Careportal —
Creating connections between families, churches, and community
Careportal Tool
One of the FAM tools is CarePortal, a real-time care-sharing online technology platform that brings the needs of the most vulnerable families in the city to churches that are willing to meet those needs and build meaningful connections. The needs can range from beds, cribs, car seats, clothes, school supplies, mentorship, and transportation. CarePortal creates connections within the circles of Care around the isolated child. Families, churches, and communities are brought together to create a healthy approach to care. Because EVERY child matters.
Who does it help?
CarePortal exists to help vulnerable children and families.
Requests submitted through CarePortal come from caseworkers at government child welfare agencies or other child-serving organizations approved by CarePortal to vet needs. Churches can also identify and submit needs within their own church and community through the Church Entered Needs feature.
Meeting these small needs has a huge impact in the daily lives of vulnerable children and families, while also preventing children from entering the foster care system.
For example, through CarePortal three cribs were provided for the needs of three autistic children under the ages of three years old in Staten Island. During this record hot summer in NYC, an AC unit was provided for a mother with small children, who have been taking 5 showers a day to stay cool with her child, with no access to an AC.
How does
CarePortal work?
Caseworkers uncover the needs, and CarePortal makes local churches and community members aware, giving them real-time opportunities to respond.
A child welfare professional identifies a need of a local child or family.
Caseworkers submit a request into CarePortal's platform, which quickly sends a message to participating churches nearby.
Each church can respond directly back to the case worker when they are able to meet the need, or they can engage other churches and community partners who want to help.
Every request presents the opportunity for churches to make meaningful connections.
Care Communities Tool
In partnership with Promise 686, FAM trains churches to create and maintain volunteer-led Care Communities that provide a strong support system for foster and adoptive families.
Volunteers offer support in the following ways: bringing weekly meals, supplying, or sourcing practical needs (e.g., bunk beds, strollers, car seats, clothing), transporting children to appointments, mentoring children, coordinating volunteers to serve a family, becoming trained to provide respite care and more!
Why Care Communities?
Parents who foster or adopt need to know they’ll be well-supported when a child arrives in their home.
Children in foster care, as well as adopted children, have unique needs, and require intentional focus from their new parents. Supporting these families in practical, hands-on ways provides a healthier context for a child’s transition into their new home.
The FAM Team
The dedicated people committed to supporting vulnerable children and those that care for them.
Neighborhoods Director
NYC Family Advocacy Liaison
NYC FAM Area Director
Regional Director
