Protecting & Nurturing Children & Youth

All children deserve the opportunity to develop social skills, gain confidence and develop lasting values that will serve them as adults. Catholic Charities' network of services aims to address the physical, emotional and psychological needs of children and their families.

Impact

  • 368 children adopted by loving families
  • 3,176 children enjoying summer camps
  • 4,400​ children and teens  placed in safe foster care
  • 41,521 youth in wholesome sports
  • 5,226 children growing and learning in day-care
  • 6,030 youth participating in sound after-school programs

For more information about a particular program and/or service, navigate the tabs below:

  • Adoption Services

    Catholic Charities agencies are committed to reuniting children in foster care with their biological families whenever it is safe and appropriate.  However, when this proves unsuccessful, we work to secure, stable, permanent adoptive families for children in need.

    Find Catholic Charities agencies that can help with becoming an adoptive parent.

  • After/Out-of-School-Time Activities

    Too many children return from school to empty apartments and the lure of the streets. At Catholic Charities we offer an alternative: safe, high-quality programs staffed by motivated professionals and volunteers. Our programs help children pursue their strengths through academic support, sports, recreation, arts and cultural experiences.

    Find a Catholic Charities program for youth.

  • Community Centers

    While all Catholic Charities services are community based, we also offer multi-service community centers in multiple locations.  They are located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side and Central Harlem, Staten Island and Kingston. 

    These centers are accessible seven days a week.  They are complete with gyms and auditoriums.  And they are designed to meet local community needs. 

    Here children, teens and families participate in a host of wholesome activities.

    Click here for specific center locations.

  • Day Care Programs

    Children need safe places to learn and thrive. Catholic Charities offers a range of quality day care options catered to each child’s and family’s unique needs. Our caring staff is licensed after passing intensive background checks and completing rigorous safety and child-care training programs.

  • Foster Care

    All children deserve love, stability and safety. When they cannot find this at home, Catholic Charities agencies step in. For more than a century, we have been recognized as major providers of high-quality foster care throughout New York.

  • Mother-Child Residences

    Young homeless mothers, particularly those between the ages of 14 – 21, need homes and help.  For their sake and the sake of their babies, our residences provide the support they need.  In these home-like residences, young mothers learn to set and achieve educational and personal goals that help them reach independence.  Most important, they learn how to properly care for themselves and their children. 

    Find Mother-Child Residences.

  • Keeping Families Together

    Alcoholism, addiction, domestic violence and mental health needs are not only debilitating for those who struggle with them but often isolating as well.  Their repercussions hurt entire families.   Poverty, similarly, or the demands of caring for a child with special needs can also be isolating and overwhelming. 

    We are here to help.  Catholic Charities preventive services provide support and stability to families in crisis.  Our goal is to prevent placement of children in out-of-home care. 

    We do this by providing:

    • Parent training
    • Casework
    • Counseling
    • Advocacy
    • Referrals to additional supportive services
    • Home visits to monitor family dynamics
    • Mental health assessments
    • Domestic violence assessments and counseling
    • Assistance with housing and daycare services
    • Intervention with school systems

    Click here for a list of preventive service providers.

  • Crisis Intervention Centers & Services

    No one - not a child, a fragile adult or a senior - should be homeless. For this reason, Catholic Charities takes a leadership role providing safe places where people receive the support they need to deal with the crises they face.  

    Services include food, clothing and shelter.  They include employment and education.  They treat physical and mental health needs. And they offer the support, information and referrals needed to overcome crises and live independent lives.

    For example, Covenant House New York, an affiliate of Catholic Charities, has provided vital services to homeless, abandoned, abused, trafficked and exploited youth since 1972.  Doors are open 24 hours a day, every day.  It provides temporary housing and helps find permanent housing.  It builds independent living skills. And it provides legal advocacy along with a host of other services.


    Call Covenant House at 212-613-0300.
     

    Other Helpful Websites and Hotline Numbers:


    IMPORTANT:  Call 911 or your local police department if you believe someone is in immediate danger.

Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) Sports and Youth Programs

Many think about Catholic Charities’ sports programs when they think about CYO.  After all, more than 18,000 youth participate each year. But these parish-based youth programs supported by Catholic Charities offer more than just sports.  Thousands of children and teens also participate in activities that span from teen groups to fitness challenges, art, essay, oratorical contests and more.  Together they foster young people’s spiritual, cultural and athletic growth. 

Call us at 646-794-2065 or click here to find out more about CYO Sports and Youth Programs.

Too many children return from school to empty apartments and the lure of the streets. At Catholic Charities we offer an alternative: safe, high-quality programs staffed by motivated professionals and volunteers. Our programs help children pursue their strengths through academic support, sports, recreation, arts and cultural experiences.

Find a Catholic Charities program for youth.

Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts

Affiliated with national scouting programs, our parish-based programs are spread throughout New York.  They build character, citizenship and fitness.  They also reinforce our faith’s religious values. 

Their popularity demonstrates their success:  More than 22,000 youth participate.  More than 9,000 volunteers serve as leaders. Children and volunteers are welcome to join.

The Archdiocese of New York Catholic Committee on Scouting is a volunteer committee affiliated with the Archdiocese of New York Youth Ministry through Catholic Charities.

Visit the NY Catholic Scouts website to join or volunteer.

Too many children return from school to empty apartments and the lure of the streets. At Catholic Charities we offer an alternative: safe, high-quality programs staffed by motivated professionals and volunteers. Our programs help children pursue their strengths through academic support, sports, recreation, arts and cultural experiences.

Find a Catholic Charities program for youth.

Family Day Care

Carefully screened providers care for children in the providers’ own homes.  They are monitored and evaluated to ensure safe environments.

Children need safe places to learn and thrive. Catholic Charities offers a range of quality day care options catered to each child’s and family’s unique needs. Our caring staff is licensed after passing intensive background checks and completing rigorous safety and child-care training programs.

Center-Based Day Care

Qualified, compassionate teachers and day care workers care for children in community settings run in accordance with Department of Health guidelines.  Programs include art, games and instruction.  Indoor and outdoor activities promote children’s social, physical, cognitive and emotional growth. 

Children need safe places to learn and thrive. Catholic Charities offers a range of quality day care options catered to each child’s and family’s unique needs. Our caring staff is licensed after passing intensive background checks and completing rigorous safety and child-care training programs.

Head Start Programs

Caring professionals promote school readiness for children, ages three to five. Enrollment and participation is based on income. Programs focus on the well-being of the child by providing nutritious meals, health care, education and family development services. This comprehensive approach promotes language, literacy, social and emotional development.

Find a Catholic Charities day care provider.

Children need safe places to learn and thrive. Catholic Charities offers a range of quality day care options catered to each child’s and family’s unique needs. Our caring staff is licensed after passing intensive background checks and completing rigorous safety and child-care training programs.

Foster Boarding Home Programs

Children are placed in temporary, safe homes when their families are unable to care for them. In some cases, courts determine children must be removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect. In others, children are awaiting permanent placement with an adoptive family.

Foster parents are screened, certified and complete a comprehensive 30-hour training program.  This enables them to capably address the multiple issues these children face.  Issues range from separation and loss to shared parenting, behavior management, positive discipline and permanency planning.

All children deserve love, stability and safety. When they cannot find this at home, Catholic Charities agencies step in. For more than a century, we have been recognized as major providers of high-quality foster care throughout New York.

Therapeutic Foster Boarding Homes

Children with serious emotional, behavioral and other challenging conditions often benefit from family-based alternatives rather than institutional treatment. This is tough work. Catholic Charities supports participants who offer therapeutic foster boarding homes by providing frequent home visits, respite and emergency on-call services.

Find a Catholic Charities agency to become a foster parent.

All children deserve love, stability and safety. When they cannot find this at home, Catholic Charities agencies step in. For more than a century, we have been recognized as major providers of high-quality foster care throughout New York.