Dear Colleagues and Friends,
I have written many things over the years, but the following has been one of my harder messages. After much thought, I have decided that the time is right for me to transition from serving as CSSP’s President and to move toward retirement; I will officially step away as President in early 2023 and instead contribute as a part-time Senior Fellow, continuing to work with states around improving outcomes for children and families involved with child welfare systems.
I have spent much of my professional career at CSSP, and I look at CSSP as a second home and part of my family. After a brief stay working for the federal government and some time at the University of Chicago, I helped founding Director Tom Joe launch CSSP. This place has afforded me the honor and opportunity to collaborate with amazing colleagues both within our organization and with external partners from across the country. It has given me the chance to learn about and work on issues as diverse as creating a safety net for all to improve conditions for our most marginalized children and families. I’ve contributed to CSSP efforts: from long-term care for the elderly and disabled; designing a new proposal for income support for all Americans; helping to design and launch KIDS COUNT and its focus on using data to inform all of our work; designing a national health insurance plan and Medicaid reforms; and, supporting the groundbreaking work on Community Partnerships to Protect Children and intensive and multiple efforts to transform, recreate and improve public systems including child welfare systems subject to class action litigation.
CSSP’s efforts over the last two decades to become an anti-racist organization and to expand work focused on racial justice, economic security, and supporting young children and their families has led me and all of us to learn, grow, and take on new challenges.
We are now forcefully identifying and confronting racial and other inequities that prevent every child and family from thriving and flourishing and we are elevating the power of local communities, parents, and youth as we seek to understand, develop innovative approaches, and successfully translate ideas into actions. CSSP’s mission is strong and compelling, and our many bodies of work are making a difference.
We are actively hiring for CSSP’s next President to take on this exciting role at a time of great opportunity and national need. If you are interested or know someone who might be an excellent candidate, please review and share the job description here (which includes more information on the role and how to apply).
Thank you for the opportunity to have worked with so many great partners as we together pursued better futures for children, families, and communities. With our Board and staff, I thank you for your continued support of CSSP’s work and mission. It has been an incomparable 40+ years for me, and I look forward to CSSP continuing to flourish and grow.
With gratitude,
Judy Meltzer