Council Initiatives

Advancing Race Equity

This section is based on the framework outlined in the AECF Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide

Commissioners’ Committee on Cross-Systems Services for Children and Youth

The Commissioners' Committee on Cross-systems Services for Children and Youth is comprised of health, education and human services agencies, and parent and youth partners, focusing on achieving better outcomes for children, youth and families by improving access to services and supports; ensuring quality coordinated services and supports from a qualified workforce; and collaborating to eliminate service barriers between systems. The Council on Children and Families plays an important role in this initiative and fully participates in its continued deliberations and activities. The Commissioners developed a message defining the priorities of the workgroup.

Coordinating Council on Children with Incarcerated Parents (CCCwIP)

The Coordinating Council on Children with Incarcerated Parents (CC CwIP) brings together key state agencies, community-based organizations and individuals, including formerly incarcerated parents and family members of incarcerated parents, to improve the lives of children of incarcerated parents. Under the leadership of the Council on Children and Families, and in partnership with the Osborne Association and the Division of Criminal Justice Services, CC CwIP addresses ways in which to improve practices to support children and families from the point of arrest to issues to pertaining to parent-child communication during incarceration and to family reunification. The CC CWIP welcomes the input of formerly incarcerated parents and other family members.

Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC)

The New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) was formed in 2009 to provide advice on issues related to young children and their families. The vision of the ECAC is to ensure all young children are healthy, learning, and thriving in families that are supported by a full complement of services and resources essential to successful development.

Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Impact Initiative (ECCS Impact)

The NYS Council on Children and Families and grantees in 11 other states have been awarded the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) Impact grant. This 5 year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau seeks to enhance early childhood systems building and demonstrate improved outcomes in population-based children’s developmental health and family well-being using a Collaborative Innovation and Improvement Network (CoIIN) approach. The overall 5 year aim of this project is to demonstrate a 25% increase from baseline in age appropriate developmental skills among 3-year-old children in selected NYS communities.

Every Student Present

Every Student Present sheds light on the issue of chronic absence by describing what it is, explaining how it impacts students and highlighting approaches that schools, families and communities can use to reduce chronic absence.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Workgroup

The mission of the FASD Workgroup is to increase awareness and advance the effective prevention and treatment of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in New York State through collaboration and coordination. In addition to working through committees, each participating organization is empowered to examine its own policies, practices, regulations and laws, to determine how it can positively impact the goals of eliminating alcohol use during pregnancy and improving the lives of New Yorkers affected by prenatal alcohol exposure.

Interagency Resolution Unit

The Council is authorized by law (under powers and duties of the Council) to work with state and local agencies and parents to identify and resolve interagency issues and jurisdictional disputes that impede access to services for children and youth who are hard-to-place and hard-to-serve because of their multiple disabilities. The primary objectives in resolving these cases are to ensure that individual children receive the most appropriate community-based or residential services; minimize delays in arranging services; resolve service disputes; and facilitate the development of specific services and programs designed to meet the needs of children and youth, particularly those with non-traditional and complex needs. Nearly 3,000 children and families have benefited from Council intervention.

Head Start Collaboration Project

Since 1990, the Council has administered this federally-funded Head Start project that has the following objectives: to link Head Start programs to state and local initiatives serving low-income children and families; to encourage collaboration among Head Start and other appropriate programs and services; and to facilitate the involvement of Head Start in state policies, plans and decisions affecting the Head Start target population. For example, Council staff are convening meetings with state and federal officials to ensure the implementation of the Universal Pre-kindergarten program maximizes the annual Head Start funding for New York State that is in excess of $450 million. The Council also conducts a number of training, policy development and systems enhancement projects across the eight federally mandated priority areas (including, health care, family literacy, and services to children with disabilities). To implement these projects, the Council has developed strong collaborative relationships with state and local agencies, community-based providers, colleges and universities.

KIDS COUNT – NYS

Since 1997, the Council has been a member of the state-level KIDS COUNT network, supported with funding by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. A primary objective of the New York State KIDS COUNT project is to disseminate county-level data that focuses on child well-being in order to advance the use of children's health, education and well-being indicators as a tool for policy development, planning and accountability. The Council produces an annual data book and special reports focusing on emerging and specific topics. The Council also partnered with the Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, Office of Children and Family Services and the Office of Court Administration to present child-focused, child welfare and court data in The Child in Child Welfare and the Courts Data Book (2006).

Kids’ Well-being Indicators Clearinghouse (KWIC)

In 2003, the Council launched KWIC, an interactive website that advances the NYS Touchstones/KIDS COUNT data dissemination process by expanding access to New York State children's health, education and well-being data; providing more current data; expanding the number of indicators presented; providing access to other data resources; allowing users to chart, graph and map data; and giving users the ability to tailor data to fit their needs. KWIC ( http://www.nyskwic.org), a one-stop data warehouse with data from numerous Council member agencies, is available to data users twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Multiple Systems Navigator Website

The MSNavigator website provides easily accessible resources, service information and tools to assist youth, parents, family members/caregivers and front-line staff currently struggling to effectively and efficiently navigate multiple human services systems. It is a 'one-stop-shop' for user-friendly, accurate and up-to-date disability information.

NYS Mentoring Program

The New York State Mentoring Program is a pathway that leads children to a successful future, a program guided by an advisory board and its chairwoman, Matilda Raffa Cuomo, the governor’s mother.

Out-of-State Placement (OSP) Committee

Established within the Council by law in 2005 (Social Services Law section 483-d), this Committee is charged with coordinating the development of legislative, fiscal and program strategies to strengthen the in-state infrastructure and reduce out-of-state placements.

Preschool Development Birth Through Five (NYSB5)

Preschool Development Birth Through Five grant (NYSB5) initiative page.

Please see the Council Archives section for past initiatives and publications.