Running head: Agency Report & Presentation

Agency Report & Presentation

Vanessa Willie
Wilmington University
AHS 8100
Distance Learning

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Agency Report & Presentation

Leake and Watts Services, Inc. was founded as the Leake and Watts Orphan House in
1831 by a Westchester County Judge and former Congressman John Watts, Jr., with the bequest
of his friend John George Leake, a wealthy New York lawyer who passed away without any
heirs. John George Leake and John Watts, Jr. were moved by the rise in urban poverty and the
reduction of public welfare aid the 1820s. They were at the forefront of the social responsibility
movement, and the Leake and Watts Orphan House was one of the first private charitable
institutions in the country dedicated to children in need (Leake and Watts Services, Inc., 2015).
Today Leake and Watts Services, Inc. serves more than 8,000 children, adults and
families in the greater New York City metro area each year. They have 40 separate programs and
22 locations. They were also need the 2014 gold winner of the prestigious New York
Community Trust Nonprofit Excellence Awards. Their mission is dedicated to supporting
children, adults and families. Working together, we create strong foundations for success. Their
values are as follows:
Respect, Achievement, Safety, and Responsibility
We demonstrate RESPECT by practicing open and honest communication and, in this way, earn
trust. We appreciate each individual's uniqueness and treat all with dignity.
We are committed to ACHIEVEMENT by setting and accomplishing goals. We take pride in our
programs and ownership of our work. We support individuals through initiative, teamwork, and
innovation.
We ACT SAFELY by promoting a culture and environment that supports sound judgment and
decision-making. We safeguard the well being of all.

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We accept RESPONSIBILITY for the benefits and consequences of our actions. We are
consistent and fair in our treatment of others (Leake and Watts Services, Inc., 2015).
I currently work in the foster care department and have been working there for almost four years.
My current position is a Case Planner. There are more than 400,00 children in foster care and
since 1999, more than 230,000 young people have aged out of the foster care system in the
United States. Young people typically age out of foster care at age 18, without a supportive
family to rely upon. Many of these young people face troubling challenges upon aging out of
foster care. This can include homelessness, lower high school and college graduation rates, and
difficulty securing stable employment. Many young people who age out of foster care also
become involved in the adult criminal justice system. We have seen improvements in our young
people who age out of foster care. There has been an increase of high school and college
graduation rates and also increase of employment.
Foster care can be described as 24 hours substitute care for children placed away from their
parents or guardians due to them not being cared for adequately. Although most of the families
that we serve are of African American or Hispanic heritage, demographically our foster care
department accepts families of any race, religion, and ethnicity. Children are accepted until the
age of 18 and can remain in care until the age of 21 years. Children usually enter foster care due
to abuse and/or neglect. They're several other reasons why a child can be placed in foster care
this includes, death of a parent. If there is no other family member to care for the child they can
be placed in foster care. Children can be voluntarily placed in foster care by their parent or
guardian due to the parents health or being unable to control their childs behavior.
While a child is in foster care state agencies have placement and care responsibility. This can
include but is not limited to placement in foster homes, homes of relatives, group homes, and

Agency Report & Presentation

residential facilities. For children placed in foster homes, the foster parents must complete
several hours of training on how to deal with children who have been abused and neglected. If
the child placed in their home has special needs or behavior issues, they will also be asked to
attend training on that specific need or issue. Training hours and foster homes must be approved
by the state agencies to insure that all children will be free from abuse or neglect while in foster
care. Our agency often works alongside with other local agencies to provide for us to Paris with
the necessary training that they made me. Other agencies sometimes offer more convenient
training courses for our foster parents, which is why they are referred outside. Foster parents
generally received a monthly subsidy to help pay for the cost of caring for the child. Subsidy is
to help cover the basic needs such as food and clothing. The state provides basic medical dental
and vision insurance for children in foster care.
In addition to their Family Foster Care program, Leake and Watts Services, Inc. provides Early
Childhood and Special Education services. They also provide services to Children & Adults with
Developmental Disabilities and Juvenile Justice Services (Leake and Watts Services, Inc., 2015).
All staff members go through intensive background checks in order to be employed by this
agency regardless of their position. Credentials of Professional and Support Staff at Leake and
Watts Services, Inc. depends on the staff members position. Case Planners/Mangers who work
with teenagers in the foster care department, usually needs at least a Bachelors degree or higher.
Supervisors of Case Planners need to posses at least a Masters degree. We no longer have a high
turnover rate as we used to. However, a weakness I have noticed after working with the agency
is that, more staff members are need in our to effectively carry out their mission. In terms of
threats, they include external factors that are beyond the agencies control that could place their
strategy at risk. One factor could be the agencies laying off employees do to lack of funding. I

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belive funding is an issue at times. Agencies are not always provieded with the necessary
funding to support their cause.
The Federal Foster Care Program helps to provide safe and stable out-of-home care for children
until the children are safely returned home, placed permanently with adoptive families or placed
in other planned arrangements for permanency. The program is authorized by title IV-E of the
Social Security Act, as amended, and implemented under the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
at 45 CFR parts 1355, 1356, and 1357 (Title IV-E Foster Care, 2015). Leake and Watts Services,
Inc. is a contracted by the Administration for Childrens Services. The Administration for
Childrens Services in New York initiate training for foster care agencies. The Administration
for Childrens Services also ensures that local agencies like Leake and Watts Services, Inc. have
the necessary funding they need to assist the youth in New York City. The agency Leake and
Watts Services, Inc. is also funded by the New York City Board of Education and New York
State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
The Executive Director is responsible for assisting over 3,000 children, adults and families each
day in building foundations for their future success as he oversees 1000s of staff members with
an annual budget of $65 million. Under his direction he is assisting with Board review;
organizing senior management and Board committee structure; establishing expectations and
responsibilities of Board members; identifying values to promote agency cohesion; expanding
programming for persons with developmental disabilities; growing special education and early
childhood programs; and beginning outreach and partnerships with regulatory and funding
agencies, donors, and the community (Leake and Watts Services, Inc., 2015). At the end of the
fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 2014, their total revenue was $75,406,108 (Leake and Watts
Services, Inc., 2015). Majority of the money that they received from individual donors comes

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from the organizations employees and friends. They also receive funding and donations from
other corporations such as Warner Brothers, Bank United, and Alliance for Children and
Families to name a few.
I am currently working with the Volunteer Manager in the Institutional Advancement department
for my internship. I am currently an Outreach Coordinator. Some of my main duties and
responsibilities so far have consisted of performing outreach to local colleges and universities to
try and recruit them to intern in our Early Head Start and Head Start programs. My first
assignment was to research all CUNY Colleges in the Bronx and Manhattan that offer Early
Childhood Education.
I will also be working with the Family Resource Center. As a new program that officially started
in January 2015, they are still working out how to best meet the needs of community members
with regards to scheduling of activities and ensuring that parents/caregivers know to avail
themselves of our resources. They are working diligently to recruit new families. They have
continued to connect with families at all Leake & Watts early childhood programs, including the
Parent Child-Home Program and the Childrens Learning Center. One of the popular programs
that they provide is their12-session Parenting Journey class. I am looking forward to see what
else my internship has to offer in the upcoming weeks.

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References

Title IV-E Foster Care. (2015, June 16). Retrieved June 20, 2015, from An Official
Administration for Children and Families:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/title-ive-foster-care
Who Are We. (2015). Retrieved from Leake and Watts Services, Inc.:
http://www.leakeandwatts.org