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Justice for Orphans’ CarePortal credited with helping 560 Greene County children since 2021
Summary
Justice for Orphans presenters told the board CarePortal links caseworkers, churches and businesses; Greene County launched the platform in October 2021 and ranks first nationally on a county engagement dashboard.
Sandra Flack of Justice for Orphans and regional manager Gene Knopf gave a presentation to the board on a technology platform called CarePortal that connects child-welfare caseworkers with churches, businesses and individual donors to meet tangible needs for children and families.
Flack said CarePortal was launched in Greene County in October 2021. As of the presentation, she reported that 560 Greene County children have been served and that the county has submitted roughly 254 requests; she said 89.12% of requests have been met and that the economic impact to date in Greene County is about $77,000. Flack said Greene County ranked No. 1 in the County Health Assessment Dashboard (CHAD) metric for active church engagement, with a score of 12.
She described typical requests—beds, bedding, furniture, car seats, camp fees and other items needed to stabilize a kinship placement—and gave a same-day example in which a toddler bed and mattress were provided to a grandmother who took custody of three children. Flack and Knopf explained that while anyone can view open requests online, requests are entered and vetted by the county’s Department of Social Services, and deliveries or in-person volunteer contact are coordinated through participating churches and trained volunteers.
Committee members asked about costs to churches and onboarding; Flack said the state pays for the platform and churches or donors supply goods, purchases or volunteers. Presenters encouraged churches and businesses to sign up through justicefororphansny.org and offered follow-up contacts for county churches, ecumenical councils and food pantries.
Ending: Presenters noted rapid local response rates and invited additional churches, businesses and nonprofits to join CarePortal to meet needs quickly through coordinated community giving.
