Alford Laws, Jr. is the founder and CEO of WIN Family Health and contributor to the growth and emergence of the Family Strengthening Practice Model on a national level. Since it’s inception, WIN has promoted a holistic human service model that recognizes the importance of faith and faith-based principles in healing families. Mr. Laws has been featured in a Washington Post article, “Faith in Foster Care: An Aspiring Astronaut Finds His Earthly Calling,” and on ABC2 News in a segment “2 Good 2 be True”, that chronicled his remarkable epiphany that guided his commitment to faith and spirituality in his agency’s family services.
Since 1992, Mr. Laws has provided leadership that has established WIN Family Health as a thriving child placement and mental health service agency that offers treatment foster care and mental health counseling services to youth, adults and families throughout Maryland. WIN currently has offices in Baltimore, Cecil County and Lanham, Maryland, employs over 200 dedicated staff, and serves hundreds of youth, adults, and families each year. WIN’s Family Strengthening Practice Model is a holistic, strength-based model that teaches specific skill sets for resolving issues that hinder healthy relationships. Family Strengthening supports families and helping professionals with identifying skills that emphasize joining strengths, showing understanding, and reflecting the good intentions in all behavior, as a more meaningful and non-injurious way of communicating and resolving conflict.
Mr. Laws has been honored by Baltimore City, the state of Maryland, Morgan State University, numerous community organizations, and churches for his dedication to strengthening families in Maryland. He is a frequent guest speaker at many universities, child welfare organizations, schools, church groups and community leadership meetings; and regularly presents Family Strengthening at national conferences.
Mr. Laws has forged many collaborative partnerships to improve family life in communities, and he has achieved consistent success in his efforts to build a well-managed community-based, social service organization. It is his life mission to empower at-risk youth, strengthen families and ultimately, heal vulnerable communities throughout the world.