Some pictures from the event that were taken by Rosa Rosado of CWOP can be viewed here.

We hope this was just the beginning of community dialogue and awareness around this issue.

Thanks to all who made the forum such a success.

Michael Arsham
Child Welfare Organizing Project
Jeanette Bocanegra
Community Connections for Youth
Michael A. Corriero
New York Center for Juvenile Justice

Click to watch the forum

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/opinion/foster-children.html

You can read about the forum here: www.events.org/policyforum/

Stay tuned for news about event follow-up!

CWOP Parent Organizer Teresa Marrero talks about the importance of preventive services

  Sandra Killett is our new Board Chair. Sandra is a graduate of CWOP’s Parent Leadership Curriculum and is currently employed as a Parent Advocate at Children’s Village.  She is a Harlem resident, and a former Board Chair of Community Voices Heard.  She is a participant in CWOP’s Road2Success program, is a co-facilitator of the monthly “Undoing Racism in Child Welfare” group, and is Chair of the Parent Advocate Network, a city-wide initiative to strengthen and increase the number of Parent Advocates working in child welfare.

  Tim Ross is our new Vice Chair. Tim is the managing partner of Action Research, a research and policy consulting firm that works with nonprofits and government to improve human services.  He is the author of Child Welfare: The Challenges of Collaboration published by the Urban Institute Press and the lead author of the book-length report The Experiences of NYC Foster Children in HIV / AIDS Clinical Trials. Prior to joining Action Research Partners, Tim led the child welfare research program at Child Trends, served as Director of Research at the Vera Institute of Justice and is an adjunct assistant professor at the NYU Silver School of Social Work.  He is the father of three children, including one with significant special needs.

  Jessica Wett is our new Secretary. Jessica was a CWOP MSW intern in 2008 – 9.  She graduated with honors from Hunter College School of Social Work in May 2009, and is currently a constituent liaison for US Congressman Jerrold Nadler.  Her work focuses largely on housing issues.

Jeremy Kohomban has agreed to continue serving as Board Treasurer. Jeremy is the President and CEO of The Children’s Village and The Center for Child Welfare Research at the Children’s Village Institute. Dr. Kohomban is a noted expert in child welfare and his leadership successes have been noted by the New York Times, NPR and industry publications. He currently serves on the boards of the Child Welfare Watch, State University of New York (SUNY) Empire College Foundation, New York City’s Youth Advocacy Center, the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies, the Washington D.C. based American Youth Work Center which publishes the periodical Youth Today, and Charity Navigator’s Advisory Panel. He is the author of a number of articles and a nationally recognized speaker on topics of organizational leadership, system reform and family-focused service delivery.