Opening Doors Spring 2008

T O C H I L D R E N W I T H S P E C I A L H E A L T H C A R E N E E D S

O P E N I N G D O O R S

Congratulations to these NAC children and parents on their recent adoptions!

Melinda was adopted byMarcelina Soto on February 15, 2008.

Malcom and Naquaisha were adopted by Nevada Murray and Omar Harris on March 26, 2008.

If you know a family who can give a loving foster/adoptive home to a medically fragile child, pleaseencourage them to go to:

www.nac-inc.org/recruitment

or call:

NAC’s HomefindingDepartment(212) 696-1550 or (646) 352-9047

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

2 Letter from the Executive Director

3 NAC Activities

4 In the Community – Family ForumParents SpeakSave the DateArtists’ Corner

5 NAC in Action

6 Benefit NewsGrants at Work Thank you Donors

Adoption News

NAC builds Bridges to Health On January 1, 2008 New York State released a new comprehensive community care program, Bridges to Health – B2H – and NAC was chosen as one of only five New York City agencies to administer it. With the designation as a Health Care Integration Agency, NAC is part of a state program that is the first of its kind in the nation.

Over the next three years B2H will provide expanded and enhanced services to 3,300 children in foster care throughout New York State who have developmental disabilities or serious emotional disturbance, or who are medically fragile. (continued on page 2)

Volume 1 Issue 3 Spring 2008

37 West 26th StreetNew York, NY 10010T 212.696.1550F 212.696.1602

15 West 26th StreetNew York, NY 10010T 212.994.7940F 212.994.3003

www.nac-inc.org

New Alternatives for Children, Inc.

Tiana and Jeremy

learned about

grocery shopping

at the Children’s

Museum Of

Manhattan.

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C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

NAC builds Bridges to Health For over 25 years NAC has been the only agency in New York State to exclu-sively provide comprehensive health and social services that serve the physical,social, educational, recreational, health, and mental health needs of children withchronic medical conditions in foster care. As a result, NAC has a level ofexpertise that is unparalleled in the state.

The goal of B2H is to keep the most vulnerable children in foster care in family-based settings and out of long-term institutionalization. This is the bestsolution for the children and their families, while simultaneously lowering thestate’s health care costs in addressing their complex medical needs. Enhancedservices such as health care coordination, family and caregiver support, crisismanagement, and intensive home care support are designed to meet the healthcare needs of not only foster children with disabilities, but also their families,including birth parents, foster parents, adoptive and pre-adoptive parents,and siblings.

New Alternatives for Children, Inc.

B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S

PresidentElizabeth S. Pforzheimer

Vice PresidentsJohn R. Cannell, Esq.Jonathan A. KneePatricia S. LevinsonAndrew P. Mezey, MD, MS

SecretaryVirginia Aaron

TreasurerLouis Lipschitz

Diane AbbeyTerri D. Austin, Esq.Pascal DesrochesAlan R. Fleischman, MDRobert L. FriedmanJill Sabin GarnerSusan G. GevertzCarol GutmanPeter R. Haje, Esq.Joseph R. IannielloRonald IervolinoThomas A. JareckiMark N. Kaplan, Esq.Meryl R. Kaynard, Esq.Fern June Khan, MSWSandra E. LernerJennifer Goodman LinnLouis G. MaloofRobert D. MarcusAdam L. MillerEugene A. PinoverSanford B. PraterBarbara R. Rauch, LCSWEric J. RosenGlenn RufranoMeryl ShermanSusan M. SlaterAlma T. Young, MSW, Ed.D.

Advisory DirectorsMargaret Grey, Dr. P.H.K.D. Hendricks-Muñoz, MDCecily Truett

Directors EmertiIris AbronsDale G. BergerMichael P. GaertnerWayland M. Mead, Esq.Stephen Richardson, Ph.D.Lorraine Tregde, MPADuncan WhitesideMary C. Wolf

Executive DirectorArlene Goldsmith, LCSW, Ph.D.

Dear Friends:

Spring and summer at NAC bring events both new and familiar. NAC and the ParentAdvisory Board will host a Book Fair on Thursday, June 5, 2008. Scholastic has donated1,000 books for our “Literacy for All Day.” In June we will hold our second JuniorCommittee benefit event, Rock ‘n Bowl and our third NAC Kids Olympics. Please notethe save-the-date announcements on page 4 and join us for these two special events.

Clinic services for both medical and mental health care continue to expand under ournew State licenses and we are now beginning the Bridges to Health – B2H – programdescribed on page 1.

As NAC grows both in the number of families we serve and the services we provide,your support remains among the very most important elements in making possible stories such as that of a young man once institutionalized, then adopted, and now ingraduate school; or a single mother once homeless and destitute, now employed andthriving with her three children.

On behalf of NAC’s children and families, I want to thank you for your generous support,which in turn helps my staff perform miracles each and every day.

Arlene Goldsmith, Ph.D. E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R

O P E N I N G D O O R S P A G E 2

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In T

he

There was a lot to do at NAC that kept our kids smiling through the short days of winter. Both the RecreationDepartment and Sibling Services arranged sessions at Stepping Out Studios, a fantastic dance facility in the samebuilding as NAC. Once again, NAC kids joined in a project for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with Children forChildren. Teen boys made a Black History Collage. The Me I’m Learning to Be group met as usual, andNAC kids collaborated with the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club for arts and crafts day. Out on the town,there were trips to the Museum of Natural History, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan and the New York CityTransit Museum; and NAC kids joined the crowd at the benefit movie screening of Horton Hears a Who(see page 6).


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O P E N I N G D O O R S S T A F F

Editor Marcia Scanlon

Contributors Andrea Albert, Terri Bailer, Gary Carter,Stephanie Gardner, LaraHanson, Jessica Lutzke,Yolanda Ruiz, David Shichman, Carolyn Synol

Distribution Lydia Roman

Designer Shari Finger Design LLC

Family Forum Reports aSuccessful First Year!

The new Family Forum programfor support of foster and adop-tive families raising children with developmental disabilities is making great strides. The goalsare to reduce isolation by help-ing families connect with oneanother through support groups,trainings, and a new website; andto supply access to resourcesand services.

Family Forum’s initial publicitycampaign produced importantlinkages:

Office of Mental RetardationDevelopmental Disabilities(OMRDD) Councils in Brooklyn,Staten Island, Manhattan andLong Island;

Advocacy groups: the AdoptionAction Network, Post AdoptionConsortium and NYC AdoptionExchange, CRADLE in BedfordStuyvesant, Brooklyn and theBrooklyn Borough President’sAdvisory Committee onDisability Issues;

Parent groups: theAdministration for Children’sServices’ Circle of Supports in Brooklyn and Queens, andPederson Krag Center’s PostAdoption parent groups;

The Long Island Parent TechnicalAssistance Center, providingtraining and support to familiesand professionals.

Professionals joined foster, adoptive, and birth families atsessions on parenting childrenwith developmental disabilities,including Special ConsiderationsWhen Planning Recreation, What is a Developmental Disability, and OMRDD Eligibility.

NAC’s Family Forum website, www.nacfamilyforum.net,includes a chat room, blog, and discussion board for families. For more information,please contact Terri Bailer, at 646.352.9144.

In T

heC O M M U N I T Y

The responses from membersof Family Forum show thatwe’re offering essentialresources and creating a valuable community:

“It’s very helpful hearing from other parents and what they have to say abouttheir children.”

“It’s been helpful to becomeaware of the help that isavailable to me and my familyin the community andthrough Family Forum.”

Fro

m O

ur P A R E N T S

NAC’s fleet of nine wheel-chair-accessible vans provideNAC kids with round tripservices for excursions in and out of the city, activitiesat NAC, sleepaway and daycamp, the NAC Kids Olympics,and trips to the doctor, whennecessary. NAC staffers makesure that van rides are safe,but also enjoyable, with songsand “car games.”

Get

ting

The

re

I S H A L F T H E F U N !

NAC’s Sibling Groups offerkids a comfortable environ-ment to talk about life in ahome with a medically fragilechild. In a few words, Gladys,age 13, is able to demonstrateher varied feelings as well asto express a deep affectionand empathy for her sibling.

What it’s like to have asibling with Autism

BY GLADYS, 13 YEARS OLD

“To have a sibling with Autism is sort of tough. You have tolook out for your sibling when-ever he/she needs you. It maybe fun to have a sibling withAutism cause you get to showher new things. He/she can’t tell you, but you know he/she is grateful for what you’re doing.You have to help your parentstake care of him/her. It can be fun, but it can also be hard work.”

Art

ists

’ C O R N E R

S A V E T H E D A T E !


Seat belt fastened and ready to go!

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Wednesday, June 4, 2008On Wednesday June 4, the NAC Jr.Committee will host the NAC Rock‘n’ Bowl II at Bowlmor Lanes. Thecommittee consists of young profes-sionals who plan creative social eventsto raise money for NAC. Last year’sparty raised over $20,000 and was so much fun that we decided to itagain. For more information about the committee or to buy tickets for the Rock ‘n’ Bowl please contact Jessica Lutzke at 212-696-1550 x230 or [email protected].

Saturday, June 21, 2008 The 3rd annual NAC Kids Olympicswill take place on Saturday June 21 atRiverbank State Park. This event is a fun day outdoors for NAC children andfamilies. Children and teens compete ingames and races, enjoy non-competi-tive activities such as arts and crafts,and have a delicious lunch. We needvolunteers to help run activities andwork with families. For more informa-tion about volunteering, please contactJessica Lutzke at 212-696-1550 x230or [email protected].

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Our donors rarely see photos of NAC’s smaller – but very important – programs and activities. This is a sample of whatgoes on daily at NAC. Starting at top left – families in Food, Fun, Fitness shared delicious, healthy, attractive meals onMonday evenings. Next, the AdoptMent Program – NAC adoptees and mentors who were adopted in their youth –shared an evening of instruction from a professional illustrator. Center row – NAC held our first Food Fair, distributingfresh fruits and vegetables to our clients, the majority of whom cannot often afford quality fresh food. Fifty-two familiescame to NAC to get a large bag of food, and three families had home delivery via a NAC van. The day was a huge suc-cess, and NAC is having another Food Fair in May. Pet-assisted therapy is available all year and “the team” is alwaysa pleasure to have at NAC. Bottom row – NAC kids can enjoy individual attention in Art Therapy, and friendships inthe Young Independent Women’s Group. And last but not least, a sibling group learned Latin dance upstairsat Stepping Out Studios. Led by Talia Castro-Pozo, the studio hopes to create an ongoing dance group for our siblings!

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NAC has been the recipient of a generous $70,000 grant from the Helen HoffritzCharitable Trust toward the purchase of medical equipment that is given orloaned to NAC families. The grant also covers health-related supplies that NAC

has on hand and distributes to families who come in for medical care. These areall purchases that are not covered by Medicaid, yet are necessary for the physicalwellbeing of our NAC children.

This past year, the Helen Hoffritz Charitable Trust helped many NAC families. For two families in particular, there were major transformations – a young girlwho needed specialized equipment to enroll in the Lavelle School for the Blind,and a young boy who entered a foster/adoptive home and needed several piecesof specialized equipment to make the home more comfortable and accessible forhim. Receiving this equipment made profound changes in the lives of these chil-dren. But for a family that cannot afford an air conditioner, a pair of glasses, oreven a first aid kit, these smaller purchases are crucial as well. We deeply appre-ciate the range of supplies and equipment the Hoffritz fund supports. We speakfor many families in expressing our gratitude for the extraordinary and most generous funding that NAC has received from the Helen Hoffritz Charitable Trust.

Gra

nts

A T W O R KN

AC B E N E F I T S

NAC is pleased to acknowledge the following corporations and foundationsthat have made grants to us since January, 2008.

Aetna Active Health Management Michael and Susan Dell FoundationFederation of Protestant Welfare Agencies Fund for the PoorKids in Distressed Situations, Inc. (K.I.D.S.)

Neiman Marcus (employer matching gift)The Robin Hood Foundation Scholastic Starr Foundation

Thanks to a grant from the United Way’s Hunger Prevention and NutritionAssistance Program (HPNAP), NAC was able to order nearly $1,000 worth offresh foods for NAC’s first food fair. Thanks to Pfizer, we were able to provideeach client with an attractive, reusable tote bag.

Tha

nk Y

ou

D O N O R S

Many thanks to Sue Grundfest for having Coco The Love Dog’s BirthdayBash benefit New Alternatives for Children. The March 10th event tookplace at the beautiful Astra in the D+D building and was attended by afabulous group of guests. Sue and the Benefit Committee’s tirelessefforts raised over $20,000 for NAC.

We thank AMC Pictures and especially Cindy Huffstickler, CorporateCommunications Coordinator, for the March 15th NAC benefit moviescreening of Horton Hears a Who. The event raised over $10,000.NAC donors and families loved the Dr. Seuss favorite and enjoyed thesnacks donated by AMC.


Top: Elizabeth Pforzheimer, Sue Grundfestand Coco.

Above: Matthew Sapolin, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People withDisabilities, joins the Goldsmiths forCoco’s Birthday Bash.

Below: NAC is building relationships with New York City, State, and Federal legislators. NYS Senator Tom Duane and NYC Councilmember Gale Brewerare already acquainted with the agencyand our families, including our young athletes at the 2007 NAC Kids Olympics.

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Documents

Opening Doors Spring 2008