Children’s Aid
117 W. 124th Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10027
Dear Supporters,
Our summer got off to a spectacular start here at Children’s Aid. In June, nearly 1,000 members of our staff gathered at the Armory in Washington Heights for our biennial Staff Summit – our first all-staff gathering in four years. The theme was the Olympics, and it was a gold medal day! The tagline of the event was “Game On,” and our team of champions embraced it every step of the way.
During the day, we enjoyed good food and good company, and we hosted some spirited teambuilding activities that started off with a colossal rock, paper, scissors competition. It was such a joy to see so many members of our staff in one place, celebrating the profound impact of our work together.
It was also an opportunity to introduce our team to an updated set of organizational values — the foundation of our strategic plan, which we will be sharing this fall. I am pleased to share our new values with you:
• We put children, youth, and families first. We listen to the children, youth, and families we work with, and we cater our services to meet their needs.
• We seek equity and transformation in our communities. We recognize the systemic barriers our communities face. We work both within existing systems to advocate for change and build new systems to create fresh opportunities for our families.
• We strive for excellence. We commit ourselves to being the best at what we do through continuous learning and improvement.
• We are powered by collaboration. We know that our communities are stronger when they work together, and we know we are too. We trust and respect each other.
• We are driven by compassion. At the heart of our work is a belief in the boundless potential of our children and families – and of ourselves.
I hope you’ve been having a healthy, safe, and fun summer with your communities, and I hope you have a chance to see the work of our amazing staff sometime soon.
It is well known that the most critical years of cognitive development occur during early childhood, and preschool educators are a vital part of unlocking a child’s potential. That’s why Children’s Aid is investing in a new one-year educator professional learning partnership with the renowned Bank Street College of Education, a leader in early childhood education, teacher and leader preparation, and the development of innovative practices in American school systems.
Backed by funding from the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation, which also generously supports other Children’s Aid initiatives, Bank Street’s Education Center (Ed Center) is partnering with Children’s Aid to co-construct and implement a high-quality professional learning model for our preschool educators. With a focus on building a sustainable professional learning model, the Ed Center and Children’s Aid leaders are designing a program that aligns with, builds upon, and strengthens existing Children’s Aid learning structures.
The process kicked off in the spring with the Ed Center connecting with Children’s Aid leadership to gain a better understanding of the Children’s Aid program, then transitioned in July to observing our programs and gathering feedback and suggestions from Children’s Aid educators. The Ed Center then developed a customized professional learning series for educators across all nine Children’s Aid early childhood centers, drawing upon the feedback received and Bank Street’s decades of research, coaching, and training.
After that initial work, the partnership organizers launched an in-person professional learning program this summer, pairing Bank Street coaches with Children’s Aid educators twice a month. The instructional coaching model encourages collaborative work with teacher teams and allows other teachers to observe and participate in coaching.
This school year, leaders from various Children’s Aid divisions, including Early Childhood, will create a community inside Children’s Aid who can maintain and grow this professional learning model in the years ahead. Ongoing strategic planning, data collection, and reporting will also take place via regular meetings between Bank Street and Children’s Aid to share insights and evidence and inform future phases of support.
“At Bank Street, we believe responsive relationships are at the heart of all learning and our strengths-based, child-centered approach to teaching and learning is grounded in a deep understanding of child and adult development,” said Tracy Fray-Oliver, Vice President, Bank Street Education Center. “We are pleased to partner with Children’s Aid to help further develop early childhood educators who know how to create the nurturing, responsive learning environments that help young children thrive in school and in life.”
We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Kelly Mahon Tullier, Visa Inc.’s Vice Chair and Chief People and Administrative Officer, to the Children’s Aid Board of Trustees. Kelly and her husband, Hugh Johnston, have been longtime champions of Children’s Aid through personal giving, the creation of corporate partnerships, and leadership at the Children’s Aid Benefit.
This spring, President and CEO Phoebe C. Boyer was honored at the Bank Street Celebration hosted by the Bank Street College of Education. Phoebe was introduced by Sockona Doucoure, a recent high school graduate from Harlem Village Academies and an active participant at our Hope Leadership Academy.
books were read to our preschoolers this past school year, thanks in part to Raising a Reader, Creative Curriculum, and Highlights Hello.
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summer programming locations, including our 52-acre Wagon Road Camp in Chappaqua, Ailey Camp dance academy in the Bronx, three city-based day camps, and 12 school-based Summer Rising enrichment and learning sites.
1,648 100+
refugee or asylum-seeking family members attend our Frederick Douglass Community Center near Harlem to access culturally appropriate meals, nutrition programming, after-school education and enrichment, material assistance, health and mental health services, and translation support.
Running 26.2 miles is a herculean commitment — and deciding to do it again requires a special level of motivation. “I’ve been in NYC for 10 years and Marathon Sunday is my favorite day of the year,” said Brandon Vazquez, an equity research analyst at William Blair who is running his second consecutive Team Children’s Aid marathon on November
5. “Last year I think I high-fived 50 people on the sidelines cheering us on. The energy in the city is really something special and hard to even describe in words.” That energy, Brandon found out, was so contagious that it even popped up in some unexpected places. Someone he never met saw his Facebook marathon campaign, messaged him directly, and offered to donate.
“She said she loves Children’s Aid and wanted to show support. I thought it was very kind and really spoke to how impactful the organization can be,” Brandon said.
That same admiration for Children’s Aid is what compelled Brandon to run for Children’s Aid in the first place. He witnessed his wife volunteer in a JPMorgan Chase-Children’s Aid career mentorship program, and he recognizes this and other Children’s Aid programs as powerful tools to solve inequality in New York City.
Jennifer Burns is also running her second marathon this year, and her first with Children’s Aid. She learned about us through her employer, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine, where she is the senior
vice president of club operations. Children’s Aid helped establish the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and continues to partner with the organization today. “I am so proud of the mission and history of Children’s Aid and BGCA,” said Jennifer. “The care these organizations provide is phenomenal and inspiring.”
Jennifer was previously a staff member at the Hyde Foundation, working closely with their schoolbased programming. In that role, she saw how impactful high-quality education and life skills programming can be for shaping the trajectory of a young person’s life. She also came to understand the difference dedicated staff can make. That desire to make the world a better place for the next generation is what keeps Jennifer going. “Every mile I run, every dollar I raise is going to support children and gives me energy for the next mile,” she said.
Team Children’s Aid consists of 14 people. To support the featured runners and the rest of the team, visit ChildrensAidNYC.org/NYCMarathon
As part of Children’s Aid’s advocacy work, we have been involved in the #JustPay campaign this city budget season, promoting the importance of funding a COLA (cost of living adjustment) for their sub-contracted human services workers at community-based organizations and nonprofits. Children’s Aid leadership and staff have joined other community stakeholders to participate in rallies, call-in days, social media actions, op-ed submissions, and more. We asked for a 6.5% statutory COLA at an estimated cost of $200 million in the FY24 city budget. We advocated for a multiyear COLA deal that matches what city municipal workers will receive — 16.5% over the next three years — in order to guarantee a COLA to city-contracted human services workers in future years as well.
New York City’s FY24 budget allocated $40 million toward a workforce enhancement for city-contracted human services workers, growing to $90 million next year. This is far below the 6.5% COLA and 16.5% increase over three years that we all demanded. While we are disappointed with the decision by our city leaders, we are grateful to our staff for their advocacy and the way they continue to show up for our youth and families, communities, and one another.
We wholeheartedly believe that for far too long, the city’s wages set on contracts with community-based organizations like Children’s Aid have created a crisis for human services. We know how important this work is, and our amazing frontline staff deserve to be paid accordingly by our city contracts. This underpayment has also led to staff vacancies that are harder and harder to fill as cost of living continues to rise. Without a significant COLA from the city, our sector will not be able to fully staff the programs that our communities so desperately need.
As we move into the new fiscal year, we will take the time to reset, strategize, and re-energize ourselves for continued advocacy. Our workforce deserves a meaningful COLA that truly compensates the value of the critical work we deliver. 5
During lunchtime at Curtis High School, most students are hanging out with their friends. For 17-yearold Anood Ali, lunch is often her opportunity to arrange care for her younger brother. He has autism, and since Anood’s parents aren’t conversational in English, she coordinates his medical appointments, schooling, and anything else he needs. While it’s been challenging, it doesn’t wear her down. Instead, it inspires her. “He is one of the main reasons I want to become a doctor. I want to help families care for people in need, whether young or elderly,” said Anood. She’s also especially proud to become a female doctor, which wouldn’t have been possible where she grew up.
Anood and her family are from Yemen. They moved to America to pursue new opportunities when she was in eighth grade. The next year, she enrolled at Curtis High School on Staten Island. Between learning a new language, keeping up at school, caring for her brother, and having to catch up from a leave of absence due to a family emergency, Anood was completely overwhelmed. She turned to Children’s Aid’s school-based health center, where a therapist worked closely with her to navigate the stress she felt and check in on her throughout her high school years. “I was getting tired mentally and was not feeling well and Ms. Raya and Ms. Luissa from the mental health providers office helped me a lot and talked with me and got me through it. They encouraged me when I actually needed them. I will never forget their kind concerned looks that they gave me,” Anood said.
She then got connected to Children’s Aid’s after-school tutoring to help her excel at school. When the time came to consider college, she joined Children’s Aid’s group trip to a college fair in Manhattan. The trip strengthened her
enthusiasm about college and her dream to become a doctor. “Children’s Aid staff encouraged me to find what I really wanted to do in college. They always asked me what I wanted to be. They helped me in every step I took,” said Anood.
As she started her college applications, Children’s Aid staff helped with filling out the forms, applying to FAFSA, and editing her essay. She was accepted to Saint Francis College, and because of her character and achievements, she earned a Children’s Aid college scholarship to help ease the burden of tuition.
This spring, Anood became the first member of her family to graduate from high school; this fall, she’ll be the first to enroll in college. As she reflects on her journey in America so far, she offers advice to other young immigrants who are trying to make their way: “It will be scary at first, so ask for help and engage with others, and you will have the best experience in school.”
To address the increasing rates of childhood obesity in the United States, Children’s Aid is partnering with Hunter College’s Public Health Program to study “Intervention, Inc.,” a family-centered, interactive mobile health platform utilizing graphic novels to promote healthy eating to 9- to 14-year-olds. The research project is spearheaded by May May Leung, Ph.D., RDN, and is expected to last for five years.
Since children live in a media-saturated environment, Leung and her team hypothesized that creating engaging mobile content could successfully instill healthy habits. After Children’s Aid clients participated in the pilot program, it showed much promise: the participants demonstrated a significant increase in nutrition and health knowledge and fruit and vegetable consumption.
Currently, researchers are recruiting children at our community health centers during the first post-pilot phase of the project, aiming to enroll 200 participants. User testing and platform refinement will occur from October 2023 through June 2024, and the mobile program will then be evaluated for effectiveness on users’ Body Mass Index, dietary behaviors, and parental feeding practices until summer 2026. Family and health clinic staff will then be studied to see how environment and surroundings influence the outcomes. If the program ends up meeting its goals, it can be used as a powerful tool in tackling childhood obesity in cities nationwide.
