Gladys Carrion
Encyclopedia
Gladys Carrión, Esq. was named commissioner of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) by New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer
in January, 2007 and confirmed by the New York State Senate
. She continues to serve under Governor Andrew Cuomo
.
OCFS has oversight of child welfare, including child preventive and protective services, foster care, and adoption; manages the state's juvenile justice system; and regulates and licenses child care. OCFS has an annual budget of approximately four billion dollars.
During Carrión's tenure, OCFS has earned national recognition for her initiative to transform the juvenile justice system she inherited, from a "custody and control" model with a reputation for using excessive force on children; no oversight and few resources; and an 89 percent recidivism rate, to an evidence-based, trauma-informed, community-centered therapeutic model which has significantly better outcomes for children and for maintaining community safety. States and local counties which have made similar shifts to implement nationally recognized best practices in juvenile justice have reduced their recidivism rates to as low as 30 percent. Carrión's reform of New York's juvenile justice system also has included the closing of 16 empty or underutilized, but fully staffed, residential centers in local counties which sent few or no children to OCFS for out-of-home residential placement. The New York State Bar Association in June, 2009, honored Carrión with the Howard A. Levine Award for Excellence in Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare for this initiative.
Carrión was born and raised in the South Bronx. After graduating from Fordham University
, she earned a law degree from the New York University School of Law
. Since then, Carrión has had a long and distinguished career as an advocate for poor and working families.
Carrión started out as an attorney at Bronx Legal Services Corporation, where, as a result of her work on behalf of poor Bronx residents on a wide range of issues, including housing, welfare, education, and family law, she rose to become managing attorney for the South Bronx office.
New York City Mayor David Dinkins
appointed Carrión commissioner of the New York City Community Development Agency, where she supervised more than 300 community-based organizations. To determine program priorities and communities in need, Carrión conducted the first major analysis of poverty in New York City since the 1970s. She also served as the mayor's appointee on the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York (CUNY) and as chair of the New York City Schools Chancellor's Task Force on Latino Educational Opportunities, which identified successful dropout strategies geared to Latino students.
Following her tenure in the Dinkins administration, Carrión served for four years as executive director at Family Dynamics, which works to strengthen families to avert the need for placement of children in foster care.
She then became a program officer in community development at the Ford Foundation
.
Carrión later became executive director of Inwood House, one of the oldest programs for children in New York City.
Before her appointment by the governor, Carrión was senior vice president for community investment at United Way of New York City, where she was responsible for program development and grant making in Homelessness & Housing, Health, and Education.
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
in January, 2007 and confirmed by the New York State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
. She continues to serve under Governor Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development...
.
OCFS has oversight of child welfare, including child preventive and protective services, foster care, and adoption; manages the state's juvenile justice system; and regulates and licenses child care. OCFS has an annual budget of approximately four billion dollars.
During Carrión's tenure, OCFS has earned national recognition for her initiative to transform the juvenile justice system she inherited, from a "custody and control" model with a reputation for using excessive force on children; no oversight and few resources; and an 89 percent recidivism rate, to an evidence-based, trauma-informed, community-centered therapeutic model which has significantly better outcomes for children and for maintaining community safety. States and local counties which have made similar shifts to implement nationally recognized best practices in juvenile justice have reduced their recidivism rates to as low as 30 percent. Carrión's reform of New York's juvenile justice system also has included the closing of 16 empty or underutilized, but fully staffed, residential centers in local counties which sent few or no children to OCFS for out-of-home residential placement. The New York State Bar Association in June, 2009, honored Carrión with the Howard A. Levine Award for Excellence in Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare for this initiative.
Carrión was born and raised in the South Bronx. After graduating from Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
, she earned a law degree from the New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
. Since then, Carrión has had a long and distinguished career as an advocate for poor and working families.
Carrión started out as an attorney at Bronx Legal Services Corporation, where, as a result of her work on behalf of poor Bronx residents on a wide range of issues, including housing, welfare, education, and family law, she rose to become managing attorney for the South Bronx office.
New York City Mayor David Dinkins
David Dinkins
David Norman Dinkins is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.-Early life:...
appointed Carrión commissioner of the New York City Community Development Agency, where she supervised more than 300 community-based organizations. To determine program priorities and communities in need, Carrión conducted the first major analysis of poverty in New York City since the 1970s. She also served as the mayor's appointee on the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York (CUNY) and as chair of the New York City Schools Chancellor's Task Force on Latino Educational Opportunities, which identified successful dropout strategies geared to Latino students.
Following her tenure in the Dinkins administration, Carrión served for four years as executive director at Family Dynamics, which works to strengthen families to avert the need for placement of children in foster care.
She then became a program officer in community development at the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
.
Carrión later became executive director of Inwood House, one of the oldest programs for children in New York City.
Before her appointment by the governor, Carrión was senior vice president for community investment at United Way of New York City, where she was responsible for program development and grant making in Homelessness & Housing, Health, and Education.