New York

CHAMPS NY’s priorities for 2021 include maintaining policies that support and bolster foster families – including relatives – one of which is NY’s Family First Transition Fund, which is entering it’s third year of funding, and was created to support counties as they transition their practice model to better support family-based foster care.

From our partner, the Redlich Horwitz Foundation, this report includes case studies of three NY counties that are making tremendous strides to strengthen their use of family-based – both relative and non-relative – foster care.

Children experience better outcomes when they are cared for by supportive families. However, too few children in foster care across the state are placed with kin, and New York State struggles to recruit and retain enough families to adequately support the children who come into care.

Are you a young person with foster care experience? A relative or foster parent? Someone else with personal experience with foster care? We invite you to get involved and share your story with us! Contact us at: CHAMPSNewYork@gmail.com

In the spring of 2020, CHAMPS NY pivoted to be responsive to the impact of the pandemic on New York’s children and families, debuting updated priorities for 2020. These priorities are listed in a letter to New York State leadership.

CHAMPS-NY had the opportunity to submit testimony to the Joint Legislative Budget Hearings on Human Services in 2020. Our testimony emphasized the need for further investment in initiatives, like the Family First Transition Fund and KinGAP, that help to ensure that more children in foster care are able to remain with kin.