Jennifer Fuchs is the Interim Director of Children and Family Treatment and Support Services and High-Fidelity Wraparound programs at SCO Family of Services. Jennifer is a credentialed Family Peer Advocate (FPA-C) through Families Together in NYS, and holds the national certification, Certified Family Peer Specialist, through the National Federation of Families.

Jennifer has 30 years of lived expertise across the lifespan, beginning as a youth navigating her own challenges within the mental health system to becoming a dedicated family peer advocate to support her own children in navigating the very same systems.
Jennifer graduated with a degree in Forensic Psychology from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she found hope and a sense of community, while furthering her education to support her vast knowledge gained through lived experience. Since graduating, Jennifer has gained over 17 years of professional experience in mental health and advocacy. She has established herself as an integral team member within several SCO programs focused on youth and families over the last 12 years and continues to advocate for children and families on a broader scale through her role as Interim Director. Jennifer’s experience ranges from residential to community-based programs. Her most recent success is with Peer Support Services. In 2020, Jennifer was responsible for implementing the Family and Youth Peer Support Services in the CFTSS program at SCO, where she has grown the peer workforce from just 2 peer specialists in 2020 to a robust 30 people in 2024.

Jennifer utilizes her lived expertise to support and empower youth and families to use their strengths, voices, and take charge of their own journeys. Jennifer was the recipient of the 2024 What’s Great in our State award in the Family/Caregiver category, for the impact of her work with youth and families across New York State.