About Rise

Founded in 2005 and led by parents impacted by the family policing system, Rise believes that parents have the answers for their families and communities. Our mission is to empower parents to be leaders and to create communities that invest in families and offer collective care, healing and support.

Rise continues to hold fast to a future vision of communities that are free from injustice, separation, and a society that is cultivating new ways of preventing and addressing harm. We imagine a radical commitment to ensuring that all families have what they need to live beyond survival and truly thrive. This new mission does not change that and it reflects the focus of Rise’s current work towards that ultimate vision.

We create safe spaces where impacted parents can reflect on their lives, connect with peers, learn about the family policing system’s history and policies, strengthen their writing, public speaking and advocacy skills, and mobilize their communities for justice.

Learn more about our vision and how you can get involved.

Parent Presentations

Bringing parents’ perspective on racial equity in child welfare

December 21, 2017 by

On September 27, 2017, Rise Senior Parent Leader Jeanette Vega spoke on a panel on advocacy at the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s Washington DC convening of the Alliance for Racial Equity.

Drawing on Rise’s issue Facing Race in Child Welfare, Jeanette spoke about the challenges parents must overcome to successfully navigate the child welfare system and discrimination against people of color when poverty is seen as neglect. She drew comparisons between child welfare … Read More

Staff Training

Training CASA Volunteers to Understand Parents’ Experiences

December 19, 2017 by

Rise collaborated with CASA-NY to bring parents’ perspective into its training for CASA volunteers. Through observation of their training, Rise recommended adjustments to training content and offered quotes and stories to include in training materials and as handouts. Rise also developed a panel for CASA volunteers, presented in June, and had a parent leader speak at every CASA training.

Staff Training

Apply Now: Parent Advocate Leadership Group

December 13, 2017 by

New Rise Parent Advocate Leadership Group: To provide input on new trainings for child welfare professionals citywide, Rise will be gathering input from parent advocates and from parents with recent cases.

We are seeking up to 10 life-experienced Parent Advocates working in NYC foster care or legal agencies to join an advisory group on this project. Will meet for 20 hours in Jan/Feb, before or after work on a schedule determined by the group, with a … Read More

News

Rise Parent Leader Contributes to New York State Permanency Summit

December 06, 2017 by

ACS’s Deputy Commissioner of Family Permanency Services Julie Farber invited Rise Senior Parent Leader Jeanette Vega to participate in the 2017 New York State Permanency Summit on December 5 and 6 in Albany.  The Summit, sponsored by the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, Casey Family Programs and the Redlich Horwitz Foundation, celebrated the work being done in counties across New York to achieve permanency for children and offered an opportunity for leaders around … Read More

News

Rise Presents to Child Welfare Leaders: How are you informing, orienting and encouraging parents?

May 11, 2017 by

Rise Parent leader Jeanette Vega delivered an inspiring speech to directors of child welfare agencies at the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies’ (COFCCA) annual meeting. Jeanette focused on toxic stress and the role it plays in a parent’s—and child’s— life once involved in the system. Here’s the full transcript: 

In the fall when I read Steve Cohen’s paper I was shocked and amazed to think that there was a name— toxic stress— for what I … Read More

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