Growing Up Strong, Like the Children We Serve

By Erica Fischer-Kaslander

It’s hard to believe, but this year Child Focus becomes a legal adult.

We were “born” in 2007 with one driving purpose: to ensure children in foster care had someone in their corner. Although we were a small CASA program with just a handful of committed volunteers, we shared big dreams for systems change and advocacy support. 

Now, at 18 years old, we’ve grown into a confident, compassionate, community-powered force for child and family well-being. We have robust programs in Passaic, Hudson, Essex, and Union counties. We advocate for infants through young adults in court and the community. We support families with early development care coordination and child welfare system navigation, and focus on early childhood systems of reform.

Every layer of work internally and externally strengthens a foundation built on the belief that better is possible when the child’s best interests remain front and center. 

We train volunteers. We lead coalitions. We change lives. Here’s to 18 years of resilience, relationships, and resourcefulness.

Through it all, we remain filled with gratitude, momentum, and vision. And so, here’s a few highlights from Fiscal Year 2025:

• CASA Program Growth
  Completed our first full fiscal year since expanding into Union County. With 26 new volunteer advocates trained and assigned to children there, we are seeing early and promising signs of impact, and served an additional 15% percent of its vulnerable children. There were an additional 25 new volunteer advocates trained in Passaic County and matched to children there to ensure 100% service to children countywide. In all, 414 children across both counties during FY2025 had a CASA volunteer in their corner.

• Safe Babies Court Team Strength
  Continued to lead New Jersey’s efforts to reimagine the earliest stages of court-involved family life because babies can’t wait. We are supporting four courtrooms, across three counties with cross-trained teams that prioritize infant-toddler mental health and development, relational health, and prevention first. More families are exiting foster care earlier and stronger, and report feeling seen, heard, and supported like never before.

• Staff Support Initiatives
  Launched our first venture into short-term sabbaticals for frontline staff, a bold move in the nonprofit sector that recognizes the emotional labor and deep expertise required in child advocacy. We’ve also deepened our reflective supervision practice because even grownups need care. We are learning in real-time how investing in our people strengthens the work itself.

• Child and Family-Centered Practice Innovation
  Embraced new ways to center youth voices in every room we’re in, expanding our toolbox for both volunteers and advocacy staff. From trauma-responsive case coordination to holistic advocacy work, we are seeing more timely permanency outcomes.

• Open Door Store Expansion
  Opened a brand-new Open Door Store in Union County’s Elizabeth office. Like its flagship store in Passaic County, it’s open to all local youth in foster care. In all, more than 2,000 volunteer hours were spent stocking and working both stores to support more than 925 shopping visits across all counties, with distribution of 5,000 total items, including coats, backpacks, tops, bottoms, underwear, socks, pajamas, personal hygiene items, diapers, wipes, toys, books, and more!

You’ve helped us grow up with purpose and heart. Whether you were with us in “kindergarten” or just joined this year, you are part of our story. Child Focus is now a legal adult, still fighting for every child, and always looking forward:

• We will continue to train and support more volunteers to serve more children, earlier and as long as needed.

• We will continue to strengthen interdisciplinary partnerships that keep children together, and thriving, with their families.

• We will continue to use our voice, making systems work better for children, for good.

And we’re just getting started.

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Erica Fischer-Kaslander is Executive Director of Child Focus.

Based in Wayne, Child Focus prioritizes the needs and well-being of infants, children, and teens impacted by or at risk of abuse and neglect by amplifying their voices and working toward lasting, permanent solutions that address their unique situations and provide the support needed to thrive. This critical work is accomplished through three distinct but complementary programs: CASA of Passaic and Union Counties, NJ Safe Babies Court Team, and the Open Door Store. For information, log on to www.childfocusnj.org.