Astor Services for Children & Families has appointed James McGuirk as president of The Children’s Foundation of Astor.

At age seven, Edward, watched as his mother Alma (real names withheld for confidentiality) endured the pangs of an abusive relationship. Though she would later succeed in extricating them both, Edward’s life was marked with trauma.

He lashed out at school, fought with his siblings at home, and his behavior at school worsened. Alma became overwhelmed and didn’t know how to respond properly to calm him down.

Things began to change after Edward was enrolled in an Astor Services for Children and Families treatment facility in the Bronx. 

Astor Services for Children & Families is helping to brighten the holidays for children and their parents through its annual Adopt-A-Family program. The program, which runs until December 9th, matches families in-need with new gifts bought by volunteer donors. Together, Astor and community members gave away gifts to more than 1,400 children in the organization’s programs and their families during the 2017 holiday season.

The suicides of successful celebrities earlier this year has been a stark reminder that more support and understanding are needed for all people that struggle with depression and mental illness — celebrities, every day folks, disadvantaged adults or children and anyone else. Locally, too, many families continue to grieve for family members who take their own lives. Too often, suicides in the recent involved adolescents.

Astor Services for Children & Families earned Silver Seal of Transparency

In his new position, Genn handles not only the administration of new trust and estate accounts under his purview, but also those of existing trust and estate accounts with TFA in the Hudson Valley and southern Pennsylvania.

Genn serves on the Board of Directors for Astor Services for Children & Families.

Astor Services for Children & Families has announced its Astor Learning Center (ALC) in Rhinebeck campus has been selected by the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) as a 2018-2019 NASET School of Excellence.

Astor Services has been accredited with The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval. The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit that accredits and certifies health care organizations and programs in the United States. Astor has been accredited by The Joint Commission since 1974.

The Cardinal was first greeted by eight Astor employees who have 30 or more years of service at the agency. “What happened, did you come here right after your First Communion?” joked the Archbishop of New York.

As part of the 2018 Hesburgh Service Initiative, the Notre Dame Club of the Mid-Hudson Valley participated in a volunteer effort to revitalize garden areas on the campus of Astor Services for Children & Families in Rhinebeck on May 5.

Billie’s Medical Adventures was created by Catskill Hudson Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in an effort to familiarize preschool and elementary age children with common health screenings to take the stigma out of a potential scary first-time medical experience for these young students.

A skills-based workshop, the program will center on suicide risk assessment, clinical management and brief cognitive behavioral therapy for suicidal behavior, including a review of applicable empirical work, clinical examples and targeted role playing that address interventions demonstrated to reduce risk. Ethical issues and recommendations for documentation will also be reviewed.

Rudd is president of the University of Memphis. A Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, he also continues funded research, along with his affiliation with the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah, as co-founder and scientific director. He has conducted research, written and presented extensively on suicide prevention and treatment of children and adolescents.

Cost for the workshop is $150, including continental breakfast, lunch, hotel parking and five Continuing Education hours for licensed social workers, mental health counselors, creative arts therapists and marriage and family therapists.

The registration deadline is April 18.

To register or for more information, contact Raven Maldonado-Brown; rmaldonadobrown@astorservices.org or (718) 231-3400, ext. 12245.

Last year Morgan and Burton worked with dozens of volunteers to provide critical hands-on assistance in the project’s first phase. That work included the mini- renovation of 10 of RTC’s 44 beds and other areas, with the couple developing finish selections and designs, securing pro-bono contractors, and coordinating donated goods. Now the famed duo is back to continue that work on another wing of the RTC, including another 10 beds plus the wing’s kitchen common areas, with the project slated for this spring.

Funding for the second phase of the project was raised during Astor’s Ghost Stories event, which was headlined by Morgan and Dean and held late in 2017. The event raised enough to cover renovation costs for the RTC’s remaining three wings.
Hilarie Burton, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and new baby
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“Children living in Astor’s residential treatment center are benefitting tremendously from the support of Hilarie, Jeffrey and our community’s truly generous volunteers, donors and pro-bono workers,” said James McGuirk, Ph.D., Executive Director and CEO. “Their wonderful contributions not only make a tangible difference in the kids’ everyday lives, but also lets them know their community appreciates how much they matter.”

“Once these four existing wings are renovated, our endgame is to raise enough money to build an entirely new wing,” said Burton. “I’m proud that out of all of New York state, our community is where the Astor organization decided to bring these important kids.”

Astor provides behavioral and educational services for children and their families in the Hudson Valley and Bronx.

Astor Services for Children & Families, which provides behavioral and educational services for children and their families in the Hudson Valley and Bronx, was among the dozens of providers that shared concerns related to New York’s vulnerable children and families, social service providers, and program funding needs during recent Lobby Day events in Albany.

Noted actors and Rhinebeck residents, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton have again teamed up with Astor Services for Children & Families in the renovation of the children’s units in the non-profit’s residential treatment center (RTC) in Rhinebeck. 

With the recent tragedy of another high school shooting — this one at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — attention has again focused on the increased need for children’s mental health services.  

A fundraising tribute to Cole Porter helped Astor Services for Children and Families raise more than $18,000 on Feb. 3. The funds will benefit children and families at the Lawrence F. Hickey Center for Early Child Development which helps provides mental health services to young children with emotional and cognitive challenges, according to a press release.

Astor 8th Annual Cabaret Event Release