Cassidy's Place, Cody House and The Association to Benefit Children The Association to Benefit Children 419 East 86th Street New York, NY 10028 212-831-1322 212-426-9488 fax	Named for the Gifford's daughter, Cassidy's Place is the home of Association to Benefit Children's (ABC) national children's advocacy. Its programs include comprehensive family support services, a day care center for homeless children whose parents are in ABC's employment program Baked in the Hood, a unique mentoring program which pairs homeless children with adults from all walks of life and a large therapeutic day nursery. The Cassidy's Place day nursery serves over one hundred and twenty poor children who suffer from serious disabling conditions including HIV and AIDS. ABC's mission is to prevent the unnecessary and expensive institutionalization of children. To that end, the program at Cassidy's Place enables children to live at home, to play with other children in school and to enjoy childhood while they receive necessary therapies in a warm and nurturing setting. Family support groups and individual counseling are integral to Cassidy's Place. Cassidy's Place provides a safe haven for all family members who are struggling with the debilitating effects of poverty and illness. The goal is to provide a full, stimulating, safe environment for children to grow, develop and learn while at the same time easing the burden on vulnerable families. The success of its design and its commitment to children and their families serves as a model for effective and early intervention. Cody House provides a transitional home, respite care, foster care and adoption services for infants and children who have severe disabilities and serious medical problems. The Cody House staff works quickly to find and train a nurturing family to care for each child. Well over 500 children with debilitating medical conditions who, at one time would have been left to languish in hospitals, now live with loving families. Family support teams, medical, psychiatric and educational programs, community education and dedicated volunteers provide the ongoing assistance that biological and foster families need to love these babies back to life. Cody House also oversees the placement of foster children in the homes of their relatives. Recognizing that absorbing a child into an existing family unit has ramifications for each family member including the child's biological parents, families are given comprehensive home study, through the supervision of parental visits, medical, educational and therapeutic services to the establishment of a permanent placement, Cody House works quickly to find the best home for each child.