Sheltering Arms Children & Family Services
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Since our founding, we have responded to our city's greatest needs. In the 1800s, we served immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island, helping them rise out of poverty with services such as employment and child care. Now in 2018, our founding mission has never been more relevant. The children and families we serve often come from immigrant communities and communities of color. Shifting policy priorities mean those we serve must not only weather the storms that accompany life in poverty but also face increasing forces aimed at wiping away their security and limiting their opportunity. However, we have seen time and again that success is possible when we provide opportunity and hope. We see incredible contributions to thriving communities: children who are school-ready, youth who are prepared for work and obtaining jobs, neighborhoods with reduced gun violence, victims of trauma moving forward in strength, and more. Our resolve to make a difference in New York City has never been stronger.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Education
We believe that every child deserves an equal chance at future success, beginning with the best quality education. Our 11 Early Childhood Education Centers and nine Afterschool programs foster curiosity about a world beyond our students’ low-income neighborhoods. We create environments and opportunities where they can explore brighter futures. Through innovative curricula and project-based, hands-on learning, students gain the skills they need to overcome barriers and achieve success at the highest levels.
Early Childhood Education
We deliver a widely reputed program for children and their families, beginning at the moment a child is born. Our dedicated educators guide children through hands-on learning activities and a constantly growing set of innovations, such as mental health support and exposure to the arts. Our model is informed by the nationally recognized Creative Curriculum, which ensures that children gain the early literacy, math, and cognitive skills they will need to succeed in Kindergarten and beyond.
Afterschool
Our Afterschool programs unlock student potential by providing a safe environment for children to develop away from the negative influences on their streets. Our unique combination of project-based learning, character development, and eye-opening opportunities puts at-risk children on track to success.
Youth Development
We encourage teens in our programs to discover their interests and develop their talents, in spite of the barriers to success for youth coming of age in impoverished or high-crime neighborhoods. By connecting youth to positive adult role models, cultivating their skills and interests, and creating opportunities for them to shine, we’re positioning youth for success as healthy adults, strong leaders, and active citizens.
Juvenile Justice Reform
Sheltering Arms utilizes non-traditional solutions to meet the city’s need for comprehensive and effective youth rehabilitation. From implementing a groundbreaking Creative Arts Therapy program to nationally recognized models for treating mental health, we are transforming the way juvenile justice is operated.
Rock Safe Streets (Cure Violence)
We were one of the first agencies called upon by the City to implement the nationally-recognized Cure Violence methodology in Far Rockaway, Queens. Cure Violence is an evidence-proven public health model for “interrupting” violence which was developed in Chicago’s gang-prone neighborhoods. Like the violence interrupters in Chicago, our Rock Safe Streets staff leverage their credibility to effectively de-escalate conflict and build community momentum toward peace and economic development. We stand with the entire Far Rockaway community to heal our neighborhoods and reclaim our streets for safer futures.
At-risk and Homeless Youth
Our youth centers and homes are havens for young people to be nurtured, counseled and supported when they often have nowhere else to turn. With us, young people find a refuge from the challenges they face coming of age in low-income neighborhoods – from homelessness to gang violence and limited job opportunities. Our ‘Safe Space’ Youth Centers and homes are secure places to build strong relationships with staff and peers, to get help with school work, to gain referrals for food or housing and other basic needs, and to develop skills and build pathways for career success.
Preparing Youth for Adulthood
Sheltering Arms offers critical support to teens in foster care during their often difficult transition to adulthood. Through partnerships with skilled mentors, inspiring role models, and nationally recognized foundations and universities, we close the gaps left by past abuse or neglect, and restore the self esteem that fuels hard work, personal development, and success.
Health & Well-Being
In moments of need and distress, a helping hand can turn a downwards cycle into hope for a brighter tomorrow. Our community well-being programs support the physical and mental health of children and adults, and foster the relationships needed in order to thrive.
Developmental Disabilities
Our programs for adults with developmental disabilities promote choice and the valued outcomes of independence, inclusion, integration, and productivity. Our expert service is built on 40 years of experience, after first responding to the city’s dire need for progressive and humane care for adults with developmental disabilities in the mid 70s. Today, we provide a rich quality of life for 65 individuals with developmental disabilities.
Family Support Services
Families referred to our programs may be afflicted by homelessness, violence, mental illness, substance abuse, extreme poverty, trauma, or other factors that put their children at risk for foster care placement. We prioritize the safety and health of the children in our program while working with parents to heal and strengthen family bonds through targeted therapy, referrals, home visits, and parenting classes. Outcomes-focused research informs our methodology and leads to successful transformations for vulnerable children and families.
Foster Care & Adoption
Sheltering Arms guides youth during difficult transitions between living situations with individualized care provided by staff trained in the latest evidence-based treatment models. We strive to place children in the best, most stable option—whether it be a carefully selected foster parent, adoptive family, or in a group home. Each year, nearly 500 children ages 0-21 find their family through Sheltering Arms.
Where we work
External reviews
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
For 185 years, Sheltering Arms has maintained an unwavering commitment to helping low-income children and their families achieve stability and success so they can reach their full potential and positively contribute to their communities. As each generation of New Yorkers has faced new challenges, Sheltering Arms has evolved and grown to meet the developing needs. We work in some of the poorest communities in New York City and tailor our services to the unique challenges that emerge.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Through innovation and partnerships, we provide critical education, youth development, and social service programs to more than 20,000 New Yorkers annually from the North Bronx to Far Rockaway. We provide an integrated range of programming that impacts children from birth to adulthood, including early childhood education, afterschool programs, community violence prevention, mental health, foster care and adoption, family preservation, juvenile justice reform, and services for the developmentally disabled.
We also hold a leadership position in a variety of advocacy coalitions where we play a pivotal role in driving systemic change for education, child welfare, Medicaid Redesign, juvenile justice, and more. Additionally, we are proud of our rapidly growing volunteer base - now over 1,000 strong - where professionals from top corporations and local community groups dedicate their skills and time to support our kids and build the capacity of our organization.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
At the heart of Sheltering Arms' impact lies our visionary and compassionate staff, a group of 1,200 highly qualified individuals (and growing) who demonstrate compassion, ingenuity, and commitment on a daily basis. We strive to build a workforce that is of the communities we serve, and are proud to share that 94% of our staff are people of color, with 62% Black and 25% Latino. We are able to support non-English speakers in 11 languages, and provide cultural competence training year-round to ensure we are able to meet the diverse needs of the people we serve. We pride ourselves in serving as partners and neighbors to New York's children and families, which requires constant attention to cultures, needs, and challenges.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
• In the past six years, we have doubled the size of our ECE program and helped children to beat the odds in low-income communities. Nearly half of our children enter the school year below expectations per widely held developmental standards; by the end of the year, more than 90% meet or exceed expectations. These results are a testament to the quality of our staff, extensive partnership with families and community leaders, and most importantly, the potential of our children when they receive the right opportunities.
• We have been widely recognized for launching powerful, therapeutic programs for at-risk teens. In foster care, we partnered with Columbia University and the Pinkerton Foundation to create a job readiness program that is uniquely customized for the needs of a highly vulnerable population. In juvenile justice, our program model is viewed as a blueprint for transformative group-based care, with highlights including our signature Creative Arts Therapy program and creating the first Afterschool program in the Bronx for adjudicated teens.
• From the Bronx to Far Rockaway, we are asked to lead groundbreaking mental health efforts. Our impact ranges from a rapidly growing school-based mental health program in southeast Queens to leading a school turnaround effort in the South Bronx as a Community Schools leader.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Sheltering Arms Children & Family Services
Board of directorsas of 07/06/2022
Mr. Kenneth Kramer
Chair and President
Term: 2001 -
Elizabeth P. Munson
The Rockefeller Trust Company
Kenneth M. Kramer
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Julia Kahr
The Blackstone Group
Malcolm MacKay
Russell Reynolds Associates
Stephen S. Madsen
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
E. Peter Krulewitch
Kingston Investors Corp.
Jennifer Breheny Wallace
60 Minutes
Robert Daum
Growth Capital Partners, L.P.
Robert E. Foran
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Deborah Snyder
Accenture
J. Frederick Stillman III
William D. Rogers
American Water
Tammi T. Butler
Thomas C. Giordano Middle School 45
Carl Contiguglia
Morgan Stanley
Gail Coleman
J Fitzgibbons LLC
Robert Dinerstein
Veracity Worldwide
Molly Epstein
Coach
Dominic Freud
Freud Pizenberg Independent Consulting
Nicholas A. Gravante
Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP
Rufina Galvez
Early Head Start Policy Council
Daniel Gutzmore
Highbrid Media
Kim Mustin
BNY Mellon Investment Management
Kenneth Munoz
Munoz and Associates, LLC
James Pickman
David M. Rubin
Golenbock, Eiseman, Assor, Bell & Peskoe LLP
Susan Webster
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Marguerite Young
Emily Alejos
Helen Cheng
Houlihan Lokey
Karen Dyer
Boies Schiller & Flexner, LLP
George Evans
OppenheimerFunds
Mariela Flores
Julia Hilbert
Macquarie Group
Daniel Kramer
BNY Mellon
Toretha McGuire
BlackRock
Heidi A. Tallentire
Blank Rome LLP
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No