Managing the Transformation of Child Welfare in NYC

This report documents contradictions that have emerged as the city reduces the size of its foster care system, but struggles to boost investments in the alternative, preventive family support services that help keep families stable and together.

The authors explain the changes overtaking the nonprofit foster care sector, look at the impact of the system’s contraction on the city’s efforts to build a neighborhood-based system, outline the impact on teens of the closure of group homes, and present recommendations and solutions for some of the most pressing problems in the foster care system.