A new study examines a decrease in human services funding

Rising Ground has won a $21.25 million contract renewal from the New York City Administration for Children’s Services. The money will fund detention services for youth, according to the City Record. The agency is also looking to talk some cheese – as well as milk, eggs, butter and margarine – with a prospective vendor. Bids are due March 27 at 10 a.m.

The Vera Institute of Justice is hosting a discussion tonight on life and death on Rikers Island. The topic of discussion will be a new book by Homer Venters, former chief medical officer of the New York City jail system, who saw first-hand how conditions at the jails on the notorious island affect inmates’ physical and mental health. Leading the discussion is Mary Bassett, former commissioner of the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Rob DeLeon, associate vice president of programs for Fortune Society, and Leah Pope, senior research fellow at Vera, will also participate in the free event, which will take place at 5:30 p.m. at 55 West 13th Street. Register here.

A video from New York City explains how modular construction works. It has become fashionable to build new housing by piecing together prefabricated parts, which helps to save time and money on projects. The city Department of Housing Preservation and Development explains what else is involved in the building technique.

Modular affordable housing is coming to Brooklyn: pic.twitter.com/IaW5H0YuX0

— NYC HPD (@NYCHousing) March 9, 2019

A new study examines how New York state has decreased funding for human services since the Great Recession. The Center for New York City Affairs reports that the state has decreased such funding by 26 percent in recent years, despite a growing economy. A 2 percent cap on state spending has not been evenly applied. While Medicaid and education have both grown by about 4 percent each year, aid has nonetheless decreased for local governments to support foster care, homeless shelters, senior programs, and other services. Here are a few key findings, taken verbatim from the report:

• Recovery from the recession has been uneven and many areas contend with continued economic hardship and child poverty.
• Downstate suburban counties have been hit the hardest by decreases in local aid.
• The reduction in State local aid means counties have had fewer resources to fund services.
• If State human services funding to localities had grown at the same rate as the overall State budget since Fiscal Year 2011, the proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget would be 44 percent higher.