christy, Philip Segal, Deirdre Miller, Robert Haig, Susan Jacobs, Judith Marshall, Jane Spinak

This spring, Robert Haig of The New York Bar Foundation presented CFR with a $5,000 grant to support its successful Community Advocacy Teams (CAT) program.  CAT works to prevent and shorten foster care placements and to ensure that families achieve the stability to prevent foster care in the future and in generations to come.   For more information about CAT, please click here.

The New York Bar Foundation provides grants to organizations and conducts other activities to further the objectives of:   increasing public understanding of the law; enhancing professional competence and ethics; facilitating the delivery of legal services; and improving New York's justice system and its law.

The Foundation previously supported CFR's Training and Technical Assistance work, along with CFR's Visiting Project.


CFR Links with Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership
to Help At-Risk Families


CFR is excited to announce a formal referring collaboration with Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership (NMPP), a maternal and child health agency whose mission is to reduce the infant mortality rate in the Harlem Community.

NMPP is one of more than 20 community-based organizations in CFR's referral network.  CFR provides the families referred by NMPP with confidential advice, advocacy, and referrals to help address any risks to their children, with the goal of avoiding any court involvement or family separation.


Share your Love: Jeans for Families Raises Over $9,000



Click here to learn more about Jeans for Families.


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