Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA)

Pleasure to join Jeff Simmons on WBAI City Watch to discuss a critical challenge for New York’s child welfare system: nonprofit agencies must have liability insurance to care for children and youth in foster care. The problem? The insurance coverage is becoming harder and harder to access and to afford. We’ve seen this play out in California, where dozens of programs have closed after they could no longer find an insurance option. We must act to address these issues in New York, and I was glad to join WBAI to talk about our recently released report underscoring these issues. Take a listen here—my segment starting at the 8 minute mark. 📻 🎧 https://lnkd.in/gC3tBcQH

Tune in to City Watch on @WBAI 99.5 FM today, October 15, at 5 PM ET. COFCCA’s CEO, Kathleen, will join host Jeff Simmons to discuss the liability insurance crisis threatening New York’s foster care system and our recently released white paper. https://lnkd.in/gHGXRWpx

Last week we hosted a Meet & Greet event with NYC Administration for Children's Services Commissioner Jones Gaston and our NYC membership. Happy to welcome Commissioner Jones Gaston for a wide ranging discussion and we look forward to our partnership ahead!

Insurance is such a critical issue. The children and families of NYS need state intervention and that includes the legislation stated in this important report. Because the children and families are the ones who will suffer if the #nonprofits close.

Read this excellent brief from our partners at New York Public Welfare Association on how the state can take action to support children with complex needs. We thank NYPWA for your leadership & stand in strong support of your advocacy!

Behind every conversation about the cost of foster care, are young people who need stability, families who need support, and staff who show up for them every day. The challenge highlighted in today’s Times Union is very real. At Together for Youth, our insurance costs increased approximately 220% between 2020 and 2024. We found a creative way to manage those costs and protect services but, as Nikki McArthur and I shared with the Times Union, it is not a permanent solution. And, this is much bigger than Together for Youth. Voluntary foster care agencies across New York are navigating the same pressures while continuing to provide essential services to thousands of children and families. I appreciate Dan Clark and the Times Union for taking the time to dig into a complicated issue and help bring greater understanding to what is happening behind the scenes in New York's child welfare system. Most importantly, I'm grateful for the people across our field who continue finding ways to keep the focus where it belongs: on children and families. https://lnkd.in/gAknW2Yp #FosterCare #ChildWelfare #TogetherForYouth@

Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA) and their member agencies like Children's Aid are essential partners of New York's County Departments of Social Services. Public and Private sector partnerships like these are essential to the future health and safety of communities. New York Public Welfare Association hopes that you will support our joint advocacy to stabilize and sustain our partners in child welfare with meaningful state policy reforms that bring their operating costs under control.

Many of us have personally dealt with insurers leaving a market, like home insurers leaving areas after a weather disaster like Superstorm Standy. But what if you're a human service nonprofit, and your insurance options drop to two very expensive options? In the comments, a link to the white paper from Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA) details what New York State's child welfare agencies are facing, and how the state's lag in setting payment rates is leading to a crisis that may close programs. And here, an overview of the problem featuring Kathleen Brady-Stepien of COFCCA along with Phoebe Boyer of Children's Aid and Brian Parchesky, LMSW of Together for Youth describing the impact of the problem along with a suggested solution: https://lnkd.in/efR9sK2f #childwelfare #fostercare #humanservices #nonprofit #insurance

New York’s growing liability insurance crisis is putting essential services for children and families at risk. A new report from the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA) details a rapidly deteriorating market: costs are rising dramatically, while fewer insurers are willing to cover child welfare providers. That matters because nonprofit voluntary agencies serve more than 75% of children in foster care statewide—and 100% in New York City. At Children's Aid, we have felt this pressure firsthand. Our liability insurance premiums increased from approximately $480,000 in 2022 to $1.26 million in 2025. As I told the Albany Times Union, the funding system simply has not kept pace with increases of this magnitude. Every additional dollar we spend on insurance is a dollar we cannot invest in the children and families we serve. And if providers are forced to reduce services or leave the field, New York loses capacity that has taken decades to build—and that cannot easily be replaced. “That is capacity we don’t get back.” This is not just an insurance issue. It is a child welfare stability issue. We need state and local government, providers, and the insurance industry working together on a sustainable solution that preserves accountability, access to adequate coverage, and the essential services children and families rely on. Thank you to COFCCA for continuing to elevate this issue, and to Dan Clark and the Albany Times Union for bringing attention to what is at stake. Read the COFCCA white paper: https://lnkd.in/e6uSwDB6 #ChildWelfare #FosterCare #Nonprofits #NewYork

New York’s growing liability insurance crisis is putting essential services for children and families at risk. A new report from the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA) details a rapidly deteriorating market, with rising costs and fewer insurers willing to cover child welfare providers. Nonprofits like Children’s Aid are facing increasing pressure on resources that should be invested directly in the communities we serve. As our President and CEO Phoebe Boyer shares, this is more than an insurance issue. It’s a child welfare stability issue that requires a sustainable solution to protect the services and support children and families rely on. Read more about what’s at stake for New York’s child welfare system: https://vist.ly/5m5s8 #ChildrensAidNYC #ChildWelfare #FosterCare #NewYork