NYC Family Policy Project (FPP)
NYC Family Policy Project’s mission is to explore and build evidence – through original research, data and policy analysis – for the policy visions of parents and young people impacted by the child welfare system in New York City.
While child welfare frameworks treat individual parents as the problem targeted for improvement, FPP recognizes that targeting community conditions and investing in community health can better serve the majority of families as well as improve the overall health of our city. FPP collaborates with impacted parents and youth, researchers, advocates, allies and disruptors working on the ground in impacted communities to develop research-driven transformative policy solutions for NYC families.
Recent Work
Featured
Investing in Youth the Way They ‘Deserve and Demand’: YouthNPower: Transforming Care Direct Cash Transfer Project
October 8, 2024
Research on youth aging out of foster care often focuses on deficits, emphasizing risk factors and what young people don’t have and didn’t do. So... Read More
Featured
What NYC Is Learning About the Impacts of Unconditional Cash on Moms and Babies: The Bridge Project
September 17, 2024
‘We start with the hypothesis that every mom’s situation is different. We have really learned that when you provide flexible cash, everyone can access what... Read More
Featured
How Guaranteed Income Can Be Used to Invest in Families and Protect Against Child Welfare Involvement, Explained.
August 7, 2024
By Mahima Golani When Mayor Michael Tubbs broke ground by announcing the nation’s first city-led guaranteed income pilot in Stockton, Calif. in 2017, shifting cash... Read More
Featured
How Guaranteed Income Gives Families Space to Breathe: Allison Thompson, Center for Guaranteed Income Research
July 17, 2024
‘In child welfare, you start the relationship with a report in your hand that accuses you of being a bad parent. I can’t think of... Read More
Featured
Addressing Administrative Burdens That Push People Away from Public Benefits: Carolyn Barnes, University of Chicago
June 18, 2024
‘Psychological costs like shame and stigma have always been a feature of assistance programs. You are scrutinized as to why you need assistance, and that... Read More
Featured
“What’re You Going to Do with that Little Bit of Money?” NYC cash assistance and how it could shift to unconditionally invest in families, explained.
May 14, 2024
By Mahima Golani Parents and young people have advocated for unconditional cash to reduce child welfare involvement and build family well-being. One option is to... Read More
Featured
Changing the Narrative Around Cash Assistance: Julia Casey, FPWA
May 14, 2024
‘The pandemic reinforced a need for assistance that’s flexible and that provides folks with choice, dignity and the trust to make decisions about what they... Read More
Featured
Making Cash Policies Work for Families: Aditi Shrivastava, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
May 14, 2024
“This is a big moment. Families absolutely should be getting more support than they’re getting right now, and policymakers are talking about doing things that... Read More
Data on NYC Child Welfare Impacts
We are sharing new data from the city’s child welfare agency, ACS, to help neighborhood leaders, community groups, families and elected officials address conditions that stress families and build community networks, resources and infrastructure to support families.
See the Data