Category Archives: HIV/AIDS

Bloomberg Cuts Child Care & After-School Money Again

January 30, 2013 2:55 pm Leave a Comment

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg outlined his FY2014 Preliminary Budget yesterday and for the second year in a row outlined massive proposed cuts to early childhood and afterschool programs.  Providers and advocates who had mounted a major grassroots campaign last year to win $150 million in restorations of these cuts expressed extreme disappointment and vowed to prepare for battle again.

“I am, once again, disappointed to see all of the additional program dollars added by the City Council at budget adoption removed from the City’s budget plan,” said Allison Sesso, Deputy Executive Director of the Human Services Council (HSC).  “Advocates should dust off their dancing shoes to get ready for the inevitable process of fighting for the same restorations we push for year after year.”

The Campaign for Children, a coalition of over 150 child care and after-school advocacy and provider organizations, argued that the Mayor’s Preliminary Budget cuts more than $135 million needed to keep after-school and early education programs open.  The budget, they said, includes:

  • None of the City Council’s $120 million restorations from last year which will run out in June, causing hundreds of programs to shut their doors to the children they serve;
  • A further $10 million cut to Out-of-School Time (OST) after-school programs;
  • An additional $5.3 million cut to child car which will result in another 250-300 children losing child care vouchers each month as their parents transition off of public assistance.

“Groundhog’s Day came early this year for New York City’s children and working families,“ said Michelle Yanche, Assistant Executive Director for Government and External Relations at Good Shepherd Services, on behalf of the Campaign for Children. “Just like last year, 47,000 children are set to lose access to after-school and early education programs – programs proven to help children succeed while parents work to support their families. The same parents and providers will be forced to fight for the same funding that they were just given a few months ago. How can this be happening, after all we’ve heard from our City leaders about making children a priority?“

“The City simply can’t go back on its promise to children and families – not when we’ve been told time and again that after-school and early education programs are a priority forthis administration,“ said Jennifer Jones Austin, Executive Director of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, on behalf of the Campaign for Children. “We need our City’s leaders to make long-term investments in these essential programs that help our children succeed in school and in life. The Mayor must include the needed funds in his Executive Budget.“

“Once again, the mayor’s proposed cuts to after-school and early childhood programs will continue a disappointing trend of shrinking programs for the children in our city who need them most,“ said Richard R. Buery, Jr.  President and CEO of The Children’s Aid Society . “A budget that does not prioritize needy children and working families fails the test of fairness and opportunity for all New Yorkers. We at Children’s Aid are committed to working with our government, nonprofit and corporate partners to restore this critical funding.“

“There is a great unmet need for afterschool programs citywide; therefore elimination of any slots would create an even greater shortage of critical programs for our young people,“ added Kathy Fitzgibbons, Senior Policy Analyst for Elderly Welfare and Youth Services.

“In addition, FPWA is distressed by the proposal to revise the eligibility process for post transitional child care.  This new $5.3 million budget cut to child care vouchers will potentially impact the access of 250-300 children to quality early childhood education programs, as their parents transition off of public assistance,“ stated Liz Accles, Senior Policy Analyst for Early Childhood Education and Income Security.

Advocates, however, indicated that they were prepared  to take on the Mayor again. The Campaign for Children recently kicked off their new phase of 2013 organizing with a series of town hall meetings in each borough during the month of January. The meetings attracted hundreds of parents, providers, and community members who are concerned about the City’s lack of investment in child care and after-school programs, and who together will call on City leaders and candidates for office to have a long-term plan to stabilize the systems.

Hunger

The New York City Coalition Against Hunger also took issue with the Mayor’s budget. “Despite high levels of hunger in NYC pre-Sandy, a huge spike in food insecurity since the storm, and increasing food prices, the Mayor has again proposed flat funding funding the city’s struggling food pantries,“ said Joel Berg, Executive Director of NYCCAH.  “Given the increased need, this is, in effect, a cut. Unless the City Council is able to provide more money that the Mayor proposes, local hunger will surely increase. A City this wealthy shouldn’t balance its budget on the backs of the hungry. We are glad, however that the Mayor was withdrawn his ill-advised plan to increase the prices of school lunches.“

Adult Literacy

The New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy (NYCCAL) expressed disappointment at the lack of funding for adult literacy in Mayor Bloomberg’s FY preliminary budget, continuing the downward trend in the Administration’s inclusion of adult literacy programs in the City’s budget. Over the last four years, the City’s investment in DYCD’s Adult Literacy programs has fallen by over 80% from $5.2 million in FY 2010 to just $1 million in FY 2013, restored by the City Council for one year. This has resulted in the loss of over 6,000 classroom seats in a city with over 3 million immigrants and 1 million adults lacking a high school diploma.

“After years of budget cuts, providers are forced to decrease their classes while still trying to serve a growing population,“ said Christina Curran, Director of Adult Education for the Fifth Avenue Committee. “Prospective students are on the waitlist six to eight months, which already has 200 names on it. The demand is overwhelming.“

NYCCAL calls on the Mayor and the City Council to work together to restore city funding for essential community-based adult literacy programs and consider the long-term benefits of these programs.

Child Protective Services

“FPWA remains concerned about the impact of a $1.8 million budget cut proposed for the Administration for Children’s Services Division of Child Protection (DCP,“ stated Noah Franklin, Senior Policy Analyst for Child Welfare and Workforce Development.   “In the past, ACS has made efforts to increase utilization in General Preventive services by working with Child Protective Services staff to refer more cases to general preventive service providers.  While ACS has claimed that caseloads will not be affected as a result of proposed staff cuts, we are concerned that budget cuts would lead to higher Protective Services caseloads for the remaining managers and a reduction of DCP’s capacity to make timely referrals to general preventive service providers.“

HIV/AIDS

“FPWA is concerned about the proposal of the Department of Social Services to align rental assistance levels with medical necessity.  It is unclear in what way this action would help improve the efficiency of the HIV/AIDS program when only low-income people with an AIDS diagnosis are eligible for the benefits.  It is also unclear what methodology and information will be used to complete the assessment,” stated Esther Lok, Assistant Director of Policy, Advocacy and Research and Senior Policy Analyst for HIV/AIDS.

Some Good News

“The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) is appreciative that the Mayor has continued to baseline funding for child welfare preventive services,“ stated Jennifer Jones Austin, Executive Director & CEO.  “We are also happy to see that no funding cut was made to aging services.  This is particularly important given the projected growth of the older adult population in New York City.“

Filed Under: After School, Child Care, Children, Food, HIV/AIDS, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Good News & The Bad in Governor’s Budget

January 25, 2013 2:28 pm Leave a Comment

Nonprofit providers and advocates are continuing to examine Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget Proposal for FY2013-14 to determine the potential impacts on human services programs.   Here are some more comments on what the sector likes and doesn’t like.

Early Childhood

The Governor’s inclusion of a $25 million increase for full day Pre-K, on the other hand, drew widespread praise from advocates, including the Ready for Kindergarten, Ready for College Campaign, a coalition of early childhood, education and community organizations. The new full day Pre-K funding would be the first state sponsored full-day pre-kindergarten program in the New York.

“Governor Cuomo’s plan to create the first state-funded, full-day pre-kindergarten initiative is a welcome and important step,” said Billy Easton, Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Education. “Full-day pre-kindergarten increases student success in school, raises graduation rates, and increases lifetime earnings of students. This initiative builds on the long term leadership of Speaker Sheldon Silver on providing pre-kindergarten to four year olds.”

“Investing in full day Pre-K provides a major return on investment, both boosting our kids’ success and providing savings in the long term,” said Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York. “This investment is a great step toward providing our kids with the path to success and making our communities strong.”

“Governor Cuomo has made it clear that our youngest learners should be a key priority for New York State,” said Nancy Kolben, Executive Director, Center for Children’s Initiatives. “We know that investing in full day Pre-K drastically increases our children’s chances at success in the future, making this a very wise initiative.”

“There is strong and significant research that shows that high quality early care and learning improves educational outcomes, reduces disparities and saves money,” said Kate Breslin of the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy and WinningBeginning NY. “The Governor’s plan to expand full-day Pre-K is a strong first step to reaching at-risk children early for lasting impact. We are eager to work with policymakers to ensure that the State makes sound investments in high quality early education.”

“Governor Cuomo has embraced the critical role early education plays in our children’s educational foundation, acknowledging that success in school is determined largely by the experiences children have before they start Kindergarten,” said Dana E. Friedman, Ed.D., Founder and President, The Early Years Institute. “With investment in full day Pre-K, especially in high needs districts, we’ll be able to ensure that our most vulnerable children will have more opportunities, putting them on a stronger path to school readiness.”

“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 Budge,” said Jennifer Jones Austin, Executive Director & CEO.  “The $25 million to support full-day pre-kindergarten programs for high-need students in low-income communities will ensure that these children will enter school more ready to learn.”

Behavioral Health

At first blush, providers and advocates seemed relieved … and perhaps pleasantly surprised by what they saw in the Governor’s proposals for mental health services.

“There were no cuts to the community safety net and perhaps the promise of some increased savings through reinvestment savings from anticipated hospital downsizing,” noted Harvey Rosenthal, Executive Director of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS).    Rosenthal also noted that there appeared to be positives in enhancements to Health Homes and additional community housing.

“We like very much the emphasis on community housing,” said Phillip Saperia, Executive Director of the Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies.  While waiting for additional detail, he also praised the proposed restructuring of the State’s psychiatric centers.  “This system has needed close scrutiny and some fixing for a long time,” he said.  “The fact that they are going to look at it is good… and the fact that they are going to reinvest savings into community services is really good.”

On the other hand, Andrea Smyth, Executive Director of the NYS Coalition for Children’s Mental Health Services argues that the failure to offer COLAs and rate increases to keep pace with inflation has a detrimental impact on services.  She notes that a recent review of children’s outpatient mental health clinics showed 20 of 22 clinics losing significant amounts of money.  “Despite widespread public awareness that the children’s behavioral health care system’s capacity is not robust enough to meet the needs of all the kids with unmet mental health needs, the Governor fails to make investments that are on parity with the recommendations in the general health care field,” she says.

Substance Abuse Services

While still waiting for additional budget details, John Coppola, Executive Director of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers of NYS, expressed concern over whether sufficient resources were being provided to meet the growing demand for services.  He pointed to reports of increased heroin usage and forecasts of even greater growth in response to legislative action to clamp down on physicians in an effort to curb prescriptions drug abuse.   He also noted that cuts in federal funding had substantially reduced funding at the State level for prevention programming.

“It is disappointing that there hasn’t been a stronger policy initiative focused on misuse of drugs and that the budget doesn’t reflect any new initiatives in this area,” he said.

At the same time, Coppola expressed some hope that improved integration of substance abuse services with other healthcare providers might leverage savings in the Department of Health budget that could be used to fund treatment.

Health & HIV/AIDS

“FPWA is very pleased to know that the Governor has committed $15 million to develop the Health Homes infrastructure. We hope some of this funding will be allocated to community-based organizations to develop capacity for health information technology,” stated Esther Lok, Assistant Director of Policy, Advocacy and Research and Senior Policy Analyst for HIV/AIDS.  “FPWA is, however, concerned about the funding reduction made to the AIDS Institute and the lack of clarity on the level of appropriation to HIV/AIDS programs.  New York State has made tremendous progress toward achieving the national goal of zero HIV infections.  Resources for prevention, care and support services should be kept intact.”

Filed Under: Child Care, Finance, Health, HIV/AIDS, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

City, State Announce Major Supportive Housing Expansion

June 7, 2012 3:51 pm Leave a Comment

New York City and New York State have announced a major collaboration to increase the creation and availability of supportive housing for homeless and high needs individuals and families. The announcement came at this morning’s opening of the Supportive Housing Network of New York’s 12th Annual Statewide Conference being held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

New York City has set a goal of doubling its supportive housing production from 500 units annually to 1,000 units annually, said Mathew Wambua, Commissioner of NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). The increase will come through a collaborative use of resources being made available from a number of City and State agencies.

As part of its Medicaid Redesign initiative, the State will be making $75 million in Medicaid funding available to create supportive housing available for high needs and high costs Medicaid recipients where there is a believe that the provision of stable housing will allow significant improvements in health and consequent reductions in Medicaid spending. An initial $25 million of this allocation is being made available for capital funding for State NYNY III supportive housing projects.

For the first time, the NYS Department of Homes and Community Renewal will be making capital funding available to supportive housing in addition to bond financing and 4% tax credits, said Commissioner Darryl Towns.

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has committed to provide 200 Section 8 vouchers available annually for the creation of new supportive housing unit – the first ever commitment of its kind. The vouchers will support homeless families and individuals referred by the Department of Homeless Services and NYCHA residents who require supportive services. In addition, NYCHA is planning to collaborate with HPD on RFPs for development of supportive housing on underutilized NYCHA land, explained NYCHA Chairman John Rea.

“This is truly historic at a time like this for the state and city to commit new resources and redeploy existing resources to house the most vulnerable among us,” said William Taylor, Chair of the Supportive Housing Network Board of Directors.

“Moments like these are the culmination of a lot effort,” said Ted Houghton, SHNNY Executive Director. “This comes down to leadership by these individuals who have tremendous vision and who have pursued it against all barriers.”

More information on these initiatives, including the announcement of anticipated Requests for Proposals by several State and City agencies, will be made available when they are announced.

Filed Under: Finance, Health, HIV/AIDS, 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: ,

HIV among black women in 6 cities far exceeds national average

April 9, 2012 8:41 am Leave a Comment

African American women in six U.S. cities are becoming infected with HIV at a rate five times the national average for black women, and closer to the rates of some African countries, according to a new study.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University and around the country who made the findings suspected the rates were relatively high in these “hot spots” that have battled the epidemic for decades, but the numbers still came as a surprise in a field that tends to focus more on black and gay men.

The researchers found that in Baltimore; Atlanta; Newark, N.J.; New York City; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; and Washington, the annual rate of infection was 24 per 10,000 black women. Nationally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that black women become infected at a rate of 5 per 10,000.

The rate in Congo is 28 per 10,000.

The study was conducted with funding from the National Institutes of Health by researchers who are part of a national consortium called the HIV Prevention Trials Network. The data were presented March 8 at the 19th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle.

Click Here To Read The Complete Article

Filed Under: Health, HIV/AIDS, Nonprofit Headline News, Top News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Nonprofit Can’t Afford to Rehab Brownsville Station House

March 30, 2012 3:06 pm Leave a Comment

A state-funded nonprofit organization dedicated to caring for Brooklynites with HIV/AIDS owns a piece of NYPD history — and, for lack of funding,  is letting it rot.  Family Services Network of New York bought the old 65th Precinct stationhouse on 1546 East New York Ave. in 2004 hoping to transform the then-103-year-old, three-story site into a gleaming new community center.  But the $3.8 million price tag to renovate the Brownsville building — on top of the half-million dollar purchase price — is too costly for Family Services to handle.  Read more in the Daily News.

Filed Under: Finance, Health, HIV/AIDS, Nonprofit Headline News, Small Business, Top News Tagged With: , , ,

Council Members and Advocates Call for $124 Million in Budget Restorations

March 30, 2012 2:55 pm Leave a Comment

Council Members, human service providers, advocates and clients gathered at City Hall yesterday to call for restoration of millions of dollars for key social service programs, including child care and child protective services, services for the homeless and programs for people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Mayor’s FY13 Preliminary Budget proposes approximately $124 million in reductions to the social service programs under the General Welfare Committee, said  Council Member and  Committee Chair Annabel Palma.  Significant portions of these reductions represent cuts from the Mayor’s November Plan, as well as funding provided by the City Council in last year’s budget which has been dropped from the Mayor’s proposal.

“Last year, under dire fiscal circumstances, the Council fought hard to protect our City’s social services.  The Administration – to its credit – eventually came to the table and worked with Council to negotiate a budget that preserved many of the services for our City’s most vulnerable,” said Palma.  “Unfortunately, last year’s budget included many one-year fixes and that’s why we stand here today yet again to rally against those cuts that will directly and negatively impact the already-strained programs that many New Yorkers have to come rely on.”

“The Human Services sector cannot withstand additional cuts,” said Michael Stoller, Executive Director of the Human Services Council of New York. “Instead of proposing deep cuts to a sector that is providing critical services to communities, the Mayor should be considering ways to re-invest in proven, cost-effective programs that are helping families and individuals survive.”

Children’s Services

Advocates pointed to significant proposed cuts to the City’s subsidized child care system, noting that the Mayor’s FY13 budget excludes both $82 million for child care that had been added to last year’s budget by the Council and the Administration.  That funding had avoided the elimination of 10,000 child care slots and 7,500 vouchers, 256 child care classrooms and 6 day care centers.  Without continuation of this funding, those programs are in danger again.   The Mayor’s budget also drops $3.6 million in Council funding for Child Protective Staffing and $1 Million for Child Welfare Staffing.

“One out of every three New York City children is living in poverty,” said Stephanie Gendell, Associate Executive Director for Policy and Public Affairs at the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York.  “It is unacceptable for New York City to adopt a budget that cuts 47,000 child care and after school slots, eliminates a teen dating violence program, fails to address the needs of homeless children, and eliminates staff at ACS who keep children safe and families together.  We are pleased to stand here with the General Welfare Committee to demand that these services be restored.”

“It is shameful that this is now the fifth straight year that Mayor Bloomberg has cut child care and after-school programs,” stated Council Member Julissa Ferreras, Chair of the Women’s Issues Committee.

HIV/AIDS Services

Advocates argued for “baselining” of funding for the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA), including  $2.7 million which the Council restored last year for HASA caseworker staff and $2.4 million for supportive housing case management.

“We are deeply disappointed that the City has once again cut funding for supportive housing case management services, services that keep 4,500 formerly homeless individuals coping with HIV/AIDS stably housed and healthy,” said Ted Houghton, Executive Director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York.  “These case managers don’t just help tenants become more independent and improve their lives, they save the City millions in tax revenue that would otherwise be spent on repeated, high-cost stays in hospitals and nursing homes.”

Homeless Services

Advocates also argued against the Mayor’s proposed $3.026 million out-year budget reduction based on aggressive enforcement of “Client Responsibility” rules.

“Record numbers of homeless children and adults are crowding New York City’s shelter system, and Mayor Bloomberg’s budget plan and flawed policies will only make this terrible situation worse,” said Mary Brosnahan, Executive Director of Coalition for the Homeless.  “The Mayor should sign on to the forward-thinking, fiscally-prudent plan advanced by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and General Welfare Committee Chair Annabel Palma.  This plan would help thousands of homeless families move from shelters to permanent housing by targeting Federal housing resources, would reduce the homeless shelter population, and it would save New York taxpayers millions of dollars in shelter expenses.  We hope Mayor Bloomberg will finally stop wasting taxpayer money on policies that have exacerbated the homelessness crisis and instead work with the City Council to include their smart, cost-effective plan in the FY 2013 budget.”

Filed Under: Finance, Health, HIV/AIDS, Housing, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Small Business, Top News, Youths Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Policy Keeps Prostitutes from Using Condoms

March 9, 2012 7:28 pm Leave a Comment

The Atlantic reports on efforts to change New York’s law which allows police to use possession of a condom as evidence of prostitution.

Filed Under: Health, HIV/AIDS, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News Tagged With: , ,

February 7th is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – Get Tested

February 7, 2012 12:44 pm Leave a Comment

Today marks the 12th annual observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day — a time intended to recognize the disproportionately heavy toll the HIV epidemic has taken on African Americans and to encourage people to get educated, get tested, get involved and get treated.

Organizers are encouraging African-Americans to get educated, get tested, fighting prejudice, get involved and get treated.

“HIV/AIDS continues to be a major health concern for all New Yorkers, but especially African Americans, who account for almost half of all new HIV diagnoses,” said State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah, M.D., M.P.H. “While we have made great strides in transforming HIV from an almost universally fatal disease to a treatable chronic condition, there is still much work to be done.”

New York State data for 2010 show that Blacks/African-Americans are nine times more likely to be newly diagnosed with HIV than Whites, with 60.8 new diagnoses per 100,000 people as compared with 6.8 per 100,000 for Whites. Hispanics are also more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than Whites, with 33.0 newly diagnosed cases per 100,000 people. However, overall, Commissioner Shah noted that the numbers of new HIV diagnoses are going down.

“Our prevention programs are succeeding, as reflected by fewer new HIV diagnoses in general, and specifically, among African Americans and Hispanics,” Commissioner Shah said.

New HIV diagnoses among Blacks/African-Americans fell from 2,501 in 2004 to 1,776 in 2010, a drop of 29 percent. Also, during the same period, diagnoses among Whites fell by 13 percent and among Hispanics by 22 percent.

Although the number of new diagnoses is dropping, disparities continue. Last year in New York there was an increase in new cases among Black/African-American men between the ages of 20 and 24, and of all new diagnoses among women, 61 percent were Black/African Americans.

“We must continue to build on the prevention and care programs that have proven effective at reducing infections and treating those who have HIV,” said Humberto Cruz, Director of the State Health Department’s’ AIDS Institute. “The overall decrease in new diagnoses among Blacks/African Americans is good news, but the increase in young Black/African American men is concerning. Our prevention efforts must always be targeted to where the cases are.”

Here are a few ways you can help the cause:

Like AAPCI on Facebook: Join the community of active and engaged followers here and stay up to date with the latest HIV/AIDS information and news from the campaign.

Follow AAPCI on Twitter: Keep up with the campaign on Twitter and follow the community uniting against AIDS.

Know: Give yourself a crash course on HIV/AIDS. What you don’t know can hurt you.

Talk: Start open and honest conversations about HIV with the people you love and care about. Break the silence.

Protect: If you have sex, use a condom. It’s as simple as that. Spread the word.

Get Tested: Know your status. It’s the first step towards slowing the epidemic. Testing is easier and faster than ever before so find a testing center near you today!

Get Treatment: If you do test positive, talk to a health care provider about treatment. With proper care and medication it is possible to live a long, healthy life with HIV.

Now that you’ve done your part to help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS, don’t forget to help those living with HIV and AIDS.  Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to the African American Planning Commission (AAPCI). AAPCI is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. All cash donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent permissible by the IRS.

Visit AAPCI’s Edwin’s Place to learn more about HIV and AIDS  and how you can help those living with the disease.

Filed Under: Finance, Health, HIV/AIDS, Nonprofit Headline News, Top News, Youths Tagged With: ,
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