June 25, 2016

ACS and Children’s Museum of Manhattan honor families who have reunified in the last year with Better Together: A Celebration of Families

New York, NY –The NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), in partnership with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM), held a special event on Saturday, June 25, to celebrate Family Reunification Month and the accomplishments of parents who have overcome significant challenges to reunify safely and successfully with their children. Participating families enjoyed five floors of fascinating exhibits and programming at CMOM, raffle prizes and lunch. Speakers included ACS Commissioner Gladys Carrion, CMOM Executive Director Andy Ackerman, Associate Commissioner for ACS Division of Family Permanency Services Ray Toomer, a representative for Honorable Judge Amanda White- Supervising Judge, Kings County (Brooklyn), and three parent advocates who experienced reunification.

ACS is committed to ensuring families stay together and is proud to continue to see a smaller number of children in foster care year after year. In 2015, 2,500 children were reunified with their families. As ACS celebrates 20 years of service to New York City children and families, we also celebrate the hard work and commitment of parents who worked hard to reunify with their children.

“Raising a family is tough and parents should never go through challenges alone,” said ACS Commissioner Gladys Carrión. “From family members, relatives, foster parents, social workers, caseworkers, foster parents, attorneys, advocates, family visit hosts, and the courts− it takes many people to bring families back together. We are all stronger when we are supported and given a chance to grow as a person. I want to thank the Children’s Museum of Manhattan for providing a supportive environment where parents can join their children in active hands-on learning experiences, explore their creativity, and strengthen their bonds.”

“ACS is dedicated to supporting early childhood and providing essential resources to parents, educators, and caregivers. We are proud to work with them on their efforts to ensure that our city’s children and families thrive and we were delighted to be the venue for their first annual reunification event,” said Andrew Ackerman, executive director, Children’s Museum of Manhattan.

The Children’s Museum houses a wide range of exhibits, from a new outdoor exhibition on NYC’s municipal water system, Dynamic H20, to America to Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and Far, which celebrates the diversity of Muslim cultures in our city, our country and across the world. By combining play and learning, the PlayWorks™ exhibit helps families prepare children to enter school ready to learn and grow. The Museum also offers guests a wide variety of performances, workshops, cooking demonstrations, storytelling experiences, and hands-on art activities.