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, which will acknowledge the critical role foster families and child welfare professionals play in providing children and youth with meaningful connections and support, will also serve as a call-to-action for attendees to educate others about foster care and recruit new foster families.

WHEN:           
Thursday, May 25, 2023, at 11:30 a.m.

WHERE:        
Albany Capital Center
55 Eagle St.
Albany, N.Y. 12207

WHO:

• Jamerika Haynes-Lewis, former youth in foster care, U.S.A. Ambassador Ms. 2021 and founder of Clever Jam Communications
• Karen Persichilli Keogh, foster/adoptive parent and Secretary to Governor Kathy Hochul
• OCFS Acting Commissioner Suzanne Miles-Gustave

DETAILS:

• Keynote speaker Jamerika Haynes-Lewis will discuss her experience of growing up in foster care. Her speech will focus on the theme of empowering youth in foster care.
• Karen Persichilli Keogh, secretary to Governor Hochul, will speak about her experiences as a foster parent. She and her husband, Mike, were foster parents to their daughter, Jessica, before adopting her.

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.