Administration for Children’s Services Announces Awards Recommended for Community Partnerships in Eleven Neighborhoods Across the City
June 2, 2026
Community Partnerships are Neighborhood Coalitions that Aim to Enhance Child and Family Well-Being through Strategies Responsive to the Local Community’s Wants and Needs
Eleven Neighborhoods Served Include: Mott Haven, Hunts Point, Highbridge, Bed Stuy, Bushwick, East New York, East Flatbush, East Harlem, Elmhurst, Jamaica and Staten Island’s North Shore
The NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) today announced the awards recommended to manage and support eleven Community Partnerships across the city. Community Partnerships are neighborhood coalitions that aim to enhance child and family well-being through strategies that are responsive to each community’s wants and needs. By listening to the voices and ideas of community members, the Community Partnerships work to increase coordination among service providers, connect families to resources and to fill programming gaps.
The providers recommended for the awards include: The Foundling (Mott Haven), Hunts Point Alliance for Children (Hunts Point), Bridge Builders (Highbridge), Little Flower (Bed Stuy), Coalition for Hispanic Family Services (Bushwick), Good Shepherd (East New York), I Hold the Key (East Flatbush), Union Settlement (East Harlem), Community Mediation Services (Elmhurst), Queens Community House (Jamaica), and NY Center for Interpersonal Development (Staten Island’s North Shore).
“ACS recognizes that families are the experts in their own lives, and we are committed to supporting community-led solutions that reflect the needs and strengths of each neighborhood. Community Partnerships are an important part of that work, helping ensure that families across New York City can access coordinated, meaningful, and responsive services and supports. We are pleased to announce the eleven recommended awards to manage the Community Partnerships moving forward and we look forward to seeing the positive impact these organizations will continue to have in the communities they serve,” said ACS Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston.
Since 2007, ACS has funded and supported the Community Partnership model. The model is grounded in trust-building, community organizing, social equity, and the belief that local communities are best positioned to support the well-being of children and families.
The Community Partnerships create inclusive spaces for residents, organizations, and government partners (including ACS) to connect, share information, and design and advance well-being initiatives shaped by local priorities. Members of the Community Partnerships collaborate to improve service connections, design and carry out community engagement initiatives (like clothing drives, resource fairs, holiday giveaways) to help families learn about resources in their neighborhoods, and let families know who they can reach out to for housing, food, childcare, mental health care, and other services.
Over the past several years, ACS has taken a closer look at the Community Partnerships model to identify ways in which it can be strengthened to better meet the needs of the communities they serve. Following an assessment, surveys, interviews and more, ACS found that the Community Ambassadors in each Community Partnership played a pivotal role. Community Ambassadors are trusted community residents with lived experience who build relationships with and connect families to information and resources. As a result, the recommended awards being announced today are required to invest more in Community Ambassadors. Investing in Ambassadors meets the dual goals of increasing outreach and interaction with community members who need support and fostering strong community leaders.
Additionally, unlike in the past, the awards being announced today must work with Community members to identify a primary focus for their Partnership’s work moving forward. Under the new contracts, Partnerships will focus on:
- Making warm referrals that connect families to resources;
- Filling service gaps by Developing and implementing well-being activities; and
- Identifying and communicating practice and policy recommendations to help city agencies more effectively meet families’ needs.