New Alternatives for Children Executive Director Dr. Arlene Goldsmith Transitions to Founder Role, as COO Dr. David Goldstein Takes Helm of Nonprofit.

Transition ensures NAC’s continued success providing NYC children with special health needs and their families resources to remain out of the child welfare system and to lead independent lives in the community.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK — Thursday, March 14, 2024 — The Board of New Alternatives for Children (NAC) today announces that Dr. Arlene Goldsmith, NAC’s Founder and Executive Director, will step down after 42 years. Her tireless dedication built a gold standard agency and the only NYC organization exclusively serving children in the child welfare system with disabilities, severe medical issues, and emotional and behavioral challenges. Dr. David Goldstein, a clinical psychologist with 37 years of experience in child welfare leadership, and NAC’s Chief Operating Officer since 2018, assumes the role of Executive Director, effective March 18, 2024. Dr. Goldsmith will continue at NAC in the role of Founder and will ensure a successful transition, and oversee a variety of special projects.

“For 42 years NAC has been blessed by the visionary leadership of our founding Executive Director Dr. Arlene Goldsmith,” said David Sorkin, President, NAC Board of Directors. “Arlene has revolutionized child welfare in New York City and has been at the forefront of advocating for the rights and dignity of children with disabilities. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I extend our profound gratitude to Arlene for her unshakeable commitment to thousands of NAC kids and families, and I congratulate Dr. David Goldstein as he assumes the leadership of NAC. David’s multi-decade accomplishments in child welfare and his work alongside Arlene for the past 6 years assure the continued success of NAC and of our mission.”

In 1981, Dr. Goldsmith became New Alternatives for Children’s first Executive Director. She was called on to create an agency to address an injustice of immense proportions: medically fragile children who were living in hospitals because their families didn’t have the resources to care for them at home. Driven by the strong belief that every child, regardless of their ability, deserves the same opportunities as all children, Dr. Goldsmith created a ground-breaking and innovative agency model of 360 degrees of interdisciplinary care for children and their entire family. NAC’s staff of social workers, pediatricians, and educational specialists ensure that all children they serve have a home and that families and caregivers have the medical and psychological care and educational support they need to ensure success. As a result, the 3,500 children who come through NAC’s doors stay in their homes and avoid future child welfare involvement, compared to much higher rates of homelessness, juvenile justice, and child welfare involvement for this population nationwide.

Dr. Goldsmith has been and continues to be a leader in child welfare reform and a fierce advocate for children with disabilities. Her philosophy of delivering the highest quality of care that is individualized to meet the needs of each child and family is what has set NAC apart. She has been a mentor to countless NAC social workers, clinicians, staff, and children for the past forty-plus years. Dr. Goldsmith has won multiple awards for her work, including from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the prestigious Lewis Hine Award, the Hero Award from the Robin Hood Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leader award, among many others. She was elected to be a Fellow at the New York Academy of Medicine and has been inducted into Columbia University’s School of Social Work’s Hall of Fame. Many NAC alumni, who faced incredible odds, demonstrate gains never thought possible among children in their circumstances, including attending college and graduate school, living independently, and fruitfully participating in the workforce.

“I am extremely pleased that Dr. David Goldstein will become the new Executive Director on March 18, 2024,” says Arlene Goldsmith, NAC Founding Executive Director. “Dr. Goldstein, a psychologist, has a significant background in child welfare, mental health, legislative initiatives, including Medicaid design, and is a recognized leader and authority in the field of child welfare. David’s accomplishments in the child welfare arena have been formidable, and I congratulate him as he takes on this role. We have worked closely together for the past six years and NAC is extremely fortunate to have him lead our agency and preserve the ‘gold standard’ legacy that has been built in the last 42 years.”

Dr. David Goldstein will assume the Executive Director role after overseeing NAC’s medical and mental health clinics, home and community-based services, child and family treatment and support services, contracts, finance department, facility management, transportation, and information technology. He has been actively involved in spearheading new mental health programming, strategic planning for the agency and overseeing NAC’s capital project of relocating the agency to new headquarters in midtown Manhattan last May.

“I am honored to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Arlene Goldsmith and am committed to upholding her legacy while leading our organization into its next chapter of impactful service and growth,” states David Goldstein, NAC Appointed Executive Director. “It is a privilege to continue working with NAC’s dedicated and talented staff. Together we will continue to provide innovative and comprehensive family services to support the health and well-being of children with complex needs from under-resourced communities. This work is challenging, and our staff must be commended for contributing to the high standards of care for which NAC is known. To this end, as Executive Director, I will work toward fair compensation for staff and continue to fiercely advocate with local and state governments to properly fund the human services workforce. I am committed to building upon the incredible work already in place and fostering a supportive environment where NAC staff can continue to thrive.”

Dr. Goldstein has established himself as an outstanding manager and a strong advocate for children with child welfare involvement. Before NAC, Goldstein was a part of the leadership team overseeing child welfare and mental health programming at the Jewish Child Care Association (JCCA), involved in managing strategic planning, financial management, and program development for 17,000 children annually. Dr. Goldstein has been involved in the redesign of the New York State Medicaid delivery system, working closely with the NYS Department of Health (DOH), NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH), and the NYS Office of Children and Families (OCFS). He is a recognized expert in New York State on the trauma-informed care and treatment of children, adolescents, and families in child welfare and the impact of Medicaid Managed Care reform on health and behavioral health care. Dr. Goldstein is a Director and Chair of the Board of the Governance Committee of The Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA) and has worked to improve the quality of life for staff working in child welfare by advocating for legislation to increase the base pay of direct care staff, and developing scholarships and tuition reimbursement programs to encourage career advancement. Additionally, Dr. Goldstein is a Director and Downstate Vice-Chairperson on the Board of NYS Coalition of Children’s Behavioral Health (NYS CCBH). NYS CCBH represents provider agencies and works collaboratively with families, State agencies, and other statewide advocates to support the implementation of policy that best serves the needs of New York State’s children with mental, emotional, and behavioral health challenges, and their families.

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Read Arlene’s letter about 42 years of service and this transition