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Testa addresses NYC Bar Association on new foster care law he influenced

On Jan. 24, Spears-Turner Distinguished Professor Mark Testa, Ph.D. addressed the New York City Bar Association on “Implementing Subsidized Guardianship in New York City.” His talk was sponsored by the New York City Bar Council on Children.

Effective April 1, New York’s foster children have the opportunity to achieve permanence through a new option, Kinship Guardianship Assistance, which was authorized under the federal Fostering Connection Act of 2008. The new law was based in large measure on the evaluations that Testa conducted during the late 1990s and 2000s in the states of Illinois, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

The purpose of Testa’s talk was to share some of the lessons learned from the state demonstrations as New York State and City prepare to implement the new program in April.