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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.
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CFR Hosts the First Annual Client Holiday Party
On December 14, 2007 CFR hosted its First Annual Client Holiday Party to honor the
families we represent. Parents and children enjoyed great food, face painting,
balloon artists, Nintendo Wii tournaments, family portraits, exciting raffles, and musical
performances by the Little Maestros. Over 90 children and parents attended,
contributing to its success. Each family went home with a CFR tote bag filled
with children's books, toiletries, toys, candy, and scarves/gloves. Every child
received a new, gift-wrapped toy. Two lucky families won tickets to a New York
Knicks game!
CFR would like to recognize the incredible in-kind and financial support that made its First
Annual Client Holiday Party possible.
For a complete list of party supporters and
photos of the event, click here.
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CFR Awarded Equal Justice Works Fellow
CFR is pleased to announce that Rosanna Roizin, a former CFR legal intern, will join us
in September as a 2008 Equal Justice Works Fellow. Rosanna will represent
parents with mental illness. Her fellowship is sponsored by Pfizer, Inc.
The Equal Justice Works Fellowships Program was launched in 1992 to address the shortage of
attorneys working on behalf of traditionally under-served populations and causes in the
United States. It is now the largest postgraduate legal fellowship program in the
nation, and currently supports 100 Fellows. The mission of Equal Justice Works is
to create a just society by mobilizing the next generation of lawyers committed to equal justice.
Rosanna has previous experience in child welfare, international women's rights, and economic justice.
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Victory for Family Visiting
CFR is proud to announce the successful achievement of one of its central policy objectives: In June of 2007,
Commissioner John Mattingly of the City's Administration for Children's Services (ACS) issued "Visit Host Guidelines:
Bridges Back Home." The guidelines provide direction to the city's more than 40 foster care agencies on how to
recruit and train Visit Hosts to support families separated by foster care; they were developed over an 18-month period
by a citywide task force co-chaired by CFR's Deputy Director, Michele Cortese. The task force included
professionals from ACS, foster care agencies, parents, attorneys and family court staff.
For years, research has demonstrated that high quality meaningful visiting between children in foster care and
their parents is the single best predictor that a family will safely reunify, yet New York state law only requires
that children see their parents for one hour every two weeks, or the equivalent of one day a year.
In addition, most family visits occur in cramped, sterile agency offices and most foster care workers report that
they don't have the resources to arrange visits around activities that truly mimic normal family life including
sporting events, shopping trips, family dinners, holidays and birthdays.
CFR recognized that frontline practice would only change when ACS directed foster care agencies to seek other,
more natural supports for visits. A Visit Host is someone identified by the family (parents, youth
or relatives), or by the foster care agency who can monitor family visits in place of the agency worker.
Visit Hosts have been relatives, teachers, guidance counselors, pastors. Visit Hosts are 'win-win' for families and
foster care agencies: a child's safety is assured, and a family can visit for longer periods, more
frequently, around activities that reflect family life. Agency workers have an additional resource that is free and
helps support their work with a family.
The Visit Host guidelines are another example of CFR's ability to translate best practices on our own cases into
systemic reform that benefits children and families.
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