The correlation between maternal mortality and race

New York City is investing more than $1.4 million in census outreach through its public libraries. The investment would support technology, staff training, and marketing, among other efforts, for the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library and the Queens Public Library. Officials and activists are concerned that vulnerable communities, including immigrants, may be undercounted.

“We’ll only be able to do our job by partnering with the libraries, which serve as among the most trusted voices in communities across the city,” New York City Census 2020 Director Julie Menin said via press release. 

This funding constitutes part of the $40 million effort to inform residents about the census. New York is one of 16 states that has invested money in outreach efforts to get an accurate count in the census.

Nine New Yorkers are among the 2019 Nonprofit Times Power & Influence Top 50. The honorees were chosen out of a group of about 300 top nonprofit executives and highlighted for their impact on their organizations, especially over the past year. The New York honorees are listed below, while the other names can be found here. 

• Asha Curran, the co-founder and CEO of Giving Tuesday
• Jonathan Greenblatt, the national director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League 
• Scott Harrison, the founder and CEO of charity: water 
• Antony Bugg-Levine, the CEO of Nonprofit Finance Fund 
• Timothy J. McClimon, the president of American Express Foundation 
• Kathy Reich, the director of building institutions and networks for the Ford Foundation 
• Anthony Romero, the executive director of the ACLU
• Brad Smith, the president of Candid 
• Henry Timms, the executive director of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts 

The New York City Department of Homeless Service awarded an $11.9 million contract to HELP USA. The nonprofit, affiliated with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his family, will use the funds to operate and develop a shelter for the homeless at 745 East 178th St. in the Bronx. The department will also enter a negotiated acquisition extension with Maramont Corp. to continue providing food services to family shelters. Five years ago, the city rescinded an $82 million contract with Maramont over a court ruling that determined the company had cheated its workers out of their wages. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed legislation that would help parents keep custody of their children during immigration detention. The children of detainees are often left to the foster care system. After a certain amount of time there, local social services districts across the state are required to file a petition to terminate parental rights – with certain exceptions. The New York State Reuniting Families Act would include immigration detention among those exemptions, which includes incarceration and drug rehabilitation. 

A new analysis by the Rockefeller Institute of Government highlights the correlation between maternal mortality and race. Maternal mortality is rising the fastest among black women, according to the analysis, and educational attainment does little to mitigate that disparity. New York state in particular has poor outcomes on maternal mortality. It ranked 30th in the country for its maternal mortality rate in 2016, and the rate for black women was double the state’s average. In response, the state allocated $8 million to create a maternal mortality review board that the governor approved just yesterday. Read more in the report below: