Membership in the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA) is essential for any nonprofit agency that provides child welfare and juvenile justice services in New York.

COFCCA is the only membership association representing nonprofit providers of child welfare and juvenile justice services throughout the state. As such, COFCCA is the vehicle which connects individual agencies to the larger child welfare and juvenile justice community, to other nonprofit service providers, to State and local governments, and to colleagues in the field.

COFCCA membership provides:

Representation

COFCCA advocates for its members’ interests concerning:

  • Annual budgetary struggles over the allocation of essential resources;
  • Formulation of Maximum State Aid Rates, program budget models and other contractual reimbursement mechanisms;
  • Development of State and local regulatory policies regarding services delivery, workforce issues, documentation requirements, evaluation systems, contracts and procurement activities, etc.;
  • Legislation impacting child welfare and juvenile justice services, or other aspects of an agency’s operations;
  • National child welfare advocacy through our affiliation with the Child Welfare League of America, Alliance for Strong Families and Communities; Council on Accreditation, and the National Organization of State Associations for Children.

Information

COFCCA provides members with the latest news regarding actions or potential actions by State, local, and federal governments which could affect your agency or the services you offer.  COFCCA also reports on important trends, issues, and events within the nonprofit provider community itself:

  • COFCCA’s “members only” Weekly Update goes out by E-mail each week to give members the news they need to know.
  • COFCCA regularly surveys its members on a confidential basis to determine sector-wide trends in areas such as executive and middle management compensation, staffing levels, staff salary and turnover rates, agencies’ needs regarding a particular program, etc.
  • Technical assistance sessions, through meetings or teleconferences on key and emerging issues for our agencies.

Education

COFCCA offers a range of professional development opportunities for member agencies and their staff. For example:

  • COFCCA’s Center for Excellence in Child Welfare hosts special forums on best practices, training, and leadership.
  • COFCCA’s Training Consortium conducts annual staff development days and forums that focus on the training needs and concerns of direct care staff and supervisors.

Collaboration

COFCCA membership allows members to come together with colleagues to share concerns, identify common problems, develop solutions and celebrate triumphs. COFCCA hosts regular meetings and a variety of groups and forums on such issues and topics as Foster Boarding Home Program Management, Accountability, Information Systems, Human Resources, Residential Programs, Fiscal Management, Juvenile Justice, Preventive Services, etc.

COFCCA’s Annual Meeting is held each May and features presentations by senior State and local officials as well as other experts in child welfare and juvenile justice and nonprofit management. This important meeting also offers the unique opportunity for members to come together and network and discuss the issues we face in New York.

COFCCA holds quarterly meetings around the state to inform members of current issues and hear from members regarding their suggestions, issues, and concerns.

For further membership information, please contact Agnes Radford at aradford@cofcca.org

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