Queens Family Court Teen Space

Teen Space is a newly-built drop-in center on the fourth floor of the Queens County Family Courthouse. With a generous grant from the Heckscher Foundation, the Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children has selected The Children’s Aid Society to staff the center.

Teen Space is a direct response to the Youth Justice Board’s recommendations for engaging foster youth, ages 13-21, in their permanency planning process. Teen Space provides an oasis for teens where they can learn how to become a more integral part of their discharge planning and understand the opportunities awaiting them once they have aged out of care, are adopted or return to their biological parent(s). The room is filled with informational and recreational resources pertaining to the specific needs of youth in foster care including:

• Books (fiction/non fiction)
• Academic materials
  • SAT prep
  • Two-year and four-year college/university/vocational programs
• Four internet accessible computers
• Collections of periodicals and Know Your Rights pamphlets

Teens can do their homework, surf the net, read, draw, paint, speak with Jessica Schachter, the social worker and Taquan Pugh, the peer advocate, or just relax. A wide variety of snacks are also provided for youth at Teen Space.

Teen Space is open:

• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday

If you or someone you know has a permanency hearing in Queens Family Court or lives in a foster care placement in Queens and is interested in checking out Teen Space, please reach out to:

Jessica Schachter, LMSW
(718) 298-0215
queensteenspace@gmail.com

Please call or email to let us know when you are interested in stopping by. Can’t wait to see you there!