Bridgeport Division Director |
Linda Goldenberg
Linda Goldenberg joined Casey Family Services as a social worker in the Family Connections Program, providing permanency planning and support to families affected by HIV/AIDS. Coming from a management position for a large New York City agency, Goldenberg enjoyed the opportunity to work directly with families again, though she quickly rose through the ranks to serve as a team leader and then deputy director for Casey’s oldest division.
In 2003, she was named director and now oversees a comprehensive array of services and outreach efforts in one of Connecticut’s most diverse and vulnerable communities.
Over the years, several youths served by the Bridgeport and Hartford divisions had the opportunity to speak with Connecticut lawmakers about their experiences in foster care. How do you think the role of advocates has affected these youths?
It was empowering for them to share their stories, both the successes and the struggles. It was gratifying for them to know they were heard. I don’t think when we started this project in 2006 that the youth really felt that legislators would listen to them. It meant a lot that the representatives and commissioner from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) pledged to look into their concerns. It gave them hope that people really do care. More important, the experience was educational, and we hope it will keep youth involved in their communities.
The youths consistently talked about wanting to be with siblings while in care. What are the challenges in this? How can we shift practice?
Connecticut has not been consistent in maintaining connections to the family and siblings. When we place a child with a Casey foster parent, we make every effort to keep them together, sometimes two or three children at a time. However, there is a lack of foster families, and sometimes siblings can’t share the same placement. If that happens, the state and providers, including Casey, need to make every effort to ensure that regular visits take place.
What role do you see Casey playing in Connecticut?
Because we are Casey’s oldest division, I think there is a wealth of experience to share. As the direct service agency of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey places an emphasis on offering training and technical assistance to our partners in the state.
In Bridgeport, we have offered a variety of training initiatives for child welfare professionals in adoption issues. We’ve conducted at least 10 training sessions for DCF staff, as well as for educators and other providers, to help them understand the unique issues around adoption. This advances the concept of permanency for youth.
We are working with the Casey Center for Effective Child Welfare Practice, DCF, the University of Connecticut and Southern Connecticut State University to develop a post-master’s program in adoption to increase the number of adoption-competent professionals in the state. We’re also working with DCF and the University of Connecticut Health Center to develop a statewide post-adoption program using a model similar to the one used by Employee Assistance Programs.
Bridgeport is a very high-needs community within a very wealthy region. How do you think your community-based programs, such as financial literacy, are being received?
Our tax clinics are helping return needed money back into the community. Tax refunds through the Earned Income Tax Credit program can be the start of financial independence for low-income working families in our service area.
We’re the “Family Resource Center without walls.” Our work with a local community group, Residents Addressing Community Concerns, is evolving. After three years of facilitating this group, with the assistance of the grant-making arm of the Foundation, the group has elected leadership and is taking on a life of its own. Most recently, members are advocating for a neighborhood park since there is no safe place in the community for families and children to spend leisure time.
The group is establishing a voice for this community. What we’re really doing with these initiatives is helping to keep children out of state care by strengthening the family unit.