The latest from New York City Independent Budget Office ... Vera Institute of Justice ... NYC contracts

The Vera Institute of Justice has found a new home near the Brooklyn waterfront. Globe St. reports that the nonprofit, known for its reports on the criminal justice system and related issues, is relocating to Industry City and has signed a 15-year lease on a 35,000 square-foot office space. The nonprofit will move there from Tribeca in fall 2019. Read more here.

One Administration for Children’s Services staffer has a story to tell. Laura Murillo writes in the Staten Island Advance that Father Thomas of Our Lady Star of the Sea inspired her through the grief he expressed at a funeral mass. He was unable to comfort people distressed by the 9/11 terror attacks, but a bit of wisdom from Mother Teresa – “Small things done with great love can heal a grieving heart” – helped him in the end, she writes.

“Life is a collection of moments, both big and small. We often think that the big moments are the defining ones, when in reality it is the everyday moments that give us opportunities to do small things with great love that not only reveal who we really are, but determine our wellbeing or lack thereof.”

Read her full letter to the editor here.

The New York City Department of Homeless Services has released about $53 million of contracts. Acacia Network Housing received a contract for $18.4 million to operate a shelter through June 2022 at Ketty’s Place, located at 691 and 711 East 140th Street in the Bronx. Acacia also received a $15.7 million contract to operate through June 2022 a shelter at 980 Prospect Avenue in the Bronx. Home/Life Services got into the action with a $16.9 million contract to operate the Kingston Family Residence at 64 Kingston Avenue in Brooklyn through June 2023 – and Bushwick Economic Development received a one-year, $2.6 million contract to operate the Eddie Harris Shelter at 629 Chauncey Street in Brooklyn.

The Safe Passage Project received a $280,000 contract from the Department of Social Services/Human Resources Administration to offer legal and social services to adults and children in immigration court, retroactively through June 2018.

The Human Services Council is looking for respondents to a survey. “Over the past few years, we have seen the devastating impacts of emergencies, from hurricanes to emerging infectious disease to terrorist plots. These experiences have illustrated being prepared to respond to a variety of natural and man-made disasters is vitally important for all communities.” reads the survey, which aims to assess sector readiness.

The survey takes about 10-15 minutes to complete.

A new report from the New York City Independent Budget Office examines federal funding for students from low-income families. At issue is Title I, which is the largest source of federal funding for elementary and secondary schools. Strangely, New York City has been receiving a decreased amount of such funding even though more city schools qualify for Title I-A. A collection of fiscal and demographic factors are to blame, according to the report.

Here are three key findings taken verbatim from a summary of the report:

• The number of low-income children eligible for Title I-A funding nationwide grew by about 28 percent from calendar year 2006 through 2017. Over that same period, federal spending on the program grew by just 17 percent.
• In school year 2005-2006, New York City received just over $1 billion in Title I-A funds (in 2017 dollars). By school year 2016-2017, the city’s allocation had shrunk to just under $650 million, a nearly 38 percent decline.
• From school year 2005-2006 through 2016-2017, the number of Title I-A eligible schools in the city increased from 1,058 to 1,265, a rise of nearly 20 percent.

Read the full report below: