What others say about NCCPR

COMMENTS ON OUR WORK FROM JOURNALISTS AND CHILD WELFARE LEADERS

FROM JOURNALISTS:

“A voice of reason …[that] can find fault with an agency without sounding like [they’re] denouncing the Third Reich.”
–Tom Lyons, Columnist, Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune

“Everyone concerned about the issue — including members of the news media — should look at http://www.nccprblog.org, the website of the Virginia-based National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, an advocacy organization that regularly names and shames the people playing politics with child welfare.”
–Errol Louis, Columnist, New York Daily News

“Though I’m always looking for opportunities to change my mind, only rarely does someone show up who can rearrange my thinking as radically as you did on the child-protection front. It affected my writing in a great many ways, and I’m grateful for that.”
–Kate Stanley, former editorial writer, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“I began covering child welfare by accident as one of those reporters who knew nothing about it and believed reunification sounded like craziness. [NCCPR Executive Director] Richard Wexler very patiently pushed me to read the right books and talk to a variety of experts. … [NCCPR], really, was a source of grounding for me for years, as a reporter and a writer.”
–Barbara White Stack, former reporter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“You are a tremendous force and asset to children across the country and I have nothing but the utmost respect for your work.  I think you have [made] a tremendous difference in people’s lives through your media advocacy work. … Now more than ever the services of NCCPR are needed to keep the heat on. You help reporters like me stay focused, to not be swayed by the state bureaucratic and political machines and to remember what child welfare and child protection is really supposed to be about – preserving families and helping children – which, sadly often gets lost in the rhetoric of the day …”
–Colin Poitras, former reporter, Hartford Courant

NCCPR “might be the most successful youth advocate[s] out there in terms of landing [their] words on editorial pages around the country.”
—Youth Today

“I encourage readers to explore [NCCPR’s] website. There you’ll find not only a well-reasoned critique of the system, but also commonsensical proposals for reforming it that would benefit not only children and their families, but also everyone else involved in the system, including CPS workers.”
–Robert Speer, Editor, Chico (CA) News & Review

“The material you sent and [your issue] papers are a reporter’s dream.”
–Reporter, New York

“I spent a great deal of time surfing the Internet, trying to find reliable sources of information on child protection and found your site to be the best as far as: 1. Documentation and 2. Straightforwardness of the material.  So many other websites were rife with ‘official-speak’ [and] platitudes … Yours wasn’t.  Your web site, in my opinion, does a terrific job of explaining what can be very complex issues.”
–Reporter, Ohio

“It’s especially nice to talk to someone who’s been a reporter and who understands what we need.”
–Reporter, Maine

FROM CHILD WELFARE LEADERS:

“A remarkable advocate for child welfare reform [with] an impact all over the country.”
–Benjamin Wolf, Director, Children and Institutionalized Persons Project, American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois

“NCCPR has been a key support for the child welfare reforms in Maine.  … The strong voice of NCCPR gives voice to ideas that challenge the status quo. The children of Maine need that voice. … The work that [NCCPR] has done with the media in Maine has helped them understand the complexity of the child welfare system and has helped them to understand that the reforms are in the best interest of children and the people of Maine.”
–James Beougher, former Director, Office of Child And Family Services, Maine Department of Health And Human Services

“As a practicing professional Social Worker and Professor in the child welfare field for the past 34 years, I can say that NCCPR has made the best presentation for the critical need for family centered work of any organization. … This past year [2007] in recognition of NCCPR’s important efforts on behalf of families, the Family Preservation Institute Board awarded NCCPR the Kaleidoscope Award. … [NCCPR’s] work has greatly aided organizations doing best practice work within the child welfare system.”
–Prof. Alvin Sallee, former Director, Family Preservation Institute,  School of Social Work, New Mexico State University

“Your suggestions go to the core of many problems we face in Los Angeles and in other children’s systems nationwide.”
–Andrew Bridge, former Chair, Los Angeles County Blue Ribbon Task Force on Foster Care

“The idea for this work was first suggested by Richard Wexler of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. Since that time, he has been an important collaborator in this project, offering insights into child welfare practices across the country and helping us to distill our thinking on the right role and responsibility for government in the lives of children and families.”
–Kevin Ryan, former New Jersey Child Advocate, in the Office of Child Advocate, Families Under Supervision report

“I know of no other individual or organization that has served as a countervailing force for redress of this imbalance [in media coverage] with the passion, dogged persistence, or intelligence of Richard Wexler and NCCPR.  … From a funder’s perspective, he is the living definition of ‘bang for the buck.’ … Struggling parents already disadvantaged by poverty, racism, and undeserved stigma would be at a far greater disadvantage without Richard Wexler and NCCPR on our side.”
–Mike Arsham, former Executive Director, Child Welfare Organizing Project