Dean, University at Buffalo, School of Social Work
TonyaBoniface
Associate Commissioner for Human Resources, New York State Office of Children and Family Services
CaraCrowley
Vice President of Global Events for Conde Nast
MyungLee
Chief Strategy Officer, Living Cities
ChinReyes
Professor at Yale University's Child Study Center and Director of the Climate of Healthy Interactions for Learning and Development (CHILD) Program
TonyRivera
Founder, Fostering Minds LLC and School Counselor, North Colonie Central School District
StephenSheffer
Marketing and Communications Manager, Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York
MichaelWhalen
Senior Vice President, M&T Bank; Chair, City of Albany Housing Authority Board of Commissioners
Leadership Team
Our organization was established in 2019 to conduct training and research and to develop program and policy recommendations that support the work of New York’s Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and local agencies that serve youth and families. Our work enables OCFS and its state and local partners to enhance program and service provision. Through innovation, collaboration, training, and research, we build understanding of the intricacies and complexities of working with children, families, and adults
Our work will help position OCFS and its partners as national leaders in the field.
CassiePustilnik,ExecutiveDirector, supports Board operations, administration, planning, and information dissemination and oversees organizational operations.
She works closely with YRI’s senior management and other key staff to support contract and staff management. In this capacity, she is responsible for delegation, decision-making, creating clear staff roles, and supervising collaborative tasks to ensure they are done efficiently, inclusively, and with respect. She is also responsible for ensuring that women, people of color, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and religious minorities feel respected and included in their roles at YRI.
She leads the development of external partnerships and strategic alliances. To ensure that these alliances are successful and fruitful, she works with the board,staff,andotherstakeholderstoensurethattheorganization’s programsandactivitiesareachievingYRI’smissionandcomplementthe goalsofourpartners.
WendyCalabrese,VicePresidentofPrograms, oversees training and program management. The training team provides classroom-based, hybrid, and virtual training and technical assistance contracted by OCFS. Training participants include staff from local departments of social services, voluntary agencies, community-based organizations, and child day care regulatory agencies who provide services in partnership with OCFS. Additionally, Wendy oversees the program management team, which provides support for training and other operations at the Human Services Training Center. This team also plans and schedules training and events, including multiple annual in-person and virtual events.
JulieAversa,VicePresidentofFinanceandOperations, oversees finance, human resources, and information systems teams The finance team manages YRI’s contracts and grants; manages organizational, program, and project budgets; and supports financial processes that impact YRI’s programming. The human resources team manages recruitment, benefit administration, and employee engagement strategies. The information systems team is responsible for providing computer and related technical support across the organization.
GregoryKwaczala,VicePresidentofStrategy,Equity,andAdvancement, oversees YRI’s special projects, development, communications, and research teams. The special projects team implements pilot projects and other activities in response to emerging needs identified by OCFS. The development and communications team raises funds to support YRI and OCFS initiatives and conducts internal and external communications functions. The research team collects and analyzes data related to special projects and generates recommendations and best practices related to OCFS programs
Message from the Executive Director
In the five years since YRI was operationalized, our organization has grown exponentially. We have continued to add new programs and projects that extend our reach into communities throughout New York State. In 2023, we executed 11 training plans and between January 2023 and June 2024, we initiated or implemented seven special projects in service of OCFS and launched the Center for Excellence for Evidence-Based Practice Implementation. These initiatives will positively impact the lives of New York’s children and families for years to come.
YRI is proud to be an organization that centers the perspectives of individuals with lived experience and child well-being professionals with lived experience, diverse backgrounds, experience, and expertise. As such, we have expanded our Board of Directors to include new members with invaluable knowledge, experiences, and connections to the communities we serve.
YRI continues to be a great place to work. I am proud to lead an organization that, for the third year in a row, has been named a Top Workplace as part of the Times Union Top Workplaces program. This is a reflection of our commitment to the wellbeing of our employees.
YRI is looking forward to continued growth. We are dedicated to sharing our innovative ideas and enhancing the work of OCFS and its partners. Through our work, we strive to prepare an effective, competent workforce that centers family and youth voice while upholding professional obligations as it supports children and families.
We are devoted to continuing to make YRI a great place to work – an organization that is known for prioritizing the well-being of each employee.
We continue to thank our employees, board, partners, and supporters for all you do to help us grow!
Sincerely,
CassiePustilnik
78 Number of Employees as of December 31, 2023
$15,573,810
Total Training Budget
$17,017,130
Total Organizational Budget
$1,497,320
Total Strategy, Equity, and Advancement (SEA Team) Budget
3,628 Child Welfare Foundations Training Completers
1,316 Performance Improvement Training and Activities Completers
1,356 Foster/ Adoptive Parent Training Completers 2023 Training
98 Keys to Excellence in Your Supervision (KEYS) Core Training
496 Professional Development Events Participants
2,390 Child Protective Services Training Completers
601 Motivational Interviewing Training Completers
767 Child Care Microcomputer Training
2023-2024 Special Projects
3 Child Care Focused Projects Implemented
1 Grant Writing Project to Support OCFS Priorities Implemented
1 Child Wellbeing Focused Projects Launched
3 Statewide Projects to Support Professional Development and Service Learning Implemented
1 Statewide Child Wellbeing Focused Program Launched
6 Partnership Projects Under Development and Service Learning Implemented
Center for Excellence
In 2023, YRI launched the Center forExcellenceforEvidenceBasedPracticeImplementation (CfE) in partnership with the Office of Children and Family Services, Division of Child Welfare and Community Services and Chapin Hall.
The CfEpromotes the implementation of New York State’s Family First Prevention Services Act, Prevention Plan (FFPSA). FFPSA is a comprehensive legislative initiative aimed at transforming the child welfare system by increasing the financial incentives for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) as prevention tools for families at risk of entering the child welfare system.
The CfE aims to foster the widespread adoption of EBPs and enhance their effectiveness in realworld settings, including in diverse populations. By promoting evidence-based decision-making and providing resources, the CfE strives to create a culture that values and prioritizes the use of EBPs for the benefit of individuals, organizations, and communities. In 2024, the CfE began implementation of two EBPs, Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT).
Brief Strategic Family Therapy Motivational Interviewing
The CfE represents another step in our collective commitment to reimagining child and family services across New York State. The CfE will be the hub for providing technical assistance, training, continuous quality improvement, and evaluation for evidence-based prevention programs.
The CfE will support an often overburdened child welfare workforce, and engaging local partners with a goal to upstream prevention, lower caseloads, and prioritize keeping families together.
Since launching the CfE, YRI has contracted with Lyssn, an artificial intelligence-powered platform trusted by child welfare experts, to conduct MI booster training and fidelity monitoring. As of July 2024, 126 workers from Chemung, Oswego, and Warren Counties have completed Booster training and will continue on to the fidelity monitoring phases of the MI continuum supported by the CfE.
AboutMotivational Interviewing
MI is a client-centered, collaborative, and goaloriented counseling approach that can be highly effective in the child welfare setting, particularly when working with preventive workers. Using Motivational Interviewing with preventive workers in a child welfare setting can significantly improve engagement, motivation, and positive outcomes for families at risk. When applied with skill and empathy, MI can empower families to make meaningful changes and create safer environments for their children.
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At the same time, The CfE has contracted with the Family Therapy Training Institute of Miami (FTTIM) to provide BSFT training and fidelity monitoring for selected agencies serving Erie, Niagara, Orange, Oswego, and Rockland Counties. The CfE has executed contracts with the three agencies, Liberty Resources, NAFI, and New Directions, which have collectively hired 9 therapists who have begun BSFT training with FTTIM.
The primary objective of BSFT is to empower and support families by utilizing evidence-based therapeutic practices to address the challengers they face. By offering BSFT as a strategic preventative intervention, we aim to prevent child abuse and neglect, enhance family functioning, and promote healthier family dynamics. BSFT focuses on improving communication, resolving conflicts, strengthening relationship, and equipping families with the skills and resources necessary for long-term well-being.
Special Projects Highlights
PilotsandDemonstrations
Beginning in 2023, YRI’s Special Projects Team began implementation of two transformative demonstration projects, engaging targeted communities in pilot projects that will inform statewide policy.
The DirectCashTransferPilot provides $500 per month for 12 months to 150 families in Westchester, Monroe, and Onondaga Counties. YRI and its research partners at the Center for Guaranteed Income Research will evaluate the effect of the funds on future family engagement with the child welfare system.
You can watch the Direct Cash Transfer Launch Celebration hosted by OCFS here
The Diversity,Equity,Inclusion,and Accessibility(DEIA)ToolkitPilot involved evaluating the effectiveness of a newly developed DEIA Toolkit developed by the Diversity Equity Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) advisory group within the Division of Child Care Services (DCCS) at OCFS.
The Toolkit is intended to educate Regulators and Child Care Providers about DEIA, expand children’s access and exposure to DEIA concepts and resources, empower the child care community to organically
Events
and systematically incorporate DEIA concepts into all aspects of child care programming, and help regulators and providers understand why these concepts are essential and to assist in facilitating open discussions with parents and guardians around DEIA principles.
YRI recruited child care providers from the Long Island Regional Office (LIRO) and Buffalo Regional Office (BRO) service areas to participate in DEIA Toolkit training and provide feedback about the Toolkit and related materials through surveys and focus groups.
In November 2023, the Special Projects Team assisted OCFS with planning and running their Runaway HomelessYouthProviderSummitin Glens Falls, New York. This event brought together more than 60 providers from across New York State. The event featured speaker Trudee Able-Peterson presented Streetwork: Origins, Methodology, and Best Practices for Working with Youth sharing her knowledge developed over decades of experience
Participants received materials for their classrooms that support the implementation of the DEIA Toolkit, including toys, books, posters, and creative materials. Participants indicated that the DEIA Toolkit documents and supportive materials provided by OCFS were educational, resourceful, and helpful.
Based on the results, YRI recommended that OCFS consider 1.) expanding resources for providers caring for children diagnosed with disabilities; 2.) providing expanded access to incentives for children with various social and emotional needs; 3.) offer a wide array of accessible training; and 4.) offer supports to foster the care provider and adult caregiver relationship
At Baseline, 36% of the respondents indicated that they had Occasionally, Frequently, or Very Frequently engaged with the DEIA Toolkit Documents, compared to 91% of the respondents in the 90 Day Survey.
In May 2024, the Special Projects Team assisted the Commission on National and Community Service with planning and supporting the AmeriCorps30thAnniversary ServiceSummit in Brooklyn, New York This event brought nearly 600 AmeriCorps members and staff to participate in service projects in Sunset Park and other areas of Brooklyn. Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado and Commissioner Dr. DaMia HarrisMadden spoke at the event.
Program Management Training and Events
In fall 2023, YRI’s Program Management Team coordinated and provided onsite support for the DirectorofServices event in Glens Falls, New York, and a Commissioner’sOffice event in Silver Bay, New York.
In spring 2024, the team coordinated and provided virtual support as the host for the Child WelfareWorkforceRecruitmentandRetentionVirtualConvening. The convening was a collaboration between OCFS and Department of Civil Service (DCS) to share strategies and their commitment for improving recruitment and retention. The keynote speaker for this webinar was Barry Chaffkin, CEO of Fostering Change for Children. Barry spoke about behavioral interviewing and how that can be used to re-imagine the caseworker examination.
In addition to coordinating and providing onsite support for the NYSPreventionSummit in April, the Program Management Team has been busy planning several in-person events in 2024 including the Detention Education Summit in August, the Home Finding Summit in October, the Directors of Services Training Leadership Forum in October, and the RHY Providers’ Gathering in November.
MotivationalInterviewing
The Motivational Interviewing (MI) Team is delivering a revised MI curriculum that brings updated MI language and topics into the training room. The MI Team has begun to travel across New York State and hold trainings at the Human Resources Training Center in Rensselaer, including two trainings exclusively for supervisors. Since YRI began providing MI training in 2022, workers from 40counties and 32preventiveagencies have participated.
YRI’s Child Welfare Training Team has successfully navigated a request for three additional deliveries of the Child Welfare Foundations Program (CWFP), Child Protective Services Bridge Training (CPS Bridge), and Child Protective Services Response Training (CPSRT) to be delivered prior to the end of 2024.
The team also delivered an Integrative Skills Clinic Stand Alone delivery. Participants completed team-building games and reviewed the material learned in Child Welfare Foundations before being tasked with demonstrating their skills (participants) and providing feedback (staff).Voluntary Agency and Local District staff who attended a virtual delivery of Child Welfare Foundations Program (CWFP) and did not move on to the Child Protective Services Response Training (CPSRT) between April 2020 and May 2023 had the opportunity to come to the HSTC for a two-day skills practice.
NationalTrainingandDevelopmentCurriculum
In June 2023, YRI launched its new National Training and Development Curriculum (NTDC) for Foster and Adoptive Parents, replacing the Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (GPSII/MAPP). This nine-day train-the-trainer course is for foster and adoptive parent homefinders. It is traumatizing for children to be removed from their homes and training foster parents is an important job. This program recognizes kinship family’s needs may be different and offers a different path for those who are taking care of family members.
YRI’s Microcomputer Training team is creating new trainings an care providers and regulators.
The Microcomputer Training team developed a new curriculum support the supervisory role in using the Child Care Facility Sys This comprehensive curriculum was designed to empower supe to complete tasks in CCFS while supporting the work done by R and ultimately impacting the care provided to children across N State within Licensed/Registered child care programs.
The Microcomputer Training team is also developing a new cou will provide advanced, hands-on learning for child care regulato are responsible for ensuring child care providers in New York S paid correctly and in a timely manner.
Participants will use OCFS-provided iPads and cloud-based services during site visits. The course is designed for participan with intermediate skills and will replace an existing iPad course better address the current needs of newer or introductory leve learners. The Microcomputer Training team is also creating a computer-based course to provide basic information in a selfguided and self-paced format for those completely new to usin an iPad.
Partnership Building
YRI has developed partnerships with organizations and individuals throughout the United States. We are cultivating relationships to support programs that will positively impact New York State’s families and, at the same time, sharing knowledge gained through our work that will positively impact families throughout the United States. The map below represents YRI’s current reach based on these relationships.
DirectCashTransfer(DCT)Program - In addition to our research partnership with the Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, YRI shared information about the implementation of our Direct Cash Transfer process for benefit waivers with Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services, Nest Program, in Seattle, Washington. Additionally, YRI assisted OCFS staff with preparation and coordination for their presentation at the Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) Conference in Portland, Oregon and joined OCFS staff to present a panel discussion about the DCT project at the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) National Human Services Summit 2024 inArlington, Virginia.
ParentalMentalHealthandConcreteSupportsProject - YRI is working closely with partners to develop a statewide program that combines access to concrete supports, such as diapers, and access to parental mental health supports among other wraparound services These partners include the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA); New York Poverty Reduction Council; United Way of the Greater Capital Region in Albany, New York; Stanford University in Stanford, California; National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN) and the MOMS Partnership at Yale University, both in New Haven, Connecticut; and Baby2Baby in LosAngeles, California.
CenterforExcellence(CfE) - As part of its newly launched CfE, YRI works closely with our partners at Chapin Hall in Chicago, Illinois, to guide the implementation of new evidence-based programs. Additionally, YRI is working closely with the Family Therapy Training Institute of Miami in Florida to train participating preventive agencies in use of Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT) and The University at Buffalo Motivational Interviewing Center in Buffalo, New York, to inform our implementation of Motivational Interviewing fidelity monitoring.
YRI's Philanthropy Committee managed an organization-wide drive as part of the 2023 Albany County Department for Children, Youth and Families Adopt-A-FamilyProgram. With donations from YRI staff, the committee was able provide a local family with gifts, household items, over $400 in gift cards, a Christmas tree, and decorations.
March2024
January2024
With coordination provided by an employee who was engaged in an external service project, YRI participated in the CodeBlue BlanketDrive. YRI collected new and gently used blankets to be distributed to unhoused individuals and Code Blue Shelters in the Capital Region.
The Philanthropy and DEIB Committees collaborated to hold a Diverse Book Drive and Book Mending event for theRedBookshelf in honor of National Reading Month. During the workshop, YRI staff learned how to mend used books before going on to inspect and repair an impressive number of books for placement on red bookshelves in local businesses throughout the Capital Region to promote child literacy. The books are free for children to take home to own. Over 50 new and used books were donated from the Admin Office and HSTC.
May2024
YRI staff volunteered as part of the United Way of the Greater Capital Region’s 518DayofService. Staff chosen through a lottery helped with spring cleaning at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Greater Capital Region, Inc.
YRI also participated in the first-ever 518DayofGiving and raised more than $1,000 to support professional development for YRI employees.
