Annual Report July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018 & July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 Our Mission
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Annual Report July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018 & July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 Our Mission Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York, rooted in Catholic tradition and guided by the lives of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and Saint Peter Claver, transforms caring into action to deliver services, programs and direction to improve the lives of children in crisis, families and the developmentally disabled. Message from the Board President & Chief Executive Officer There has been much change and growth at Little And, to tie it all together was our celebration Flower Children and Family Services of New York over of Little Flower’s 90th Anniversary. We took the last two years. We have established an innovative this opportunity to reflect on our history, honor new NYC Flagship urban campus while deepening past leadership and recommit ourselves to our our roots at our Wading River campus, Hauppauge mission of transforming caring into action. In hub, and residences. Our programs and services have over 90 years, Little Flower’s team of leaders, also been dynamic, adapting to meet the needs of child welfare specialists, therapists, direct our clients and community so they can reach their full support professionals, and operations staff potential. across the agency has helped promote well- With the support and guidance of our Board of being for thousands of people so that they Directors, we were able to chart the course for change can best reach their potential. and build an even stronger foundation for Little Flower’s future to ensure the well-being of those we We look enthusiastically to the next 90 serve. years and continuing our work of providing At the center was a successful completion and sturdy foundations and layers of support implementation of a three-year strategic. Not only for children, families, and individuals with did the plan help us focus our efforts, it also helped us developmental disabilities. And, we look erect the framework for future growth. Such growth forward to partnering with all of you as we came in the form of: continue our mission of transforming caring • A greater partnership with St. John’s Residence for into action. Boys through an affiliation • The opening of new residences for our individuals for developmental disabilities • A flourishing culture of staff development and recognition • Achieving Sanctuary certification • Newfound and rekindled relationships with our elected officials, partners, donors, and peers Leonard Scioscia Corinne Hammons President Chief Executive Officer Board of Directors 3 About Little Flower Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York is committed to improving the well-being of children, families, and individuals with developmental disabilities across New York City and Long Island so that they can reach their best potential. Our staff of over 600 people work to build well-being by providing foster boarding home care, residential treatment care, adoption services, services for people with developmental disabilities, and medical and mental health services and coordination. We are proud to have helped so many find safety and stability during 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. Here are a few of the highlights: Served 889 children in Helped 412 children Assisted 298 young loving foster families return to their own adults navigate aging out families of care to begin life on their own Helped 80 children find Served 180 children in Cared for 173 children in their forever families the Bridges to Health the Residential Treatment through adoption program Center Helped 383 adults Helped 507 children with developmental access critical care disabilities lead more through the Health rewarding lives Homes program Celebrating 90 Years of Transforming Caring into Action Last year was a special year for Little Flower – it was our Most recently we are proud to offer our young adults 90th Anniversary! 90 years ago, our work began with in foster care greater access to career training through providing a safe and nurturing environment for neglected The Emergence ProjectSM (TEP), a youth development children from Bedford-Stuyvesant. initiative that provides job training and paid internships. Our children and families are receiving streamlined The organization has grown immensely since 1929, care through care coordination. And, our residents with expanding services to thousands of individuals each disabilities have more options and opportunities for a year – people with developmental disabilities, children better quality of life. living full time at the residential treatment center on the Monsignor John T. Fagan campus and children and Through change we remain true to the children, families, families experiencing troubled times across New York and adults in our care. We look to the future with great City and Long Island. hope to further our mission of transforming caring into action to ensure the well-being of those we serve so that In our 90 years, we are proud to have helped over they can reach their full potential. 5,000 children find their forever homes through adoption. The first adoption took place in 1957 and the Foster Boarding Home program also began that decade. In the 1970’s, Little Flower was one of the first organizations to respond to the Willowbrook crisis by opening our first home for adults with developmental disabilities. We are proud to say that some of those residents are still with us! Since then, we have opened 11 homes for individuals with developmental disabilities. In the last 20 years the Wading River campus grew to include new cottages and programming to best serve the needs of residents, such as music and art therapies and vocational programs like the Culinary Arts program. Staff milestones recognized at the 90th Anniversary celebration Founder, Msgr. Bernard J. Quinn, purchased a farmhouse in Wading River in 1927. Youth in the Culinary Arts program, in the Residential Treatment Center 5 His vision gave birth to the Msgr. John T. Fagan campus. (RTC), competing in the Junior Iron Chef competition. Strategic Plan Three years ago, Little Flower began the process of We were able to reach our goals in part due to the creating and implementing a Strategic Plan. By the leadership of the process. Emerging leaders, Chief of summer of 2019, we successfully met all our objectives, on Staff, Michelle Amato and Executive Director, St. John’s/ time and in full. VP, Little Flower, Jennifer Horsley worked with teams across the agency to ensure targets were being met on time. Their We came away refocused, always assessing new collaboration and efforts to ensure the success of the plan, opportunities to implement our mission by answering three while keeping up with the demands of their own workload, key questions: where are we now, where are we going was essential to the implementation’s success. and how are we going to get there? Some examples from the past three years include: Jennifer and Michelle are once again leading the next strategic plan, which began January 1, 2020. We look • Attained New York State 29i licensure, which allows Little forward to sharing the results with you upon completion. Flower to provide mental health services to children in foster care and to those who have aged out of care until the age of 21 • Opened three new residences for individuals with developmental disabilities – Essex House in Nassau County and Rose House and Forest Hills in Queens • Implemented client engagement surveys for all our major programs. The feedback led to changes like reinstating Chief of Staff, Michelle Amato Executive Director, St. John’s/ regular meetings between the Residential Treatment VP, Little Flower, Jennifer Horsley Center and the Union Free School District for uniformity and increasing the practice of assigning the same caseworker to siblings or those in the same foster home to promote consistency for parents and children • Expanded programs and improved program performance • Increased investment in staff development • Operationalized a development plan, with a focus on donor stewardship and retention • Built and developed meaningful relationships with our peers, community partners, and elected officials The Little Flower Union Free School District is located on the Msgr. Fagan campus Essex Place Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, L-R, NYS Assemblymember Edward Ra, Chief Little Flower Albany Night, L-R, Chief Program Officer, Alissa Deakin, Executive Officer, Corinne Hammons, and NYS Assemblymember Charles Lavine NYS Senator Leroy Comrie, Chief Executive Officer, Corinne Hammons, NYS Assemblymember Charles Barron Sanctuary Certification After a five-year journey, Little Flower proudly became a Community Meetings have become a daily or weekly certified Sanctuary organization in August 2018. routine across the agency as have the other tools, such as self-care plans and safety plans, which provide both staff As a Sanctuary organization, Little Flower is and clients the means to process, manage, and recover from committed to promoting safety and recovery traumatic events. from adversity through the active creation of a trauma-informed community. The entire With the model, we aim to provide the best care for our Little Flower family recognizes that trauma clients’ well-being and a positive work environment for our is pervasive in the human experience, which staff while maintaining a trauma-informed culture that makes forms the basis of the Sanctuary Model’s focus it easier to identify stress in our community. Being attentive to these indicators enables us to create a safe and nurturing on not only people who seek treatment but also atmosphere for everyone to flourish. on the people and systems providing treatment. The five year path to certification, from the Sanctuary Institute at ANDRUS, involved training in the model for all staff and clients at every location. Everyone learned and implemented tools, like the Community Meeting, which is designed to promote feelings identification, a focus on the future rather than the past, and a sense of connection.