Happy Spring!
As the days lengthen and the weather warms, people are noticeably happier; smiling more, with a spring in their steps. And with growing numbers of people vaccinated and a new federal infusion of needed supports for children and families, RHF staff and partners are feeling optimism for the days ahead.
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RHF’s Director Rashida Abuwala
Transitions to New Role:
Lead Consultant
With a heavy heart but excitement too, RHF announces that Rashida has decided to step away from full-time work with us to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams. She is launching her own consulting firm - Community Impact Advisors LLC – that will center equity and community voice for effective program design, philanthropic advising, research, analysis and knowledge-building. RHF will contract with the firm for work on special projects and to provide continuity with county and nonprofit partners.
The Foundation’s statewide leadership and impact have been built on Rashida’s track record of success. She has been instrumental in designing, launching and managing our upstate strategy, which is centered on improving permanency for children by decreasing congregate care and increasing kinship and most recently, by developing strategies to reduce high removal rates that disproportionately impact communities of color. Her steadfast commitment to justice, strong relationships with partners, and diligent attention to results are unparalleled. We will miss her formal role on our team but know that we will continue to benefit from her deep friendship and ongoing work together!
And…RHF is now hiring!
Come work with us to support racially-just transformation for child and family well-being in NY! Please share our job opening for a new Program Officer with your networks. The job description is here and you can contact RHF@wittkieffer.com to learn more.
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What We’re Learning from our
Parent & Youth Advisory Board
Time has flown by and RHF's inaugural Parent & Youth Advisory Board is already over halfway through their term! We launched this board last year to develop a more balanced understanding of child welfare issues by gaining insights from youth and parents who have first-hand experience with the system. The board is comprised of both youth and caregivers with lived experience, and we meet bi-monthly to gain perspectives on the system and gather advice on the foundation’s strategy. We’re grateful for the members’ time and commitment, and share here some insights gleaned from our discussions:
• The system would benefit from: stronger community involvement, elevating the perspectives of parents and youth, and greater accountability to families for positive outcomes.
• Transparency and trust are critical at every point in the system. Parents should know their rights as soon as they become involved with child welfare, and children placed into care should be provided with regular and honest updates on their cases.
• When removal is deemed legally necessary, the system needs to work more closely with the children and parents to ensure that the initial placement is in line with what the parent and youth think is best. This is especially true for older youth, who should have a say in where they are placed and if the placement will be with non-relatives, youth should be able to interview prospective foster parents before their placements.
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RHF Partner Updates
Fair Futures NYC:
• Foster Care Excellence Fund: A pooled fund of seven foundations, led by RHF and Hilton Foundation, selected six NYC agencies to receive a total of $750,000 over two years to support coaches for young adults who have exited foster care up to age 26.
• NYC Leaders Push For Mayor to Increase Funding for Foster Youth Coaches
Westchester County DMR Reduction Project: RHF is excited to kick off this work with the County DSS and Casey Family Programs to reduce the disproportionately high rate of removals of children from families of color.
Family First Readiness: With implementation of FFPSA set to begin in Fall 2021, RHF and consultants from ChildFocus, Mainspring, WRI and Jim Czarniak continue to provide technical assistance to 18 upstate counties as they work to reduce congregate care, increase supports for kinship families, and broaden their arrays of prevention services.
Center for Court Innovation is hiring a clinical coordinator for a new family court initiative in Dutchess county supported by RHF.
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