2018 ANNUAL REPORT Founded in 1875, The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (The NYSPCC) was the first child protection agency in the world. Throughout its 144 year history, The NYSPCC has met the urgent needs of New York City’s most vulnerable children through the development of new and innovative programs. It is with this same spirit of innovation, concern and compassion for the City’s children that The NYSPCC seeks to meet the challenges that lie ahead. INSIDE 1 OUR MISSION AND OUR WORK 2 FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 3 FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 4 TRAUMA RECOVERY PROGRAM 5 CLIENT STORY 6 THERAPEUTIC SUPERVISED VISITATION PROGRAM 7 CLIENT STORY 8 SAFE TOUCHES 9 CRISIS DEBRIEFING SERVICES 10 TRAINING INSTITUTE 12 RESEARCH & EVALUATION 13 THE NYSPCC IN THE NEWS 14 GEORGE SIM JOHNSTON ARCHIVES 15 SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 16 SPRING LUNCHEON 16 THE JUNIOR SOCIETY BENEFIT 17 FOOD AND WINE GALA 18 CONTRIBUTIONS 2018 inside HOW YOU CAN HELP back 2018 BOARD OF DIRECTORS cover back CURRENT SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM cover Our Mission The NYSPCC responds to the complex needs of abused and neglected children, and those involved in their care, by providing best practice counseling, legal, and educational services. Through research, communications, and training initiatives, we work to expand these programs to prevent abuse and help more children heal. OUR WORK: Mental Health Services • Provide therapeutic supervised visitation services to children and their families in a safe and supportive setting. • Counsel children who have endured the trauma of child abuse or neglect. • Provide crisis debriefing services to child welfare agencies to help staff during times of stress, grief, and loss. Legal Services • Advocate for legislative and judicial action that protects children and strengthens families. • Provide training and counsel for staff in preparation for court testimony. Educational Services • Educate professionals about child abuse and neglect identification and reporting. • Provide sexual abuse prevention workshops to children in New York City schools. • Promote healthy parenting through counseling and education. • Train professionals on The NYSPCC’s best practice models. WHAT MAKES THE NYSPCC UNIQUE: • The first child protection agency in the world. 144 years of helping the most vulnerable children recover and heal from abuse. • Long-standing collaborative relationships with social service providers, the court systems, child-serving organizations, and schools. • Flexibility, as an independent non-profit, we offer enhanced levels of service for children and families. • Highly skilled and specialized professionals. 1 FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dear Friends, I am honored to chair the board of The NYSPCC. No organization has focused on preventing and treating child abuse longer or more effectively, and yet, even after 144 years in existence, The NYSPCC had an especially good year. In 2018, The NYSPCC served 6,315 children, 292 parents and caregivers, and 1,912 child welfare professionals through programs designed to protect children from abuse and help children and families, affected by abuse, neglect and domestic violence, to heal. And it is all thanks to you—our friends and donors. We hosted three special events in 2018. In April, our Spring Luncheon featured Gold Medal Olympic Gymnast, McKayla Maroney. In her first public appearance, she bravely spoke about the horrific sexual abuse she experienced at the hands of team doctor, Larry Nassar, her recovery, and her plans to prevent future abuse within the sport. In May, The NYSPCC’s Junior Society held their annual benefit at Fishbowl, raising awareness among NYC’s young professionals and inspiring them to become more involved in our work. Finally, in November, my beautiful wife, Deborah Norville, Anchor of Inside Edition and NYSPCC Children’s Council Member, hosted the Food & Wine Gala, at which Chef Costas Spiliadis of estiatorio Milos curated a Greek-inspired menu. Altogether, these events raised nearly one million dollars for The NYSPCC’s programs that help thousands of children to heal. Also in 2018, The NYSPCC had the good fortune to receive a $16M legacy gift from a compassionate and generous donor. These funds will strengthen the agency’s stability and secure program services for decades to come. We will use a portion of the funds for some immediate enhancements, such as updating The NYSPCC’s website, modernizing the database, and creating a digital version of our child sexual abuse prevention program, Safe Touches. Such enhancements will improve The NYSPCC’s ability to provide optimal care that meets the needs of children and families. The NYSPCC is working to make this world a safer place for children, but we wouldn’t be able to do it without your continued faith in our abilities. As proud as I am of what we have done as an organization during this past year, I am focused on all the work which still remains undone. Thank you for your support! Sincerely, Karl G. Wellner President Board of Directors 2 FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Dear Friends, After 144 years, The NYSPCC still leads the field in child protection and has earned tremendous respect from the community. We share our knowledge and experience by teaching and training children, families, professionals, legislators, and the general public to improve their ability to keep children safe. Due to our expertise in child sexual abuse prevention, NYC Elite, a New York City-based gymnastics organization, asked The NYSPCC to improve the safety of more than 5,000 young athletes enrolled in their programs. Our Training Institute strengthened the organizations’ policies and procedures on child safety issues and taught staff members how to identify and report sexual abuse. This work inspired the Athlete Assistance Fund (AAF), in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal, to select The NYSPCC above all other child protection agencies to help them eradicate sexual abuse in the sport of gymnastics. Through this partnership, our Training Institute is developing child sexual abuse prevention curriculum tailored to the needs of the gymnasts, their parents and the coaches/business owners in the industry. We are confident this will help the gymnastic community protect the children in their care. The NYSPCC also met regularly with city and state legislators to help strengthen laws that protect children. In 2018, The NYSPCC’s advocacy work succeeded in amending the New York State Education Law to require private schools to report instances of suspected child abuse of students by school employees. We also assisted in the passage of the Child Victims Act, which expands the statutes of limitations for survivors of child sexual abuse civilly and criminally from age 23 to 55 and 28, respectively. Currently, The NYSPCC is working with the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) to develop a campaign to end the corporal punishment of children. You’ll also be pleased to know that in June 2018, I was elected to the national Board of APSAC. My place on their Board is a great opportunity for The NYSPCC to contribute to the national discussion about child abuse treatment and prevention, and to help create a culture that focuses on the safety and well-being of children. I hope you will read on and reflect upon our success in 2018—and know that The NYSPCC is a leading voice of child protection because of your support. We are so grateful! Warm regards, Mary L. Pulido, Ph.D. Executive Director 3 TRAUMA RECOVERY PROGRAM Launched in 2001, our Trauma Recovery Program provides a safe, supportive and nurturing environment that helps children, ages 5-21 years, to recover from physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and domestic violence. Our team of licensed therapists provides services in English and Spanish, six days and three evenings per week, free of charge. Services include: Individual Therapy: Survivors of abuse and neglect typically experience emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and physical difficulties, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. NYSPCC therapists provide child-centered, Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Talk, art, and play techniques are used to teach children how to identify and manage their emotions and impulses, understand and develop helpful thinking patterns, strengthen coping skills and process traumatic events. Family Therapy: The NYSPCC strongly encourages parents, foster parents and other caregivers to become part of the therapeutic process. We do not treat children in isolation. We help caregivers understand trauma symptoms and how to support their children’s recovery. Our work with families include parent-child sessions, parent only sessions, and family sessions which include the parent, child and siblings. Collateral Sessions: One of the features that make our Trauma Recovery Program unique is how we collaborate with other system responders involved in the children’s lives. NYSPCC therapists are in regular contact with foster care and caseworkers, teachers, and other professionals in the child’s life to ensure that the mental health needs of our young clients are understood and met in all aspects of their lives, not just in the therapy room. OUTCOMES: 1. 90% of clients demonstrated improvements in their baseline symptoms (e.g., anxiety and depression.) 2. 82% increased their use of adaptive coping skills (e.g., ability to identify feelings and build social supports.) 3. 81% increased their healthy interpersonal communication skills and increased their social interactions. 4 CLIENT STORY Victoria & Cristina 13-year-old Victoria* was suicidal. Her life began with tragedy and continued to be rife with tremendous challenges. She and her family are from a dangerous town in Honduras, where her father disappeared not long after she was born. At the tender age of 11, Victoria was physically assaulted and her life threatened. Making the experience even more tragic was the death of her grandmother, who died of a heart attack while witnessing that brutal assault on Victoria.