The latest from MercyFirst ... Brooklyn Museum ... NYC contracts

Three elected officials visited the nonprofit MercyFirst’s facility in Syosset, Long Island on June 25. A press release says that Nassau County Executive Laura Curran joined U.S. representatives Tom Suozzi and Kathleen Rice at the midday visit to the child welfare agency, which is caring for eight migrant children who were separated at the border from their families.

The visit included photo-ops of elected officials standing in front of an American flag, playing with two dogs, and observing the inside of the Long Island facility, which hosts the children per a 2014 contract with the federal government to care for unaccompanied immigrant minors.

“MercyFirst is providing excellent care and resources to all the children currently in the facility,” Curran said in a statement. “This is an issue that goes far beyond politics, it is a human issue. We must ensure that these children are well cared for, and more importantly reunited with their parents.”

Jennifer Chi has left the Brooklyn Museum after a half-year as chief curator and deputy director. The museum had no comment on the nature of her departure, ARTnews reports, but the hiring of a white curator of African art in April had sparked controversy at the museum. She is just the latest person to leave that role after a relatively short period. Nancy Spector left that position in early 2017 after about eight months on the job.

The Salvation Army and the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged have both scored $100,000 in discretionary spending from the New York City Department for the Aging. The money will fund one-year’s worth of senior services through June 30, according to the City Record. The Legal Aid Society meanwhile secured $112,000 in funding from the Department of Social Services/Human Resources Administration to provide legal services to low-income people in the city.

The Human Resources Administration also awarded a $7 million contract to the Brooklyn-based Riseboro Community Partnership. The money will fund the provision of Homebase homelessness prevention services, according to the City Record. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development has awarded a $300,000 contract and a $150,000 contract to Neighborhood Housing Services of Brooklyn CDC for an emergency loan program.

Unity House of Troy and Safe Homes of Orange County each have $200,000 more to spend. The New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence will award the funds over two years to expand the nonprofits’ work with law enforcement in confronting domestic violence, according to a press release. The agency also awarded a one-year, $40,000 grant to Arbor Housing and Development in Steuben County to support a partnership with Legal Assistance of Western New York that provides civil legal services for survivors of domestic violence.

The Medicaid Accelerated eXchange has led to some results, according to a press release. The three-year-old program is all about Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment goals, which aim to help community organizations and hospitals shake-up services and improve satisfaction among patients and staff alike. About 900 people among 68 hospitals and 11 “community-based practices” have taken part statewide, leading to an 18 percent reduction in hospital readmissions and an 8 percent reduction in hospitalizations overall.

Send your press releases, photos, and word of your latest happenings to reporter Zach Williams at zwilliams@nynmedia.com.