Maryland Association of Resources for Families and Youth (MARFY) Elects New Officers!

Maryland Association of Resources for Families and Youth (MARFY) has elected new officers for 2020-2021!

Chair Chloe Perez Hearts and Homes for Youth	Vice Chair Simone Bramble KidsPeace
Secretary Nicole Smith Board of Child Care	Policy Chair Damon Thompson Building Families for Children

Treatment Foster Care Coalition Chair: Rob Basler, Arrow Child and Family Ministries
Residential Treatment Center Coalition Chair: Ezra Buchdahl, Catholic Charities
Immediate Past Chair: Jennifer McGlothlin-Renault, Arrow Child and Family Ministries

MARFY is a network of providers of programs and services for children and youth, including treatment foster care, group homes and residential treatment centers. MARFY aims to ensure Maryland’s most vulnerable children who have been victims of abuse and neglect receive the care and treatment they require in a continuum of care. MARFY is governed by an Executive Council composed of representatives from each member agency.

These officers are elected at a time when Maryland’s child welfare system is under significant strain. The mental health needs of children in care are acute, and lack of funding and systemic capacity has resulted in children over-staying in hospitals and other failed program placements leading to compounded trauma.  MARFY works with providers, state agencies, local departments of social services, and policy makers to lift up the mental health needs of children in child protective services and ensure that they receive the care and treatment that they need.  In the coming year, MARFY will be focused on addressing systemic racism within the child welfare system that results in Black children being disproportionately impacted, implementation of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act to help provide services to families to enable them to prevent crises that would require a child to go into foster care, and addressing the major challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. MARFY is a program of Maryland Nonprofits. For more information or to become a member of MARFY, visit www.marfy.org or contact Heather Iliff at hiliff@mdnonprofit.org.