FEBRUARY 2023
The Greatest Joy of Our Lives
One Couple’s Non-traditional Path to Parenthood
While Children’s Aid and Family Services has a rich history of placing children with adoptive parents, the focus more recently has been on finding homes for older children. Nonetheless, when a young woman who was pregnant came to Children’s Aid for birth parent support services, Adoption Specialist Dina Cioffi provided Options Counseling services, which explores ways in which the birth mother could parent the child, have a kinship/legal guardianship situation, or place the child for adoption. After much consideration, the birth mother decided to put her child up for adoption.
Bringing Resources Straight to the Community
In their quest to reach people who need help with substance misuse in their own communities, The Center for Alcohol and Drug Resources (also know as The Center) has been working in partnership with local police departments to set up community outreach pop-up sites in three towns in Bergen County. The outreach tables are staffed by The Center team to dispense information, links to resources, peer recovery support services, and Narcan.
Community Residences:
This is Their Home
With an eye toward helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities learn basic life skills and grow in independence in a safe and healthy living environment, Children’s Aid and Family Services Disability Support Services staff members work with residents at 18 adult Community Residences (group homes) in residential areas throughout Bergen, Essex, and Passaic Counties.
Organization and Foundation Support
Children’s Aid and Family Services gratefully acknowledges the many generous organizations and foundations that provided grants to support its programs for vulnerable children, adults and families during the period of September 16, 2022 to January 31, 2023.
- Blue Foundry Charitable Foundation
- Carolyn Jane Scott Charitable Trust
- Columbia Bank Foundation
- Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
- Greater Bergen Realtor CARES Foundation
- PSEG Foundation
- The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey
- The Price Family Foundation
- The Valley Hospital Foundation
- St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church
- The Hyde and Watson Foundation