A nonprofit leader takes on the SNAP challenge.

A SNAP sign on a storefront

A SNAP sign on a storefront Shutterstock

By Zach Williams

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Got something to say about SCO Family of Services and the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services? The New York City Administration for Children’s Services is open ears on “any information concerning the providers’ performances as well as any other factors relevant” to upcoming contract renewals for services for children involved in the child welfare system, according to the City Record. The prospective contracts would last from Nov. 15, 2019 until Nov. 14, 2022. Any concerns can be sent to Peter Pabon at Peter.Pabon@acs.nyc.gov.

Urban Justice Center has received a $29 million contract extension from the Department of Social Services. The money will fund legal services for tenants facing harassment, according to the City Record. The agency is also looking at renewing for one year a $2.1 million contract to operate the Sojourner Truth family shelter at 2136 Crotona Parkway in the Bronx. Make The Road New York got a $104,206 contract from the city health department to help immigrants access health care.

 

Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York likes what it sees in the City Council’s response to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed budget. Executive Director Jennifer March praised the council’s emphasis on wage equity, particularly efforts to combat racial and gender-based income. Proposals to increase funding for Census outreach, after-school and summer programs, mental health services in schools also received praise from March.

“It’s clear that the City Council has made the needs of vulnerable children and families in New York City a core priority,” she said in statement. “We applaud the Council for recognizing the critical need to strengthen the City’s cross-agency collaboration and service provision for children and families living in homeless shelters with the inclusion of recommendations to increase the number of social workers in schools and in hotels, and create an education support center at PATH.”

Early signs suggest other nonprofits are happy campers with the Council’s budget response:

 

 

New York Common Pantry Executive Director Stephen Grimaldi is doing the SNAP challenge. By spending about $4.50 a day on food, Grimaldi aims to bring attention to the hunger suffered by low-income people dependent on SNAP benefits. See his posts from throughout the April 2-12 challenge on the Manhattan-based nonprofit’s Facebook page.

 

A new bill before the U.S. Congress would improve the economic well-being of up to 160 million Americans. That is the conclusion of a new report by the Center for Budget Priorities about the Working Families Tax Relief Act. The bill aims to increase employment and reduce poverty by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. About 46 million poor people and 114 million middle income people would benefit according to the report.

Here are three key takeaways from the report, taken verbatim from an April 10 press release.

  • The bill would boost the incomes of an estimated 24 million white families, 9 million Latino families, 8 million Black families, and 2 million Asian American families.  
  • It would lift 29 million people above or closer to the poverty line, including 11 million children. The child poverty rate would fall from 15 percent to 11 percent (a 28 percent decline), using the Supplemental Poverty Measure.
  • The overall U.S. poverty rate would decline from 14 percent to 12 percent.

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