Introducing “Upstream City” – A Monthly Column by Nora McCarthy of FPP
Every month, Nora McCarthy – co-founder of The Family Policy Project – writes a column for The Imprint about what an “upstream approach” to child welfare policy would look like. As McCarthy writes in her founding column:
For city advocates focused on child welfare, the promise of an “upstream” approach was both exciting and a bit worrisome. Poverty, social isolation and lack of access to basic needs are major drivers of child welfare involvement. Black families in New York City, in particular, have borne the brunt of a policy approach that stresses and then punishes parents. An upstream approach could recognize that targeting community conditions and investing in family health can better serve the majority of families and improve the overall health of our city. Investment at the roots of family distress could lift families above survival mode and disrupt cycles of crisis and state intervention.
Each month, we’ll republish the columns here, or you can read them in full on The Imprint.
Upstream City #2: Policies that Scaffold Family Life
Upstream City #2 7/14/22 - This month I’ll look at state and city policies that scaffold healthy family life — and those that are known to put families at risk of investigation and separation.
Introducing Upstream City
Upstream City, #1 (6/16/22): In this new Imprint opinion series, I will explore the complexities of what an upstream approach might look like in New York City.
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