CHAMPS-NY: Calling for a Moratorium on Aging Out of Foster Care in the Midst of a Pandemic

CHAMPS-NY: Calling for a Moratorium on Aging Out of Foster Care in the Midst of a Pandemic

On Thursday, May 28th, 2020, the CHAMPS-NY coalition held a press conference to highlight the need for a moratorium on “aging out” of foster care in New York State during this ongoing public health crisis. CHAMPS-NY, a statewide group of providers, advocates and thought partners, works to promote state policy and practice changes to ensure children entering foster care are placed into family-based settings whenever possible.

In the press release, Kate Breslin, Schuyler Center President and CEO and CHAMPS-NY co-chair notes,

“In the middle of a global health crisis, when a safe and stable home are vital to both individual and public health, no young person should be pushed from their home or be forced to leave foster care without a family simply because they turn 21. Governor Cuomo needs to take Executive Action to ensure that all young people in foster care in New York State have the option to remain in foster care after their 21st birthday, and for at least 180 days after the last region in the state has fully reopened.”

The press conference itself was featured on Friday, May 29th, 2020 in an article in Chronicle of Social Change. It was the fifth article in that month to shed light on this urgent issue.

Since the pandemic began, nine states have taken executive action to protect youth in foster care. New York, the state hardest hit by this crisis, is not one of them.

View the press conference video below.

 

CHAMPS-NY Rallies on January 27th!

CHAMPS-NY Rallies on January 27th!

On January 27, 2020, the CHAMPS-NY campaign, co-led by Schuyler Center and Families Together in NYS, gathered in Albany with providers, parents and advocates to raise awareness about the power of family-based care for children who enter foster care. The group urged support for their FY 2020-2021 budget and policy priorities. Assemblymembers Andrew Hevesi and Ellen Jaffe joined them for the rally on the Million Dollar Staircase.

That evening, CHAMPS-NY partners appeared on Capital Tonight. Watch the interview here!

CHAMPS 2020 Policy Priorities, November 2019

CHAMPS-NY Foster Care Fact sheet, January 2020 

Strengthening New York’s Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program to Better Support Permanency for More Young People in Foster Care, January 2020

 

September Is Kinship Care Month In NY State

September Is Kinship Care Month In NY State

September is Kinship Care Month in New York State! This month is an opportunity to recognize the commitment of thousands of kin—relatives or close family friends—across the state who step in to care for children when their parents are unable to do so. While the number of kin becoming formal foster parents has increased—currently about 25% of all foster care placements—most often children living with kin are not in approved foster homes.   

Children live with kin for many of the same reasons that lead to placement in foster care with non-relatives, namely neglect, parental substance abuse or mental health issues, physical abuse and other safety concerns.  Because of this, children often arrive to a relative’s home having experienced trauma.

Kin provide safe, stable homes for the children who come into their care, and enable them to stay connected to their culture and family tradition. That connection has been shown to minimize the trauma to the child and result in better outcomes, including improved mental and behavioral health.

At the Schuyler Center, we have long worked, through partnership with the NYS Kinship Navigator, to ensure that kinship families are provided with the supports they need to care for their children. In our work as co-lead of the CHAMPS-NY campaign, we are continuing that work, and advancing policy and practice change to better support kinship families, including through increased awareness of the benefits associated with becoming approved relative foster homes, should that be in the best interest of the child and their family.

CHAMPS builds on research that shows loving, supportive families—whether birth, kin, foster or adoptive—are critical to the healthy development of all children. And here in New York, we believe it is critical that all those families—birth, foster, kinship and adoptive—are supported so that children remain safe and find stability and permanency in their family.

This September, as always, let us take a moment to thank the kinship caregivers in our communities and commit, as a state, to do our best to ensure they receive the support they need.

For additional information on benefits and services available to kinship families, visit the NYS Kinship Navigator website or call their toll-free helpline at 877-454-6463.

To learn more about the CHAMPS-NY campaign, visit their website.[/vc_column_text]