Community Partnership Initiative

Elmhurst

Elmhurst joined the Community Partnership Initiative to bring together organizations which reflect the neighborhood’s diversity to benefit local residents who need help keeping children safe and healthy. Under the name “Families Building Community,” the Elmhurst CPI is active in providing services that are culturally appropriate to meet the needs of its community members.

The uniqueness of Elmhurst, Queens is that families and residents of Elmhurst can retain their sense of culture while also feeling like an integral part of our diverse community.

The Families Building Community offers many services to the families of Elmhurst, Queens. This coalition partners with ACS in order to change and improve the child welfare system within our community.

Our Goals:

• Connecting Child Care/Head Start to Preventive Services

The Early Child Care/Head Start workgroup has created a link between the preventive agencies and the private child care agencies that service the Elmhurst area. Now, the children and families of Elmhurst can have better access to important information about what services are available in areas closest to their homes.

• Foster Care Recruitment

The Families Building Community is working to find foster homes in the Elmhurst area so that children who must be removed from their families can remain in their communities. A monthly Circle of Support has been created for the foster parents in the Elmhurst area so that they can meet each other and talk about their concerns in caring for children. Elmhurst CPI engages foster parents to actively do foster recruitment in the community, and hosts “Foster-Ware” parties for prospective foster parents. These “Foster-Ware” parties are informal gatherings where new foster parents can interact with existing foster parents.

• Family Conferences

It is important to have community representatives at Family Team Conferencing to provide families with information that will help them make informed decisions. The community representatives will also be a resource for the families, to help link the families with available services.

• Visitation

The coalition has partnered with the Queens Museum of Art and has a pass for the Queens Hall of Science to host visits for families. The purpose is to move family visits to a more family-friendly environment, and away from institutional offices. Elmhurst CPI has also hosted visits at local libraries, restaurants, movie theatres, and family fun entertainment centers for children and their families.