Maryland Association of Resources for Families and Youth (MARFY)

Strategic Plan

2016-2018

MISSION

MARFY empowers the provider community to advocate for a system of care in Maryland that meets the needs of children and families.

VISION

Youth and families that experience the child caring system in Maryland are empowered and supported with a flexible, responsive system that enables their long-term success.

CORE BELIEFS

  • Relationships matter. Children and youth need support to cultivate and develop long-term relationships and trust in order to take steps toward their own long-term well-being.
  • Family and youth-centered system of care: Services are family-driven and youth guided, empower their voice and reflect their values.
  • The voice of providers is critical in order to achieve a high-quality system of care.
  • The system of care is responsible for long-term success. The system of care needs to attend to the needs of children and families throughout transitions in care and into their young adulthood.

GOALS

  1. Give voice to children and families to enable the system to be more responsive to their needs.
  2. Gather stories and other input from children and families to share about how they feel the system of care can be improved.
  3. Explore multi-media communications to raise their voices.
  4. Promote improvements to the system of care based on the input of children and families.
  1. Utilize evidence, data, and research to improve the system of care.
  2. Advocate for the state to commission an independent study of the impact of the current child caring system on youth, with attention to safety, wellbeing and health.
  3. Follow national and state research and data to inform providers, state agencies and policy makers about the best practices and how best to promote them in Maryland.
  1. Achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency in the way that provider agencies are funded and regulated.
  1. Explore options for reform of the funding mechanisms for “money follows the youth” and other models that will enable long-term relationships and greater well-being.
  2. Collect and address “micro-cases” of bureaucratic issues that cause unnecessary strain on children/families and on providers and address them collectively through advocacy.
  1. Enable Maryland’s community of service providers to network, share information, and build their capacity for excellence.
  2. Hold conference, workshops, and events that promote the good work of providers, enable providers to network with each other and with the state, and promote youth achievement.
  3. Provide forums to take collective action and share information through coalitions and online forums.
  4. Ensure sustainability through partnerships, increasing member benefits, grant and sponsor support, and making dues more affordable.