Were federal prisoners really feasting during the shutdown?

Two nonprofits are partnering up, but they’re not calling it a merger. Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York will enter into an “affiliation agreement” with St. John’s Residence for Boys, according to a Jan. 11 press release. The two organizations will share a CEO and have “increased collaboration as a means to continue the missions of each organization, to increase efficiency in the programs and services offered and to broaden those services to a growing base in the communities they serve,” according to the release. They will, however, keep their original names and separate boards.

“I look forward to this new chapter in both Little Flower’s and St. John’s story and to the great possibilities before us and what it could mean for all of the children and families we serve” said Corinne Hammons, who is now CEO of both organizations. “I’m excited that St. John’s is enthusiastic about moving forward under the Little Flower umbrella and agree that we will be better and stronger together.”

The Doe Fund has a new $5.16 million contract with the New York City Department of Social Services. The money will fund supporting housing through September 2023, according to the City Record. Harlem United Community AIDS Center received a five-year, $5,495,140 contract to provide permanent housing and services for formerly homeless people on behalf of the city agency through May 21, 2022. Low-income people will receive $455,000 in legal services from CAMBA, per a new one-year deal between the nonprofit and the agency.

There is also action from the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, which is looking for organizations interested in organizing supervised visitation programs for domestic violence cases. Responses to a request for information are due by Feb. 22 at 3 p.m., according to the City Record. Two nonprofits won contracts with the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to deliver medical and mental health services to children: Montefiore Medical Center ($775,000) and The Children’s Aid Society ($100,000).

The Arc New York has reached a $7.03 million deal with the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. The deal will help the nonprofit lease “adaptive equipment and specialized vehicles for individuals with disabilities, as well as finance information technology equipment upgrades,” according to a Jan. 11 press release. “The Arc New York is one of many not-for-profit institutions that utilize the Tax-Exempt Equipment Leasing Program (TELP) available through DASNY,” said DASNY President Gerrard Bushell. “Every dollar saved through TELP is reinvested, enabling The Arc New York to make needed upgrades that will help advance its mission, supporting New Yorkers with disabilities.”

DASNY did $148.7 million in leases in fiscal year 2018, allowing organizations to have access to lower interest rates for capital equipment leases, according to the press release. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York is an Albany-based public-benefit corporation that provides construction, financing, and other services for organizations in the state that serve the public good.

The American Civil Liberties Union is pushing back on the idea that federal prisoners have been feasting during the ongoing federal government shutdown. Recent opinion pieces in national media have reported that federal inmates have eaten extravagant holiday meals under the guard of unpaid corrections officers. A former federal inmate writes on the ACLU blog:

“As offensive and archaic as these articles were, the worst aspect is they conflate a long-standing holiday meal tradition within the Bureau of Prisons with President Trump’s government shutdown,” Daniel McGowan, a paralegal at the Criminal Law Reform Project, writes. “There is no fairness in blaming federal prisoners for the situation BOP staff find themselves in due to Trump’s shutdown – but it sure makes for good clickbait. Unfortunately, the government shutdown has very real impacts on federal prisoners, which the reporters ignored in their attempt to generate outrage.”