Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, WRI concentrated its activities on research, evaluation, conference coordination, and training and technical assistance.

‍Key projects:

WRI evaluated the implementation and effectiveness of the state Child Welfare Reform Act (CWRA) of 1979 for the Division of Budget and the New York State Child Abuse Prevention Act (CAPA) of 1985 for the New York State Council on Children and Families.

In cooperation with the New York City Board of Education Office of Education Assessment, WRI evaluated the expansion of the School Health Demonstration Program (SHDP).

WRI formed the Public Employment Research Institute and the Labor-Management Relations Training Institute to conduct research, provide support services to public employers, and conduct training in labor-management relations for public employees.

WRI coordinated a multimedia effort (radio, television, and newspaper advertising, transit posters, and educational materials) to promote sound nutrition among low-income households and increase awareness of federally funded nutrition programs.

During the 90’s, WRI continued to demonstrate its strength in writing, editing, and designing informational and promotional materials. WRI also expanded its research areas of interest to include services provided to minorities, HIV/AIDS patients, and youth and children in foster care.

Key projects:‍

‍Child Protective Services Field Operations Manual and the Foster Care/Adoption Services Manual for the New York City Child Welfare Agency

Institutional Abuse Program Manual for the New York State Department of Social Services.  

Provided training and technical assistance to minority community-based organizations over a six-year period to support them in obtaining public funds and meeting the complex reporting, fiscal, and recordkeeping requirements of government agencies.‍

Assessed the Gannett Foundation's three-year adult literacy grant program to identify and document best practices among grantees. WRI also researched and compiled two reports on workplace literacy programs for the Governor's Office of Employee Relations and the Civil Service Employees Association.

Compiled a comprehensive directory of funding sources for AIDS-related initiatives and then conducted technical assistance workshops to help community-based organizations use the directory.

Administered a project grant that funded interagency coordination and collaboration of services to children diagnosed with emotional disabilities and their families in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx.

In the early 2000s, WRI remained focused on its two longstanding contracts with New York City and New York State, work that continued throughout the decade:

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: WRI’s role is primarily to support out-stationed staff in the city, but the contract also provides an opportunity to assist the agency with procurement as needed. This contract has been in place since 1993.

New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), Bureau of Training and Development:  WRI facilitated out-stationed staff, procurements, and provided support to the Youth Advisory Board under this grant. Projects also included working with OCFS to develop a number of online and printed training manuals and system user guides, including the Home Finding Practice Guide; Foster Care Practice Guide; Foster Parent Manual; Having a Voice and a Choice: New York State Handbook for Relatives Raising Children; Working Together: Health Services for Children in Foster Care; and the New York State Child Protective Services Manual.

2010 was a decade of exciting change for the organization. In 2012, we had an infusion of new leadership following the retirement of our longtime Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer. WRI continued to diversify its funding, receiving grants from federal, state, county, foundation, and not-for-profit entities.

Key Projects:‍

In 2013, WRI assisted the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) in securing for New York State one of five Innovations in Family Recruitment demonstration grants awarded by the US Department of Health and Human Services. OCFS then contracted with WRI to implement a five-year project focused on the diligent recruitment of foster, adoptive, and kinship homes. WRI provided technical assistance to seven New York counties to strengthen their recruitment and retention strategies, and developed resource materials highlighting best practices for national dissemination. As an outgrowth of this project, WRI piloted Fostering Futures New York (FFNY), a program that identified, trained, and managed teams of volunteers to provide practical supports to local foster parents, such as meals, spending time with children, and helping with home maintenance. More than 20 teams were created, including volunteers from various faith-based and community organizations. The direct service aspect of the program was transitioned in 2020 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region.

WRI conducted evaluation projects for a number of organizations, such as the NYS Unified Court System (UCS), the Mental Health Association in NYS, the NYS Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Association, and Casey Family Programs.

Consulting work with local departments of social services was provided under grants from the Redlich Horwitz Foundation.

WRI began to provide event planning support to UCS, OCFS, Lifespan, JASA, the NYS Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, and the NYS Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs.

WRI began to provide administrative support to the state’s Citizen Review Panels for child protective services (www.citizenreviewpanelsny.org).

The end of the decade brought with it some major shifts that presented both challenges and opportunities. In 2019, OCFS’s Bureau of Training and Development embarked on a new path. A state-of-the-art training center was built in Albany and all activities relating to training that had previously been distributed around the state were centralized within OCFS. While not unexpected, the loss of this longstanding contract that produced creative and durable work of great benefit to the child welfare field presented a challenge. However, WRI was met with new opportunities in the year.

In 2020, OCFS awarded WRI a five-year appointment as the state’s administrator of the Education and Training Vouchers, supporting current and former foster youth in their pursuit of post-secondary education (https://etv-nys.smapply.org), and selected WRI to administer several pandemic-related funding streams providing direct support to applicants. In addition, WRI secured a contract with the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) to develop “Quick Guides: Tools for Independence.” UCS contracted with WRI to provide administrative support to the NYS Agricultural Mediation Program, and to provide evaluation and event coordination support to its implicit bias initiative.