Category Archives: Career Connector

Young Fathers Face Obstacles in Providing for Their Children

June 15, 2012 7:15 pm 1 Comment

A new report released today by the Resilience Advocacy Project (RAP) focuses on the challenges faced and posed by the tens of thousands of young fathers in New York City as well as their potential to move their children out of poverty.

“Who Cares About New York’s Teen Dads? How Family Court Reform Can Help Break a Cycle of Poverty” paints a portrait of a group about which little is known. Using national data, city statistics, its own research and anecdotal evidence, RAP, a child and youth advocacy organization working to break cycles of poverty, finds the city’s population of young  and teen/adolescent fathers woefully undereducated and faced with bleak employment prospects, yet expected to adeptly navigate legal proceedings and provide child support.

“These are severely undereducated and under-skilled young men,” says Brooke Richie, Executive Director of RAP, yet we expect them to negotiate Family Court and meet the same support obligations as adult fathers. “Our neglect of these young fathers imperils their children’s futures as well as their own.”

Though they typically neither live with, nor are married to, the teen mothers of their children, these fathers are generally involved with their offspring, the report finds, providing informal and emotional support, and eventually, financial support. This less formal support is critically important to their children, who reap significant developmental benefits from their involvement with both parents, says the group.

There are more than 30,000 children of teen parents in New York City; most of them live in poverty.  While the report demonstrates the value of a father’s non-financial support, Who Cares About New York’s Teen Dads? also uses Urban Institute and national child support data to show the vital economic value of the fathers’ financial child support in lifting their children out of poverty. According to RAP, the Urban Institute found that “for poor custodial parents who received child support, such monies represented 40% of their income.”

The report goes on to argue that Family Court fails to “facilitate teen fathers’ ability to provide economic and emotional support to their children.”  “Child support is a critical anti-poverty tool,” says Richie, but we need to do a better job of meeting these dads where they are educationally and developmentally if we want them to actually be able to provide financial support.”

Click here for a full copy of the report.

Filed Under: Career Connector, Child Care, Finance, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News, Youths Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Number of Ph.D.s on Public Aid Triples in U.S.

May 11, 2012 8:11 pm Leave a Comment

Elliott Stegall, 51 and father of two, has been pressed financially as he pursues his graduate degree and teaches two English college courses a semester. (Jeff Haller for The Chronicle of Higher Education)

The life of an academic who pays hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition and lives off stipends and scholarhips is becoming more financially treacherous. A skyrocketing number of Americans with Ph.D.s say they are facing a reality in which they are turning to food stamps to survive.

One in six Americans received food stamps or other public assistance last year, but the number of people with a Ph.D. or Masters degree who receive that aid has tripled in the past two years, according to government data.

In a story published by The Chronicle of Higher Education this week Ph.D. holders and students who are teaching on the non-tenure track in community colleges and universities bemoaned their prospects.

Elliott Stegall, 51, is pursuing a Ph.D. in film studies at Florida State University while he teaches two English courses at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla.

To help support their two young children, he and his wife rely, in part, on food stamps, Medicaid and aid from the USDA program, Women, and Infants and Children (WIC).

“I tend to look at my experience as a humanist, as someone who is fascinated by human culture,” he told the Chronicle. “Maybe it was a way of hiding from the reality in which I found myself. I never thought I’d be among the poor.”

He and his wife also have worked part-time jobs as house painters and cleaners and food caterers.

“As a man, I felt like I was a failure. I had devoted myself to the world of cerebral activity. I had learned a practical skill that was elitist,” he said. “Perhaps I should have been learning a skill that the economy supports.”

Various factors, mostly related to the down economy and state and local educational budget cuts, have helped drive educational institutions to rely more on part-time or adjunct professors. They are paid much less than regular professors and get few or no benefits.

Overall, 44 million people were on food stamps on a monthly basis in 2011, compared with 17 million in 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The number of people with Ph.D.s who received some kind of public assistance more than tripled to 33,655 in 2010 from 9,776 in 2007, according to Austin Nichols, a senior researcher from the Urban Institute, who used data from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor.

“While on average higher learning still results in higher salaries, the promise of that financial payoff isn’t materializing for some,” Sara Hebel, senior editor with The Chronicle of Higher Education, said. “And for growing numbers of people with advanced degrees, they have not been insulated from financial hardship for a number of reasons.”

Of the 22 million Americans with master’s degrees or higher in 2010, about 360,000 were receiving some kind of public assistance, according to the latest Current Population Survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau in March 2011.

The number of people with master’s degrees who received some kind of aid grew to 293,029 from 101,682 over the same three-year period.

The average salary for U.S. professors is $82,556, according to an annual report from the American Association of University Professors, released in April.

“People off the tenure track now make up 70 percent of faculties. People in those positions often have working conditions that can be tough, including not knowing from semester to semester how many courses they might teach,” Hebel said.

That leads to an inconsistent income for adjunct professors, which is often much lower than a tenured faculty member.

“On average, higher educational attainment does translate into higher salaries. That’s the promise of education,” Hebel said. “It’s just that for a growing numbers of people, advanced degrees haven’t insulated them from financial hardship.”

 

Filed Under: Career Connector, Finance, Food, Health, Housing, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News Tagged With: , , , , ,

African American Planning Commission Seeking Guest Bloggers

April 24, 2012 5:28 pm Leave a Comment

The African American Planning Commission has launched its blog site specifically focused on collaboration & coordination in the non-profit, philanthropic and international development sectors.

If you are interested in becoming a guest blogger let us know:

Send a message to: contact@aapci.org

We need your:

- Name
- Email Address
- Program & Focus Areas
- URL’s to a few previous posts

*This is an unpaid commitment. We will only respond to those selected.

Thank you
AAPCI Blog Team

Filed Under: After School, Aging, Career Connector, Child Care, Crime & Punishment, DV Survivor Stories, Film, Finance, Food, Health, HIV/AIDS, Housing, Immigration, Nonprofit Headline News, Nonprofit Help Center, Politics, Small Business, Sports, Top News, Youths Tagged With: ,

Internships with Walgreens Still Available for THIS SUMMER! Apply Today…

March 30, 2012 3:15 pm Leave a Comment

Please, if you are looking for an internship or know someone that is, apply for the internships available below or forward this email on to a friend!

There are over 50 internship positions available, but time is running out, so apply today!

To view the internship program areas visit the following link: http://careers.walgreens.com/students/internships-programs

Filed Under: Career Connector, Finance, Nonprofit Headline News, Top News, Youths Tagged With: , ,

Outreach Announces CASAC Training and Scholarship Opportunities

March 13, 2012 2:05 pm Leave a Comment

Outreach Training Institute has announced that there are immediate scholarship and training opportunities for its CASAC Diploma program for 2012.   Four informational Open Houses are planned for March and April to introduce interested candidates to Outreach Training Institute (OTI).

OTI offers an array of scholarships opportunities for eligible applicants. All candidates applying to the CASAC Diploma Program must have at least a high school diploma or a GED and meet other admissions criteria. Those inquiring about scholarship eligibility should contact one of the campuses listed above or visit www.opiny.org.

• Full-tuition scholarships ($4,450) have been made available to healthcare workers through the New York State Department of Health Workforce Retraining grant for applicants residing in NYC and Long Island. Those eligible are health care workers who are either 1) currently employed in a facility licensed by OASAS or Mental Health, or any other Health Care facility, 2) have been laid off or are 3) at risk of being laid off from the previously mentioned work settings. They cannot be credentialed Qualified Health Professionals (QHP).

• Full ($4,450) and partial ($2,225) tuition merit- and low-income based scholarships are also available, particularly for individuals making less than $28,000 a year (full scholarships are available to those in NYC; partial scholarships are available to those in both NYC and Long Island).

The Open Houses are intended to answer questions about OTI’s 350-hour Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) Diploma Program and its scholarship opportunities, to introduce candidates to the organization’s training staff and to offer tours of the Institute’s classrooms.

Applications will be accepted on the spot for enrollment consideration into Spring 2012 classes. Enrollment is available on a rolling basis; Spring classes start as early as mid-March in Queens and late April in Brooklyn. Each site offers both a traditional (10 or 11-month) and accelerated (5 to 7-month) track for completion of the CASAC diploma program.

OTI’s Open Houses are free to interested candidates, but pre-registration is required via the campus they’d like to visit:

Queens Campus (Richmond Hill)
117-11 Myrtle Ave
Richmond Hill, NY 11418
(718) 847-9233 Ext 2309

Open House Dates:

Friday, March 9, 2012 at 11AM

Friday, March 23, 2012 at 11AM

Offers an 11-month & 7-month training track

Brooklyn Campus (Greenpoint)
960 Manhattan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 838-7200

Open House Dates:

Friday, March 30, 2012 at 10AM

Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 6PM

Offers an 11-month & 5-month training track

OTI has more than 25 years of providing professional training to treatment programs, hospitals, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations. Its major focus is on the provision of the CASAC diploma program. OTI began providing the 350-hour CASAC diploma program in 1995 and currently trains over 300 students annually, making it the largest approved provider of CASAC training in New York State. The program provides students with all of the course work required to sit for the New York State Alcoholism and Substance Abuse credentialing exam.

Outreach is a nonprofit organization committed to addressing the issues stemming from drug and alcohol abuse by providing the highest quality of life-changing drug and alcohol treatment and training services.

For more information about Outreach’s treatment and training services, call the OTI Training Coordinator, at (718) 847-9233, Ext. 2382 for NYC programming, or (631) 951-2613, Ext 3150 for Long Island, or visit www.opiny.org.

Filed Under: Career Connector, Nonprofit Headline News, Top News Tagged With: ,

Governor Cuomo’s Budget Garners Much Praise — Along With Questions and Concern

January 18, 2012 2:49 pm Leave a Comment

There were a lot of positive reactions to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s presentation yesterday of his Executive Budget proposals for FY2012-13.   With a mere $2 billion deficit to cut – down from $10 billion last year – the pain levels for nonprofit human service providers generally seemed to be more manageable, at least at first glance and in relative terms.  And, it appeared that the pain was being shared more evenly, based in large part on a newly enacted State personal income tax structure which muted calls for a “Millionaires’ Tax” that had dominated much of last year’s budget debate.

“We are pleased that the Governor adopted a fair and balanced approach to reducing the budget deficit, meaning he did not seek to balance the budget by targeting services that primarily assist low-income and vulnerable New Yorkers,” said Nancy Wackstein, Executive Director of United Neighborhood Houses.

Governor Cuomo emphasized that his proposed budget was also a “Reform Plan” for New York State government.  Many of these reforms of governmental operations are likely to impact nonprofit service providers directly.  He called for merging a number of state agencies, rationalizing and consolidating programs, and revamping and streamlining the procurement and grants management process.

“The Governor’s FY13 Executive Budget recommends many administrative improvements that will assist the delivery of human services though some concerns in key service areas remain,” said the Human Services Council of New York (HSC).

No COLAs

Among the painful measures which the Governor did propose is an elimination of automatic Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) in all human service program contracts for FY2012-13.  Many programs had anticipated a 3.6% COLA “trend factor” in program budgets or rate calculations.   HSC puts the total anticipated cost to providers of this loss of COLAS at $160 million.

“A lot of programs haven’t been receiving COLAs anyway,” said Harvey Rosenthal, Executive Director of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS).  “I guess this levels the field.”

Looking ahead to FY2013-14, Cuomo proposed to replace automatic COLAs with “increases based on appropriate provider costs and meeting performance outcomes.”

Executive & Administrative Compensation

In another controversial, but much anticipated move, the Governor is proposing to limit state reimbursement to providers for executive compensation and administrative costs.

“One-third of the State budget goes to non-profit and for-profit agencies to provide services on behalf of the State,” said the Governor.  “However, there are inadequate controls to protect against excessive executive compensation, administrative costs, and profit.”

In response, the Executive Budget calls for the following reforms beginning in FY2012-13:

  • At least 85 percent of every public dollar will be spent on direct services, not administration.
  • Reimbursement for any executive’s compensation will be capped at $199,000.
  • Excess compensation will be a basis for rejection of a provider.

Providers and advocates are responding cautiously to the proposals as they attempt to learn more about how the proposed caps would be implemented in practice.

As outlined in proposed legislative language, the new restrictions appear to cover a broad range of contracts issued by state agencies “including, but not limited to” the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, Office of Mental Health, Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Office of Children and Family Services, Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Department of Health, Office for the Aging, Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Victim Services and the State Education Department.

“Based on this list, it looks like hospital executives who often earn much more than $199,000 would be covered by the cap,” said one advocate.

“I don’t know where they came up with the $199,000 figure,” said another.  “It seems pretty random.”

“It appears that the $199,000 cap is a limit on the amount of State reimbursement, not on the salary levels of executives,” said one association head.

Advocates also questioned the potential implications of a 15% limitation on administrative cost reimbursement.  “A proper balanced policy would be for the state to examine all of its bureaucratic and compliance regulations that force administrative costs up and pledge to reduce that,” said another association executive.  “Also,  if they were to enact the 15%, then then they should allow 15% admin for all contracts and not reduce to 10% or some other lower amount. Most nonprofits subsidize state programs by contributing administrative expenses.  This is choking them.”

The Good News

The Governor’s Executive Budget included a number of proposals which drew strong support from providers and advocates.  These included:

  • Maintenance of Federal Title XX funding for New York City Senior Centers;
  • An investment of $93 million in State funds to offset Federal funding reductions in child care services;
  • Funding Summer Jobs for youth at $25 million, an increase of $10 million from last year;
  • An additional $1 million in funding for Food Stamp outreach;
  • A new “Close to Home” Juvenile Justice Reform Initiative;
  • New commitments for supportive housing.

“On behalf of the 10,000 seniors who were anxious to see if their senior center would be on the hit list due to a proposed Title XX cut again, we are thrilled and appreciative that Governor Cuomo did not include this cut again in his budget,” said Igal Jellinek, Executive Director, CSCS.  “The 16,642 letters sent by seniors to Governor Cuomo opposing a cut clearly portray the vital importance senior centers play in the lives of thousands of older New Yorkers.  Thank you, Governor Cuomo.”

“The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) applauds Governor Cuomo for including vital early childhood education funding increases for low-income children and their working parents in the Executive Budget,” said Fatima Goldman, Executive Director & CEO. “The $93 million of funding will ensure that working poor families will not lose their child care slots at a time of great economic need and high unemployment.”

“We strongly support the Governor’s call to provide an extra million dollars for food stamps outreach to families with children,” said Joel Berg, Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. “This modest investment in addition State spending, will surely generate exponentially more money in federal nutrition assistance benefits, thereby aiding broader economic growth.  The Governor clearly understands that this is not only good nutrition policy, but also good education policy, since children must be fueled before they can be schooled.”

“Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York (CCC) applauds Governor Cuomo for his steadfast commitment to reforming the State’s juvenile justice system to better serve youth and keep communities safer,” said Executive Director Jennifer March-Joly. “Last year, the Governor made a significant down payment on reform by eliminating costly and empty beds, closing placement facilities that were far from where youth lived, and creating a statutory funding mechanism for alternatives to detention and placement programs. Today, with the release of the SFY 2012-2013 Executive Budget, Governor Cuomo advances an ambitious set of juvenile justice proposals that create a more cost-effective system that will produce better outcomes for youth and communities throughout New York State.”

Harvey Rosenthal of NYAPRS praised the Governor’s commitments over the next three years to move 1,000 nursing home residents and 5,100 adult home and state Psychiatric Center residents into community housing and to create 3,400 NYNY III beds.

The Bad News

There were, on the other hand, additional pieces of bad news for human service programs and programs.   Preliminary reports focused on the following:

  • Delay of the final 10% phase in of the public assistance grant to 5% in FY13 and 5% in FY14, saving $6 million in both FY13 and FY14.
  • Elimination of the Neighborhood Preservation Program and the Rural Preservation Program funded at $12 million.
  • Suspension of the $15 million NYC shelter supplement pending determination of the program’s efficacy.

“We are strongly opposed to the Governor’s proposal to further delay half of the third and final installment of the public assistance grant increase,” stated Bich Ha Pham, Director of Policy Advocacy and Research at FPWA.  ” Adult welfare recipients work in paid jobs or work activitiesThese individuals sweep our parks, clean our city buildings, and otherwise work at jobs that do not pay enough for them to get off of welfare.  We should support their efforts by making sure that they and their families have a little more to make ends meet in these difficult times.”

The Hunger Action Network of York State added that “it was appalled” by the delay.  “Unemployment and poverty are soaring in New York State and Cuomo’s austerity budgets just keep making the situation worse. New York has a constitutional duty to care for its needy. Taking money away from poor New Yorkers after cutting taxes for affluent New Yorkers last month is both immoral and unconstitutional,” said Mark Dunlea, Executive Director of the Hunger Action Network of NYS.

“The further delay in a promised increase in the public assistance grant suggests a lack of attention to poverty, especially direct assistance to low-income New Yorkers,” said Sean Barry of VOCAL-NY.  “The already meager 10% increase was postponed from last year and will now be spread over two years.”

The Hunger Action Network, also took a less positive view of the budget’s funding for anti-hunger programs. “The Governor also failed to increase funding for emergency food programs, continuing the present $29.7 million allocation,” said Mark Dunlea.  “His statement that he would seek to ensure that no child would go to bed hungry apparently was limited to appropriating an additional $1 million to assist individuals in applying for food stamps and other federal nutrition programs. While appreciated, this falls far short of ending hunger among children.”

Filed Under: Career Connector, Finance, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News, Youths Tagged With: , , ,

HSC Blasts Human Service Cuts as “Lose-Lose Proposition” for State Economy

January 17, 2012 2:23 pm Leave a Comment

With Governor Andrew Cuomo preparing to deliver his FY2012-13 budget message this afternoon, the Human Services Council of New York (HSC) has just released a report blasting the negative economic impact of more than $800 million in budget cuts over the past two years.

According to A Lose-Lose Proposition: The Economic Impact of Lost Human Services in New York State, the State cut a total of $800 million in funding during FY 2009-10 and FY 2010-11 for such vital programs as child care and child welfare, youth and after-school programs, senior services, health programs, employment training and assistance, supportive housing, services for the homeless, and programs for people with disabilities.  The impact of these cuts, says HSC, has fallen not only on the people who relied on these services but on the state’s overall economy and its citizens as a whole.

HSC estimates that 27,000 human services sector jobs have been lost. For instance, 13,265 Summer Youth Employment slots that would have helped young people gain valuable experience have been eliminated, along with approximately 1,300 part-time jobs.

The report shows how human services programs are an economic engine in New York’s communities, providing nearly 1.25 million jobs and supporting local economies through the purchase of more than a billion dollars in goods and services. Human services like child care, after-school programs, and elder programs are also essential job supports, enabling parents and other caregivers to work and keep their jobs.

“This report demonstrates that human services matter to everyone,” said Michael Stoller, Executive Director of HSC, “whether it’s the people who need assistance or the local economies that benefit from the employment and business that human services programs generate. Our state cannot afford more service reductions. We need government to continue to look for alternative cost-saving and revenue-generating reforms that will move us toward a balanced budget and prevent further erosion of funds for human services.”

The report provides details about how human services programs are suffering from:

  • The deferral of more than $150 million in cost-of-living adjustments for the human services workforce, which results in higher turnover and affects the stability of service delivery;
  • An astounding drop of close to 90% in funding for Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) initiatives—from $216 million in 2010 to $25 million by 2012—which includes the loss of work supports for struggling families;
  • $2.7 billion in spending reductions in state Medicaid funding; and
  • The shift of human services costs amounting to $160 million from the state to localities that are forced to assume the burden.

“Health and human services is a major component of economic development, and ensuring its viability is critical to the overall economy. Continuing to strip its resources hurts economic growth and every New Yorker,” said Gwen O’Shea, President and CEO, Health & Welfare Council of Long Island.

“The budget cuts to domestic violence services over the last few years have been devastating—over 300,000 victims have been unable to access services,” said Michele McKeon, Chief Executive Officer of the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Local domestic violence programs served over 63,000 people last year, and with the need increasing, we won’t survive another round of budget cuts.”

Click here to download a copy of A Lose-Lose Proposition: The Economic Impact of Lost Human Services in New York State”.

Filed Under: Career Connector, Domestic Violence, Finance, Health, HIV/AIDS, Housing, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News, Youths Tagged With: , , , ,

Mayor Announces iMentor Partnership

January 13, 2012 1:48 pm Leave a Comment

As part of yesterday’s State of the City address, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced that iMentor is partnering with 10 leading New York-based companies that will each recruit 100 of their employees to serve as mentors for high school students in low-income communities. These additional volunteers will allow iMentor to expand its program in New York City to help 1,000 additional students succeed in high school, college, and careers.

iMentor, a leading youth mentoring organization in New York City, launched the 100 Mentor Pledge in partnership with 10 companies that are committed to serving New York City’s youth: Accenture, Barclays Capital, Bloomberg LP, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young LLC, Goldman Sachs, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Morgan Stanley, and UBS. iMentor will match the companies’ employees with students from its partner schools in one-on-one mentoring relationships that will last up to four years. Mentors will help students develop key competencies linked to college success, navigate the college application and financial aid processes, and build career awareness. The commitment of these companies will allow iMentor expand its programs to meet its goal of serving 3,000 students in New York City by 2013.

In his remarks, Mayor Bloomberg cited college and career-readiness as one of five priorities for improving the City’s schools. Mayor Bloomberg highlighted iMentor’s 100 Mentor Pledge as a key initiative to help achieve this goal. “In recent weeks, many of our city’s leading corporate citizens have joined a mentoring program for high school students called iMentor,” said Mayor Bloomberg. He called for more New York City companies to join the pledge and help students become college and career-ready: “to the leaders of our hospitals, hotels, nonprofits and small businesses of every kind, including our growing tech community: join us in this new effort to connect high school students to career paths. One of the companies that has already agreed to participate, I’m proud to say, is Bloomberg LP.”

“iMentor is grateful to the 10 visionary companies that helped launch the 100 Mentor Pledge, which will provide vital support to our schools and students,” said iMentor CEO Mike O’Brien. “We are thankful for Mayor Bloomberg’s support and I join him in encouraging more to follow their example and join the pledge.”

Improved college-readiness for students in public schools is vital to supporting young people as they enter the 21st-century workforce. It is estimated that by 2018, 63 percent of all domestic jobs will require at least some college education. Yet, in New York State, only 37 percent of all students graduated high school college-ready last year, including only 13 percent of African American and 15 percent of Latino students. Nationally, almost half of low-income students who do enroll in college do not re-enroll in the second year. With a national average student-to-college counselor ratio of 500:1, schools need mentors to help provide the individualized support low-income students need.

iMentor has matched more than 7,000 youth in New York City with mentors since 1999 and the results have been impressive. Independent evaluations of iMentor have shown that participation in the program has a statistically significant impact on student attendance levels, grades, and standardized test scores. In 2011, 83 percent of iMentor’s students graduated from high school and 67 percent of mentees enrolled in college.

Filed Under: Career Connector, Finance, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Small Business, Top News, Youths Tagged With: , ,

Bloomberg’s State of City Draws Mixed Reviews from Human Service Advocates

January 13, 2012 1:44 pm Leave a Comment

Education dominated the conversation as Mayor Michael Bloomberg listed his policy priorities and proposed new initiatives during the annual State of the City speech yesterday. The Mayor also touched on a variety of other issues, including support for increasing the state’s minimum wage, passage of a New York Dream Act, increasing the number of summer youth employment slots, and expanding job opportunities for New Yorkers in general and unemployed veterans in particular.  What he said – and what he didn’t – prompted a range of comments, both positive and negative, from nonprofit human service advocates and providers.

“We are here today because the work of school reform – as difficult as it can be – is still far from done. And it is now more important than ever,” the Mayor said as he outlined a five-step plan to “pick up the pace”.   While most of these actions focused on changing the ways teachers are evaluated and compensated to improve performance, several of the Mayor’s initiatives will involve nonprofit service provider partners.  Bloomberg indicated that he intends to open 100 new schools over the next two years, including 50 charters.   He also issued a call to increase the number of internships and mentoring opportunities available to high school students and highlighted a new initiative being launched in collaboration with iMentor. (See story below.)

A number of nonprofit advocates found the Mayor’s education plan less than comprehensive, particularly in the areas of early childhood and out-of-school time programming.

“It’s great that the Mayor used the speech to emphasize the importance of educational achievement for all students and summer jobs for youth, but it rings a bit hollow when his administration is simultaneously planning to cut funding for early childhood education and afterschool programs,” said Nancy Wackstein, Executive Director of United Neighborhood Houses. “Both of these programs clearly support and promote educational readiness and school success.   Mayor Bloomberg cannot claim to be the ‘education Mayor’ if publicly-subsidized pre-school and afterschool are gutted.”

“We are terribly disappointed that the Mayor did not include early childhood programs among his list of priorities,” said Betty Holcomb, Director of Policy for the Center for Children’s Initiatives.  “After a major budgetary struggle last year, we are again facing the loss of an estimated 17,000 child care slots.”

Wayne Ho, Executive Director of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) praised the Mayor’s for focusing on education.”We salute Mayor Bloomberg for laying out a plan for New York City with a strong focus on education and commitment to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families,” he said.  At the same time, however, he urged the Mayor and the City Council to “address the needs of the diverse Asian Pacific American (APA) community, where 1 out of 5 APA students is an English Language Learner (ELL); 1 out of 4 students does not graduate high school on time or at all; and out of those who do graduate, 1 out of 3 are not academically prepared for college coursework or careers.”

Other advocates felt that the Mayor had failed to address the needs of poor and low-income New Yorkers.

“Mayor Bloomberg’s State of the City speech did not mention social services or safety net programs, which is a significant matter given the extremely slow recovery from the Great Recession,” said Fatima Goldman, Executive Director & CEO of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies.  “There are 1.6 million poor people in New York City, most of whom are struggling with joblessness, loss of housing and hunger.”

“Unfortunately, barriers to accessing  cash assistance programs have not lessened during this tight fiscal time. Rather than a speech that emphasized the successes of past years, it would have been more appropriate had the Mayor looked to shift into emergency mode to help people get back on their feet,” added Bich Ha Pham, Director of Policy Advocacy and Research at FPWA.

“From our perspective, the speech was long on rhetoric and short on specific policy proposals for how his administration will help lift up low-income New Yorkers, who he acknowledged in his speech are having trouble paying for essential needs,” said Sean Barry of VOCAL-NY. “Mayor Bloomberg’s real priorities will be revealed in his budget, and it’s hard to imagine an about-face from previous years where he’s cut HIV/AIDS and other human services programs while avoiding closing corporate loopholes or asking Wall Street to pay their fair share.”

The Mayor drew praise for his support of two initiatives – an increase in the state’s minimum wage and passage of the New York Dream Act.

“We are very pleased that Mayor Bloomberg has joined Speaker Silver in calling for a minimum wage hike,” said Joel Berg, Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. “Advocates have long argued that the single most effective way to fight hunger is by creating jobs and ensuring living wages.  While we strongly support an increase to the minimum wage, we believe the City needs both a minimum wage hike and passage of the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, also known as the living wage bill.  Nothing does more to fill a family’s grocery cart than a living wage job.”

The Hunger Action Network of New York State also stated that “it was pleased that Mayor Bloomberg has joined the effort to raise the state minimum wage, though it wished he would also support the efforts to improve the City’s Living Wage Law.”

“We were excited to hear the Mayor’s steadfast support for immigrant students with his promise for New York City to lead the charge for the New York State DREAM Act, which would allow many students in the APA community to afford a college education,” said CACF’s Wayne Ho.

Filed Under: Career Connector, Finance, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News, Youths Tagged With: ,
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