ANNUAL REPORT

2019-2020

SERVIMOS SIN EXCUSAS —
NO EXCUSES – WE SERVE.

This past year has been like no other.

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed over a million people world-wide. The pandemic altered lives. Many of us lost loved ones. Others lost jobs. Feeding our families became a struggle for many. And we know not when a new normal will emerge.
COVID-19 is matched by a second pandemic. Those of us who are Black continue to bear the brunt of societal and police violence. This second pandemic began in 1619 when the first African slaves arrived in Virginia. Despite all our advances, it continues — rooted in institutions and in social privilege. We must end it now so those of us who are Black can live.

In the midst of this is Cayuga Centers — a human services provider — striving to change lives. We help those in need by stopping suffering, healing trauma, and teaching skills that can build new futures. And the need for our doing this does not go on hold because there is a global health crisis.

SERVIMOS SIN EXCUSAS — NO EXCUSES – WE SERVE.

When the STAY-AT-HOME orders began in March, the needs of many whom we serve did not pause. Children in foster care and foster parents do not go into hibernation because of a pandemic. Community families in crisis do not stabilize because of a deadly disease. We needed to continue to support and serve — pandemic or no pandemic.

And – as our good work is done through our great staff – we needed to take care of them. We would do no furloughs, no layoffs and no reductions in pay — keeping staff at full pay whether or not they worked during the ‘Pause’ orders.

Unsurprisingly, we were blessed to have many staff who were willing to continue to work in our foster homes, and with families in the community despite the risks COVID-19 presented. With a lot of searching and scrambling we found personal protective equipment for them and for the families being served. And we supported staff as they served those whose needs did not stop while the nation paused.

As the Black Lives Matter movement sounded the call for social justice, many of our staff marched and advocated for a world where no one needs to fear the police or other societal institutions. As an agency, we have strived to look at our systems and at our unconscious bias. We recognize the roots of social inequities run deep into the child welfare and juvenile justice systems which serve a disproportionate number of persons of color.

This Annual Report tries to tell the story of our remarkable staff and foster parents who continued our work throughout the pandemic to provide needed services. And it shares why the fight for social justice is a matter of public health — not a political viewpoint.

I am awed and humbled by these staff members and foster parents, and by what they have done.They stepped up when others stepped back. This Annual Report recognizes this incredibly selfless giving. Please join me in saluting these staff members and foster parents.

Edward Myers Hayes

President & Cheif Executive Officer

GOOD NEWS

AROUND THE AGENCY

Before March, none of us ever thought about buying Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Then all of a sudden we needed tens of thousands of masks, hand sanitizer, and other items to protect our staff throughout dozens of agency locations. And as everyone else needed it too, there was none to be found, even at outrageous prices. But then, a small Upstate NY business immediately switched their focus from selling electronics to sourcing and selling PPE. With a connection in Asia, the team of 6 managed to ship over 500,000 pieces of PPE.

My Digital Discount’s selfless act ensured that each staff member at Cayuga Centers, throughout all agency locations, had sufficient protective gear upon their return to the office.

But it doesn’t stop there.

My Digital Discount chose to donate a jaw-dropping amount of protective masks to the children currently in our care. Thank you to the team at My Digital Discount for allowing us to continue safely serving children and families who depend on our services.

HONORING FRONT-LINE WORKERS

Skills trainers in our Upstate New York Children and Family Treatment Support Services program worked with foster youth to create cards and letters for local front-line workers.

BLOOMING KINDNESS

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities supported by Cayuga Centers have created a community service project called Blooming Kindness. Lightly used donated flowers are transformed into beautiful bouquets that are delivered with kindness and conversation to residents at long term care facilities who rarely get visitors. Blooming Kindness has since created great relationships with high-participating funeral homes and over 125 bouquets have been delivered to members of the Auburn community.

CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES

Big Picture Foundation treated our New York City Unaccompanied Children to an afternoon of fun and creativity. Our youth, each paired with a Rye City School District student, were given the chance to loom hats, listen to music and share a meal. Additionally, at the end of the experience, each child was presented with a handmade pillow.

A CRITICAL NEED

AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT

My team stepped up to continue services from day one. During the shutdown, a foster youth lost his mother. When I found out she passed away, I immediately went out to the home. With the family’s permission, I arrived with masks and gloves to do what I could. By that point, I had worked with this foster youth for over two years. I sat with him and talked to him about how he was feeling and how we could help. He really appreciated that because it was one of the toughest things he could go through. A loss of any kind is terrible, but especially a parent (his biological mom). It crushed him. I was thankful for the opportunity to go over there and help.

Another fellow skills trainer, Brianne Harris, had a youth that was pregnant and ended up giving birth during the beginning of the pandemic. The new mother was only allowed to have one person join her in the hospital room. Unfortunately her foster family couldn’t be there because they had to care for other kids in the home. Brianne stepped up and stayed overnight while she was giving birth. She was able to be there for that youth and that really meant a lot.

Victoria Ramsperger

Skills Trainer, TFFC
Central New York

CARING FOR

FOSTER YOUTH

In our Unaccompanied Children program, one of the main issues we first encountered was finding ways to transport youth safely to their families already living in the country. The Youth Transportation Support team went above and beyond to make sure that kids could continue to get where they needed to be. Staff volunteered to transport children on planes across the country as needed, even to some hot zone states like Texas and Florida.

One major change that happened was, rather than talking to our foster parents once or twice a week, we now were talking to them twice a day; as soon as children woke up in the morning and before they went to bed. Communication was key and helped us prevent and manage any emergencies. I’m very proud of the resiliency of our foster parents – when we asked them to step up they were fully prepared with all precautions necessary.

Luis Peralta
UC Clinician
New York City

We have two hard of hearing youth who we were able to still meet with in person and continue providing services. The foster mom had me come in, take my shoes off, take my temperature, wash my hands, and we stayed 6 feet apart with masks on, just so we could continue doing the same work as before. For my colleague and the youth she was working with, the foster mom had her stay outside when providing services. They would wear a mask, sanitize their hands and social distance. If the weather wasn’t cooperating we would work together virtually. Overall, we went along with what the family was comfortable with and followed Cayuga Centers’ guidelines in order to follow through with the services these youth desperately needed.

Jackie Squires
Skills Trainer, TFFC
Central New York

My program serves youth living in foster home operated by counties in Upstate New York. When the pandemic first started, our number one priority was the safety of the county foster kids we support through our Children and Family Treatment Support Services program. A lot of these county foster parents struggled to keep the kids in a routine and they reached out a lot for crisis calls.

When providing virtual support and therapy, we noticed there were significant limitations in getting kids to engage. They kept asking us, “When are you coming back. When can we see you?” Because of these heightened challenges, we increased our in-person presence. Answering crisis calls was imperative to assuring the safety of our high risk youth. Our foster parents were super appreciative that we were one of the only agencies to come back with face-to-face visits. Even families that at first had been hesitant to allow people in their homes really felt in need of our support.

Rachel Carbonaro
Clinician, CFTSS
Central New York

There was an incident during the height of the pandemic between a foster dad and his youth. The youth started smoking inside the house, which is not allowed, and began leaving the home without parental consent and without recommended face protection. With the lockdown blues settling in, he took it upon himself to visit his friends in the neighborhood and find entertainment anyway he could. Due to safety reasons, the foster parent became concerned and sought immediate help.
After getting the appropriate approvals (again this was at the very beginning of the pandemic), I went out to the home to speak with the father and son. It became a sort of family session. We spoke about the dangers of the virus and established structure that everyone would benefit from. For example, if the youth became bored during the lockdown, he was now able to use his foster dad’s at-home gym space. And if he ever felt like leaving, it was agreed upon that he would stay in the backyard and shoot hoops. It didn’t seem like much, but at the time it worked well for everyone.

Michael Charles
Skills Trainer, TFFC
Delaware

Kwame Miller is a single father who became a foster parent with Cayuga Centers Delaware program in the summer of 2018. Kwame was connected with his first placement in November 2018 and has been fostering the same youth since. Kwame shared how he and his foster son are adapting to the current coronavirus restrictions and changes to everyday life.

Normally I would be doing what I need to, but now I need to be more cautious. Going outside and seeing people in masks is kind of scary. My foster son has also been adjusting. I can tell he is a little frustrated being homebound, especially now that he’s being closely monitored with school activities. I try to be more lenient, have more conversations with him and overall talk more with him. Recently, we started learning Spanish together and since he is interested in HVAC, I’ve been having him design a two-bedroom HVAC unit. This is the way I keep him engaged – learning new skills. The Cayuga Centers team has been great! They are concerned about all of our needs. I get calls twice a day from them making sure that we are okay. Whatever we need, they’re there. I like to keep him busy by finding different activities. Telling stories. Completing a puzzle. I share what I like and ask him to also share with me.

Kwame Miller

Delaware Foster Parent

STEPPING UP

TO HELP OTHERS

When the ‘Pause’ began, New York State immediately closed all I/DD programs. With such a fragile community, we knew right away that support would still be needed and acted quickly to get a plan in motion. Our main priority now was to stay connected and get support to these families. A few weeks into the ‘Pause’ we were able to transition from frequent phone calls to virtual skill-building classes. The goal was to create engaging virtual activities that families and individuals could easily be a part of.

As a craft enthusiast, I led our first craft skills class.
I aimed to create activities with materials that families would naturally have at home already. Later on, we were fortunate to be able to deliver any new materials needed. We also created a virtual dance class – which was a blast, a cooking skills class – that really showcased hidden talent, and a gratitude skills class – that allowed the individuals to express what they were thankful for. Our gratitude class eventually evolved into creating thank you cards for local health care workers, our neighbors.

Holly Delong
Intellectual and Developmental Disability Supports Program
Central New York

The role I found myself stepping into when the pandemic first started was to make sure the Unaccompanied Children case management team had all they needed to support their children. Even though the population of kids had decreased, we wanted to make sure we stabilized the kids that were still in our care. From managing contractor’s COVID-19 guidelines, to communicating with legal service providers, staff worked hard to continue working toward unification.

One of the many changes I helped manage was making sure all foster parents had the equipment for minors to complete their weekly meetings and assessments and communicate with their families. I was very proud of how, not just my team, but many other teams such as Information Technology, Homefinding and the Learning Center came together and worked really hard to make this all happen. It was a real team effort.

Mario Lozano
AD of Case Management, UC
New York City

One of the greatest satisfactions I get from this job is seeing children being reunited with their parents, and that is especially important in times like this. I was involved in fly-outs for children, sometimes in highly infected states, to ensure they could be united with their sponsors. Sometimes when you drop off kids at the airport you can get emotional, but it’s all worth it.

One difference we noticed was the amount of children being transported. Due to social distancing, we were only able to transport a limited amount of people at the time. Another big change was the new procedures that were set in place, and the changes in scheduling. We took every childs’ temperature, asked them questions about their health and made sure everyone stayed safe and distanced. Serving them in any way I can is the best feeling in the world.

The transportation team really came together through this time, and it was by communicating constantly and checking on each other that we were able to succeed. We have always been like a big family. We fight, we joke, we laugh together and that has always enabled us to get the job done no matter the circumstances.

Edward Ortega
Youth Transportation Specialist
New York City

At the Learning Center, our biggest adjustment was the switch to providing full quality care virtually. We put together digital homework packets, educated staff on how to effectively manage digital interactions, created a website where children and foster parents could learn, and were in constant communication with other teams to ensure they felt supported.

We started a book club to incentivize learning and provided virtual learning services for incoming minors who require a 14 day quarantine. Together with the Long Term Foster Care program, we have made the best out of online learning and have even found better ways to ensure our staff, our foster parents, and our children feel like they have all the tools they need to succeed. I like to believe that we have eased some of the common anxieties that accompany a pandemic, and instead offer unconditional support for whoever and whatever is needed.

Luisa Ruiz
AVP of The Learning Center
New York City

During the pandemic, at a time when no parent in Broward County would help provide a home for one of our foster kids, our foster parent Sara stepped up. With no questions asked – she agreed to take the child into her home and immediately provide the baby with formula and other necessities.

Foster parents like Sara, who went above and beyond during the pandemic, illustrate the true meaning of “stronger together.”

Sara has always been willing to step up and help youth in need. She has cared for newborns, teens, and sibling groups and there was no way the pandemic was going to keep her from her commitment to youth and their needs.

At the start of the pandemic, our staff had to quickly re-strategize how we would provide care. We knew that with the level of intensity that our Auburn home-based resiliency programs require, it was important not to suspend our services. So we very quickly had staff working in the homes of famlies again.

Despite the pandemic, we still went out to families home as needed and supplemented this with virtual meetings. In many cases, my team was out in the field at least once a week face-to-face because of the intensity and high risk nature of our programs.

Many families were surprised that we were still able to operate at the level that we did. We had originally thought that families would not want us in their homes, but they ended up feeling grateful for the way we helped keep them protected with PPE and safety precautions. I was doing things like putting paperwork in a ziplock bag and taping it on their window, spraying it with Lysol, and going back to my car while they took the paperwork out and signed it. Those minor details were a big adjustment because we don’t typically think of all those things while we’re out in the field.

Tiffany Kline

AD of Resiliency Programs
Central New York

While it is true that right now isn’t the best time to have people from all over the world living under the same roof, my husband and I decided that in this difficult moment, we couldn’t possibly leave children in need without care.
Because of the current situation, my older children are feeling a little bit depressed and anxious. Talking to them about why this is happening, and how waiting might be for the best, has helped a lot. I’m also grateful that I have case managers and therapists to talk to them when things are tough. I’ve been driving to a different borough so I can find food from their native country, and as expected, food and cooking together has proven to be such a healing experience. I’m talking about my own personal story with you because, even though I believe we’re all different and have different personalities, I’m hoping my own experience through these tough times will help you and inspire you in some way.
When I receive children in my home I want to make them feel like they’re family. I treat them just like I would want my own daughter to be treated – we always celebrate birthdays with cake, photos and balloons so they will have something to share with bio parents once they’re reunited. There are always tears when they leave my home!
No matter what the situation is or the emotional state of the children that come into your home, I recommend practicing patience and compassion. Get to know your foster child and figure out what they’re missing, try to do whatever you can so they feel comfortable and your home becomes their home- after all, this is why we are foster parents, to make a child’s life a little bit easier.

Altagracia

New York City Foster Parent

BEHIND THE SCENES

KEEPING THE AGENCY OPEN

Safety and Wellness

Juggling multiple state and local mandates, Cayuga Centers’ Safety and Wellness department created specialized reopening plans for each of our four main locations as well as individual satellite offices. 759 active staff were provided and continue to receive weekly PPE and access to sanitation supplies. New safety measures and social distancing rules were implemented for those who needed to be in the office. Wellness checkpoints provide daily temperature and oxygen tests and screening questions to ensure staff safety, both at the office and in the field.

COVID-19 is still a big part of what I do every day and I anticipate it will be for quite some time. Information surrounding COVID-19 is constantly changing. New information and guidance is provided daily from trusted sources such as the CDC, WHO, and New York State, Florida, and Delaware. It’s really important to make sure we are providing the best guidance for staff and any individual or family in our care. I want staff to know that we are here for them, to listen and provide support and guidance.

Christy Robinson

Director of Safety, Risk, Health and Wellness

Maintaining Operations

Making sure staff feels safe at work is a must; we are running five wellness points with touchless temperature tablets and finger pulse oximeters. We have made the necessary changes to be in compliance with the DOH, such as adding hand sanitizing stations in high traffic areas and removing furniture in order to maintain social distancing.

Carmen Jaquez
Director of Operations
New York City

Space and distancing became top priority to ensure staff would be safe at work upon returning to the office. My team addressed shared offices, conference rooms and flow of traffic. Tables, desks and chairs were removed from many areas for social distancing. Stickers and signs were placed throughout the buildings as reminders and guidance for room capacities.

Mike Curran
Director of Operations
Central New York

The IT staff was able to switch very quickly over to remote operations. We made sure everyone had laptops and was able to work. We are very fortunate as an agency to have that capability and support structure. Everyone pulled their own weight to keep things running. I don’t think people realize how lucky we are to all have working laptops, especially with tech supplies being very hard to find right now.

Eric Besecker
AVP of Information Technology
Agency Wide

The creation of EPS and PPP hours went a long way toward alleviating fears of the unknown, as did the vow to avoid layoffs during this period. With so many others shuttering their businesses permanently and millions finding themselves suddenly unemployed, Cayuga Centers’ response to this crisis allowed staff to provide for
their families.

Chris Rogers
Director of Human Resources
New York City

My fellow management team and I had to work together in a new capacity. We collaborated to make sure that recruitment, employee relations, benefits, leave management and other various activities continued for our employees.

Katie Nolan
Director of Human Resources
Central New York, Delaware, and Florida

Being a single mother and knowing that I was able to maintain my job and provide for my family during a time when people are so unsure about job security, made me feel very fortunate to work for Cayuga Centers.

Kimberlytta Gayle
Skills Trainer, TFFC
South Florida

Other agencies had shut down. They weren’t even able to keep their staff employed because of economic hardships. I think it is great that Cayuga Centers was not only able to keep us all employed, but on top of that was able to continue to pay us in full the entire time during the pause.

Jennifer Peacock
Director of Payroll
Agency Wide

PRE – ‘PAUSE’

AGENCY EVENTS

OUR CHILDREN THROUGH ART

On December 3, 2019 Cayuga Centers hosted an art show to commemorate the opening of our new gym space in The Bronx. The opening included artwork that honored the stories of our children. The exhibit included four large art installations paired with a gallery of individual works. The event brought in over 200 attendees and was managed by 50 staff volunteers. A total of $39,500 was raised from our giving donors.

Learn more about the event at
https://cayugacenters.org/our-children-through-art/

SUPERHERO 5K & FUN RUN

Making front page news of the local paper, our 2019 Superhero 5K and Family Fun Run took place on September 28, 2019 at Emerson Park in Auburn, NY. This annual family event brought in a total of 163 runners and raised $17,831.

GAMING FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES

On Saturday, August 31st, 2019, Cayuga Centers hosted its first-ever online streaming fundraiser to benefit the children and families we serve. With favorites like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros in rotation, and gamers showing up in person to play and tuning in via Twitch, we raised $1,567.99, completely knocking our original goal out of the park.

STANDING UP FOR

SOCIAL JUSTICE

From the inception of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013, led by our staff, Cayuga Centers has been deeply concerned by the unreported violence many Black Americans experience at the hands of the police — violence representative of the systemic racism embedded in many social institutions.

As we are a service provider and not an advocacy group — we hesitated to take any formal stands as an organization though we were proud of our many staff who stood up in the struggle for social justice. This Spring with the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and so many others, we realized that this violence against Black Americans is not a political issue, but is rather a public health issue. It affects all of our staff who provide services, as well as the majority of those we serve. As an organization, we could not remain silent. We needed to take a stand.

Since Spring, we have issued several statements clearly and unequivocally stating that Black Lives Matter. We have searched for virtual avenues to resume the implicit bias trainings we were holding for our staff – trainings the pandemic interrupted. We declared Juneteenth an organization holiday and discontinued observing the previously celebrated Columbus Day. We encouraged our employees to participate in peaceful protests. We asked what more we should be doing.

As we ask our society to examine the racism embedded in our institutions, we have worked to become aware of the bias – some of it unconscious and some of it not – in the child welfare and the juvenile justice and the immigration systems – systems Cayuga Centers participate in. We are committed to become aware of the ways bias affects us and to change – while we work to change these systems.
We ask you to join us and our staff in this journey.

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