WHAT:  
OCFS will host a National Foster Care Month celebration to raise awareness about the need for more foster parents and ways to enhance the lives of youth in foster care. The event will be hosted in partnership with the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) at the Thacher State Park Visitor Center on the occasion of State Parks Centennial Celebration.

WHEN:        
Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at 5:30 p.m.

WHERE:      
John Boyd Thacher State Park Visitor Center
830 Thacher Park Rd. (Rt. 157)
Voorheesville, NY 12186           

WHO:          

• OCFS Acting Commissioner Dr. DaMia Harris-Madden
• OCFS Deputy Commissioner Gail Geohagen-Pratt, Division of Child Welfare and Community Services
• State Parks Chief Diversity Officer Yolanda Bostic-Williams
• Keynote Speaker Charell Star, social media influencer with lived experience in foster care
  
• Foster parent

DETAILS:
The theme of this year’s Foster Care Month is Fostering Strong Roots for Children, highlighting the importance of connecting youth in foster care with kin and fictive kin and fostering strong, positive relationships that last a lifetime. Keynote speaker Charell Star will discuss her experience of growing up in foster care. Foster families invited to attend will also be introduced to the beautiful Thacher State Park, one of numerous New York State recreational areas they can access all summer as State Parks is celebrating its Centennial throughout 2024.

RSVP: Media interested in attending should RSVP to press@ocfs.ny.gov by 4 p.m. on May 7. 

About the New York State Office of Children and Family Services:

The Office of Children and Family Services serves New York's public by promoting the safety, permanency and well-being of children, families and communities. The agency provides a system of family support, juvenile justice, youth development, child care and child welfare services and is responsible for programs and services involving foster care, adoption and adoption assistance, child protective services, preventive services for children and families, and protective programs for vulnerable adults.

About the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation:

The New York?State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more, which saw a record 84 million visits in 2023. For more information on any of these recreation areas, visit parks.ny.gov, download the free NY State Parks Explorer app or call 518.474.0456.