Click here to submit your workshop proposal for the
2009 Annual Conference!
DOWNLOAD the 2009 Annual Conference Call for Papers!
2009 Annual Conference:
"The Promise of CHANGE in Child and Family Services"
November 11 - 13, 2009
Clarion Resort, Fontainebleau Hotel, Ocean City, MD
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NEW: Looking to register for a CANS Training?
Click here to go to the Training page!!
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To Download a copy of our 2009 Public Policy Goals and Priorities, please go to our Public Policy Page (click here)
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In advance of its release to stakeholders around the State, we are pleased to provide our members with the long awaited ACCESS TO EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN IN STATE-SUPERVISED CARE HANDBOOK and a related training video produced by the Public Justice Center. This is the product of exemplary interagency collaboration involving the Department of Education, the Department of Human Resources, representatives of local Departments of Social Services and Local School Systems, MARFY, the Public Justice Center, University of Maryland School of Social Work, and the Maryland Assn. of Nonpublic Special Education Facilities with consultation from the American Bar Association. For every member of your staff and all foster parents, resource parents who have responsibility for enrolling children in school and keeping them enrolled, the HANDBOOK is an essential resource. We encourage you to make copies of the readily available and to use the training video at staff meetings, foster parent trainings and for new staff orientation. The HANDBOOK can be downloaded from Adobe Reader. The TRAINING VIDEO can be downloaded and viewed on Windows Media Player. Both of these items can be downloaded from our website by clicking on the links below:
Download the HANDBOOK by CLICKING HERE.
Download the VIDEO by CLICKING HERE.
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Click here to access the Maryland Community Services Locator
In July 2008, the Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) began a statewide expansion of resources on the Maryland Community Services Locator website (www.mdcsl.org). The MDCSL is an interactive online directory developed to assist professionals and community members in locating community services. It allows users to get organizational contact information and other details, map resources by location, and get instant directions to programs. Since its launch, this website has expanded to include more than 3,600 services and programs that are periodically verified for accuracy by MDCSL staff. In addition to the resources included when the MDCSL first launched, (i.e. Substance Abuse Services and Short-Term Housing), it now includes new listings for topics such as Job Readiness/Adult Education Services, Health/Mental Health Services, Emergency Food Assistance, Family Assistance, Victim Services, and many others.
Visit the MDCSL website at: http://www.mdcsl.org. For more information or for free promotional materials, contact CESAR by email at mdcsl@cesar.umd.edu, phone (301-405-9796), or visit the website. The MDCSL is funded by the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention under grant number BJAG-2007-1265.
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"The Maryland Association of
Resources for Families and Youth (MARFY)
is an association of private sector agencies joined by a common commitment to improving the lives of children, youth and families"
About Us:
MARFY is a non-profit 501(c)3 association of child and family services agencies throughout Maryland. MARFY's membership is made up of 55 private sector agencies providing services through nearly two-hundred programs across the State. Services are provided in group homes, treatment centers, shelters, alternative schools, day treatment programs, independent living programs, treatment family foster homes and intensive in-home services for children living with their families.
VISION: MARFY will be the pre-eminent voice for Maryland’s children, youth and families who stand in need.
MISSION: MARFY is a provider network, committed to strengthening families, youth and communities through its advocacy for a responsive and accountable system of care that provides high-quality, holistic and culturally competent services to those in need.
MARFY’s Guiding Principles:
- Children have a right to education, to physical and mental health care, and to be safe, nurtured and supported in the homes and communities where they live.
- Services need to be provided where families live and where children go to school and must build on existing child, family and community strengths and resources.
- Programs and services, and the people who provide them, must respect ethnic and cultural diversity.
- Children and parents must be involved in making decisions about the services they receive.
- Communities are the source of opportunity for children and families and must be supported in their efforts to strengthen families, protect children and to prepare them for adulthood.
- Strategies to strengthen children, families and communities must move people to self reliance.
- Fear, prejudice and discrimination that would prevent children in the child welfare and juvenile systems from living in the community must be eliminated.
MARFY’s Goals
Goal # 1 - MARFY will continually add to its visibility, viability, and credibility in our member community, our state, and the nation
Goal # 2 – MARFY is a provider community with a workforce that will deliver the highest quality of care and services to children and their families.
Goal # 3 - MARFY will continuously define, evaluate, and advocate for the highest standards of care and services for children and their families
Goal # 4 - MARFY will contribute to the sustainability and viability of its members’ programs and services
