 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
Center for Family Representation, Inc. (CFR)
2010 Accomplishments
- In late 2010, CFR received the transformational news that we had received an additional contract through the
City of New York to provide our services to 600 families in the borough of Queens each year. We began
serving clients there in late January, 2011.
- CFR served 1,200 clients total in 2010. Of these, 590 were new clients. Since our founding, CFR has served
more than 2,000 clients with more than 4,300 children.
- CFR served 50 clients under age 21 through the Young Parents Project.
- More than 50% of the children of our clients never had to enter foster care at all. When foster care
could not be avoided, the average length of stay was approximately four months, compared to the New York State
average of more than three years.
- The CAT model costs significantly less than foster care. At its cheapest, foster care costs $29,000
per year per child; CAT costs only $5,900 per family over the entire length of a case. This means
that our model saved taxpayers $7 million in 2010 alone.
|
Training and Technical Assistance Achievements
- In 2010 alone, 21 sessions were conducted for more than 600 practitioners, including judges, court attorneys,
CASA, and attorneys for children and parents from within and outside of New York City. Overall, CFR has
provided more than 240 training and technical assistance sessions serving more than 4,000 professionals and
advocates on best practices to support at risk families.
- CFR hosted our first Cornerstone Institute in September 2010. Practitioners from Georgia and Vermont
participated in an intensive three day series on CFR's interdisciplinary model and on our Cornerstone Advocacy
approach to families separated by foster care.
- Deputy Director Michele Cortese, Esq. presented on Cornerstone Advocacy to more than 175 judges, practitioners
and court staff at the Pennsylvania Office of Children and Families in the Court annual summit.
- Supervisory staff again co-chaired the Children's Law Institute in New York City, an annual symposium on best
practices in family court for children's attorneys, agency attorneys and parents' attorneys.
- The New York State Office of Court Administration recently contracted for CFR to provide training and technical
assistance on parent engagement and Cornerstone Advocacy for judicial and legal staff in all 19 judicial districts of
New York State. The first of several planned sessions was held in November 2010 with more than 75
practitioners in attendance.
|
Policy Achievements
- In 2010, CFR was active in Family Court reform efforts. We participated in two task forces through the
Office of Court Administration and the New York State Bar Association.
- In December, CFR's Executive Director Susan Jacobs, Esq. presented at the City Bar in a program addressing the
causes of delay in the child welfare and Family Court systems.
- CFR chaired a coalition of New York City agencies which support immigrant families. This culminated
in a Policy Forum in September 2010 at the offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, entitled "Cross Cultural Challenges in
Child Welfare." It featured Fatima Shama, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs and
Elizabeth Roberts, Deputy Commissioner of Family Support Services, Administration for Children's Services.
- In 2011, Deputy Director Michele Cortese, Esq. was selected to be part of the New York City Child Protective Advisory
Committee, which examines Family Court policy citywide.
- Cortese was also selected in 2011 to participate in the New York State Interdisciplinary Child Welfare Collaboration
Group, which helps shape policy and curriculum for family court staff throughout the state.
- For the past three years, Cortese has also been part of the New York State Family Court Improvement Project Advisory Committee.
- CFR Supervisory staff continues to be part of the New York City Bar Committees on Family Court and the Council on Children.
- CFR staff members also participated in citywide efforts to review and make recommendations on state legislative proposals,
including the Adoption and Safe Families Act Coalition's Legislative Subcommittee.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
