Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s Proposals for Nonprofit Governance and State Financial Requirements Are Also Good News for Nonprofits

 In his State of the City address on Thursday, February 16, New York City Comptroller John C. Liu proposed measures that would ease financial and administrative burdens on New York City’s nonprofits.

Comptroller Liu proposed reforming the VENDEX system (a set of questionnaires the City requires all vendors to submit in order to do business with the City), which would reduce red tape for New York City’s nonprofits, and eliminating the VENDEX administrative fees for nonprofits. The Human Services Council of New York (HSC) and its members have long called for these types of reforms.

“HSC appreciates the desire of the Comptroller to partner with the nonprofit sector to better serve New Yorkers in need,” said Michael Stoller, Executive Director of the Human Services Council of New York. “VENDEX is a burden on nonprofits, and we appreciate his efforts to reform the system to make it easier to do business with the City and provide essential services. Additionally, the fee takes much needed revenue away from programs, and we support his proposal to eliminate that fee.”

Members of HSC also offered their support.

“Using valuable time and resources to comply with duplicative processes means we spend less time on programs,” said Gary Carter, Executive Director, Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service. “As a smaller organization, we applaud the Comptroller for looking for ways to help reduce burdens while maintaining accountability.”

Dr. Jeremy Christopher Kohomban, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Children’s Village, said, “As an organization with multiple government contracts, finding ways to reduce administrative burdens is crucial to providing the best services to the community. Streamlining the VENDEX process will save us time and money.”

Support for Attorney General’s Proposals

HSC also views as positive Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s proposals to change the way nonprofits govern themselves and work with government and receive payment, also announced on February 16.  The Leadership Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization released its report, the culmination of the work of the Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization, a group formed by the Attorney General to address the challenges nonprofits face and develop recommendations to ease these burdens.

Stoller, who co-chaired the Reducing Burdens on Nonprofits Subcommittee, said “New York relies on nonprofits to provide essential services throughout the state, but the contracting process contains unnecessary hurdles and inefficiencies. The Attorney General’s report contains key recommendations, including streamlining the contracting process and establishing a new Office of Contracting Reform and Accountability; these changes will drastically improve the business relationship between nonprofits and government.”

HSC is excited to see elected officials focus on the importance of working efficiently with nonprofits, who provide vital services to the community. We will continue to work with the Comptroller and Attorney General to improve the business relationship between government and nonprofits.

Plus, check out why New York City residents love these organizations:

Barrier Free Living

CAMBA 

Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens 

Goodwill Industries 

Harlem RBI 

Hetrick Martin Institute 

Institute for Community Living 

Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service 

LIFT

Met Council 

Project Renewal 

Safe Space 

The Children’s Aid Society 

The Children’s Village 

University Settlement 

Urban Pathways, Inc 

These colorful valentines will draw attention to the diverse array of valuable services that the human services sector provides for New York City residents. Be sure to come see these valentines and more information about the Who Cares? I Do. campaign, at locations across the city such as Assembly member Rodriguez’s Office in East Harlem, the Children’s Aid Society Bronx Family Center,  the Astoria CCBQ Community Center, and the Bedford YMCA.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Contributed by Ana Billingsley of the Human Services Council

Service cuts not only hurt people in need, but the low wage workforce that serves them.  HSC estimates that we have lost a total of 5,500 jobs based on previous cuts and can expect to lose an additional 6,200 jobs if the proposed cuts of $185 million go through. We need to re-invest in programs that are proven to be cost-effective and help people become and remain employed. Human services help people get and keep jobs; they stabilize families by securing food, healthcare, housing, afterschool, child and elder care, and more. These services also promote work-readiness through literacy programs, employment and training services, resume and job search assistance and other career preparation. We hope that this time, the budget negotiation process reflects a recognition of the role human services play as employers and as agents in removing barriers to work for struggling families.

The next steps in the process include City Council preliminary budget public hearings in March and the development of a formal public response to the Mayor’s proposal outlining the Council’s budget priorities released in April. In early May the Mayor will put forward his Executive Budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2013. The Council will hold more public hearings and prioritize restorations. This is when the approximately $150 million in human service programs that gets cut year after year will either be added to the budget or disappear forever. By the end of June a new budget will be adopted in time for the start of the 2013 Fiscal Year, which begins on July 1, 2012.

Tell your Council rep and the Mayor that you care about human services and urge them to prioritize funds for these critical work support programs. Everything you need to reach out is here. Who Cares? You Do!

Contributed by Allison Sesso of the Human Services Council

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly and more commonly known as the Food Stamp Program, requires all applicants in the New York City area to be fingerprinted if they are over 18 years old. Even elders, families, and people with disabilities or an inadequate means of mobility are not exempt. According to the New York-based Empire Justice Center, which recently released a report examining the issue, many of these eligible applicants do not apply to the SNAP programs because of the burden of the application process as well as the stigma associated with being fingerprinted. There are also inaccuracies in the fingerprinting process, which causes eligible applicants to be denied.

The reality is SNAP finger imaging hinders eligible New Yorkers from seeking out food assistance. Phelan Bopp of the advocacy group Hunger Solutions, told The Empire that “New York State has one of the lowest food stamp participation rates in the nation, with just 68% of those eligible actually signing up for the program,” and she believes part of the reason is the fingerprinting requirement. Eligible participants, especially the elderly, single-parent households, and those with disabilities, have a difficult time complying with fingerprinting requirements that require multiple appointments and travel costs. There is already a stigma associated with receiving Food Stamps, which is heightened when applicants are required to be fingerprinted, as if they were involved in suspicious behavior.

Additionally, it has been estimated that the finger imaging process for SNAP annually costs New York over $5 million. That’s money that could be spent to partly restore food assistance funding that has been cut. Especially in hard time like these, this use of government funds is unfair to taxpayers.

Cuomo vs. Bloomberg

Recently, Governor Cuomo announced his stance against compulsory finger printing for SNAP applicants in his State of the State address. However, Mayor Bloomberg disagrees. “There are people who want to game the system, unfortunately – it’s just society,” Bloomberg was quoted as saying in The New York Times.  Furthermore, Bloomberg claims there’s no stigma to fingerprinting, pointing out that over 230,000 New York City employees in have been fingerprinted. However, this argument does not take into account the vast differences between the situation of getting a job and consenting to a background check, and being in a vulnerable position requiring government assistance. People applying for Food Stamps are likely embarrassed about their situation, and have few other options, and then are treated as if their situation automatically assumes some sort of guilt.

What you can do!

Thank Governor Cuomo for taking a stance against fingerprinting and ask him to make his support official on an Executive Order.

Remind him that the finger imaging process:

-          Is costly—NY spends over $5 million annually on the process, which is unfair to taxpayers.

-          Does not reduce fraud and hinders eligible applicants from feeding themselves, which is a violation of federal law.

Write to the Governor today at http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php

Contact Mayor Bloomberg and tell him why you think finger printing should not be compulsory for SNAP applicants for the same reasons as above.

PHONE 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC)

http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.bd08ee7c7c1ffec87c4b36d501c789a0/index.jsp?doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fmail%2Fhtml%2Fmayor.html

Thank you for being an active citizen and taking a stance against finger imaging for SNAP.

Remember that the only way to stop this is if we all stand together and remind New Yorkers everywhere that only NYC and Arizona State require SNAP applicants to be fingerprinted.

Further Reading on SNAP and Finger Imaging

Roberts, Cathy and Kristin Brown Lilley “Time to Leave Finger Prints Behind: Fair Hearings in NYC Show How Unfair Finger Imaging is for New Yorkers” Empire Justice Center (December, 2011).

Food Security of SNAP Recipients Improved Following the 2009 Stimulus Package http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/June11/Features/FoodSecuritySNAP.htm

Bloomberg Says He Will Fight for Fingerprinting Rule

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/bloomberg-says-he-will-fight-for-fingerprinting-rule/?smid=tw-nytmetro&seid=auto

Stigmatizing Hunger: Why Finger Imaging SNAP Recipients is Bad Policy

www.foodsystemsnyc.org/blog/stigmatizing-hunger

Can the scan: End fingerprinting for SNAP funds http://www.amsterdamnews.com/opinion/can-the-scan-end-fingerprinting-for-snap-funds/article_35f7b762-3d4d-11e1-bd54-0019bb2963f4.html

Contributed by Elise Stukenberg of the Human Services Council.

According to A Lose-Lose Proposition: The Economic Impact of Lost Human Services in New York State, over the past two years, $800 million in funding has been cut for such vital programs as child care and child welfare, youth and after-school programs, senior services, health programs, employment training and assistance, supportive housing, services for the homeless, and programs for people with disabilities. Not only have the people who rely on these services been harmed, but 27,000 human services sector jobs have been lost. For instance, 13,265 Summer Youth Employment slots that would have helped young people gain valuable experience have been eliminated, along with approximately 1,300 part-time jobs.

Human services programs are an economic engine in New York’s communities, providing nearly 1.25 million jobs and supporting local economies through the purchase of more than a billion dollars in goods and services. Services like child care, after-school programs, and elder programs are also essential job supports, enabling parents and other caregivers to work and keep their jobs.

State-funded human services programs have also suffered from the following over the last two years:

• the deferral of more than $150 million in cost-of-living adjustments for the human services workforce, which results in higher turnover and affects the stability of service delivery;
• an astounding drop of close to 90% in funding for Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) initiatives—from $216 million in 2010 to $25 million by 2012—which includes the loss of many work supports for struggling families;
• $2.7 billion in spending reductions in state Medicaid funding; and
• the shift of critical human services costs of over $160 million from the state to localities that are forced to assume the burden.

Human services matter to everyone, whether it’s the people who need assistance or the local economies that benefit from the employment and business that human service programs generate. Our state cannot afford more service reductions. We need government to continue to look for alternative cost-saving and revenue-generating reforms that will move us toward a balanced budget and prevent further erosion of funds for human services.

To read, “A Lose-Lose Proposition: The Economic Impact of Lost Human Services in New York State,” click here: http://bit.ly/zHjNRt

Contributed by Chris Winward of the Human Services Council

Unfortunately, our state has divested from many of these programs in recent years despite a clear increase in need.  Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 human services have been cut at the state level by over $800 million (not including cuts to Medicaid impacting the sector).  Local cuts across the state have also had a major impact on funds available to human services.  New York City cut human services by $300 million in last year’s budget and has since cut another $114 million in FY2012. Another $60 million in City cuts is already planned for FY2013.

We have lost nearly 30,000 human service jobs as a result of the state cuts alone. We must take every measure to avoid further cuts to these critical services, which have the double benefit of providing direct employment and acting as job supports. The Governor and Legislature took an important first step a few weeks ago by adopting a new tax package that moves our tax system in a more progressive direction, but they can’t stop there.  Additional measures to raise revenues and address the wealth gap must be taken. Corporate tax loophole closures and cost-saving measures, such as streamlining nonprofit contracting approaches, should be considered to maintain funding to vital human services.

We want a New New York, too. The Human Services Council, representing more than 200 nonprofit human services organizations, urges our elected leaders in Albany to push politics aside and make decisions based on what is best for the majority of New Yorkers.

Highlights:

• Close remaining $2 bb budget deficit with no new taxes or fees
• Establish a Tax Reform and Fairness Commission to close tax loopholes, and more
• Re-imaging government using technology to improve performance and reduce costs – including accessing health and human services
• Calls for an end to fingerprinting for food stamps
• Creates Foreclosure Relief Unit to provide counseling and mediation services
• Creates Tenant Protection Unit to pro-actively enforce landlord obligations
• Transform delivery of services to those with disabilities to root out “failures in organization and management of services”
• Create an Office for New Americans to assist legal permanent residents get jobs
• Campaign Finance Reform and Independent Redistricting

Christmas is a time of spending, when wants often overshadow needs.  As a reminder of continuing human service needs, we compared the prices of items from the holiday classic The Twelve Days of Christmas (as estimated by PNC Wealth Management) with the cost of various human services.  For instance, the $6,300 it would cost to buy “7 Swans-a-Swimming” could be used to house two people for a year!  We hope this provides some perspective as we search for last-minute holiday deals.  It turns out that human services are a steal!

Contributed by Allison Sesso of Human Services Council

HSC honored two visionary leaders for their amazing contributions to the human services sector:

• Jack Krauskopf, Distinguished Lecturer and Director of the Center for Nonprofit Strategy and Management at the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College
• Elwanda Young, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of United Way of New York City (UWNYC)

Jack and Elwanda are pillars of the human services sector and we thank them for their dedication.

The festivities began with Michael Stoller reading the proclamations HSC received from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli congratulating HSC and the honorees for their service and wishing HSC continued success in its mission. Afterwards, Tyrone Golatt, Senior Field Vice President at Mutual of America, welcomed the guests with a few opening remarks. Our two honorees were introduced by Joel Copperman, HSC Board Chair, who thanked Jack Krauskopf for his service, and Gordon Campbell, President of UWNYC, who thanked Elwanda Young.

 In addition to honoring these distinguished leaders, HSC celebrated its 20^th Anniversary.  Sadly, Horace Morris, former Board Chair of HSC, could not join us for this occasion as he recently passed away. Ralph Dickerson Jr. and Stephen Solender commemorated his life and led a moment of silence for Horace’s passing. Horace, Ralph, and Stephen were three of 20 we invited to share this evening’s 20^th anniversary. These people were instrumental to the formation of HSC – funders, board chairs, former executive directors, founders, friends, and believers.

 Joining us for this event were State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda Gibbs, Commissioner Joseph F. Bruno, Commissioner Robert Doar, Commissioner Jeanne Mullgrav, Commissioner Ronald Richter, Deputy Commissioner Bill Chong, Deputy Commissioner Caryn Resnick, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services Marla Simpson, Deputy Director of the New York City Office of Management and Budget P.V. Anantharam, and Director of Management Innovation Louisa Chafee. Their attendance demonstrated their support and appreciation for the human services sector. In addition, several HSC members were surprised to receive checks from the State Comptroller’s office for unclaimed funds, including The Actors Fund who received a check for over $20,000.

Many of the Human Service agencies made fewer programmatic cuts and were able to realize major savings through administrative cuts. Click here to review the full budget documents. The Department for the Aging (DFTA) was spared cuts this year and next. This is great news for senior centers and other services for the City’s aging population.

Youth and families will be hit the hardest by the additional round of cuts for 2012 and for the upcoming budget cycle in 2013. The Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) will sustain the biggest cuts to programs. Programs like Out of School Time (OST), Beacons and Cornerstone will see major reductions in service and availability of slots across the City. OST specifically, which provides a mix of academic, recreational and cultural activities for young people (grades K-12) after-school, during holidays and in the summer, is slowly being dismantled by continued cuts. OST has seen a 60% reduction in available slots since its inception in 2005. It has been proven that students enrolled in after-school programs show higher academic achievement than comparable students not in after-school programs. In addition to increasing student achievement, after-school programs also help decrease crime among juveniles during the times of 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm on school days.

Not only will children be impacted by the cuts to after-school programs, but whole families will feel the impact as well. Many parents rely on these programs to keep their children safe while they are at work. Parents will have to make hard choices about keeping jobs or paying for costly child care. The costs of child care can be so high that it often makes better economic sense for low-wage workers to forgo their jobs to stay home and care for their children. In addition, more than 5,000 workers in the field have lost jobs since cuts started in 1996 and another 200 are expected to lose their jobs based on the recent PEG.

All in all, the human services sector is again expected to sustain more dismantling cuts, especially for youth services. The sector cannot take much more. Show your support for Human Services and contact your New York State and City legislators to ensure the preservation of critical human services in your community. To locate your legislators click here.

Contributed by Shana Mosher of the Human Services Council

But, there are plenty of reasons to be thankful, and more importantly, plenty of ways you can get in the holiday spirit by getting involved. We asked some of our organizations to tell us why they were thankful this year on Twitter, and after seeing what they had to say, we are the ones who are thankful to be working with such incredible human services organizations. You can see all their tweets by going to our Twitter or searching #WhoCaresIDo or #thankful.  Here are just a few of the reasons people are so thankful for human services, which make a difference for millions of people every year.  We encourage you to learn more about the organizations below and consider how you can help them serve even more people in need.

• @alznyc and their Care Consultation services counseled 1,311 individuals & families in 2011
• @BKSNY provides high quality care & education for children in low income neighborhoods in Brooklyn
• @CAMBAInc Each month, 3,400 people receive food from their emergency food pantry ow.ly/7CZaQ
• @CCBplusQ  employs 500 teens each year as part of their Summer Youth Employment Program.lockerz.com/s/158743392
• @HenryStreet  served 47,742 meals to seniors this year at their senior center.
• @HetrickMartin keeps over 2,000 youth off the streets each year!
• @HMIYouth created You Are Loved video about #LGBT suicides and helps youth in need. bit.ly/usOePQ
• @NYNJGoodwill hosted a Thanksgiving lunch for clients, check it out - bit.ly/tCDqST
• @ProjectRenewal’s shelters helped 2,200 men and women this year prepare to live independently!
• @SafeSpaceNYC  serves 10,000 children and caregivers each year.
• @unitedwaynyc took part in an amazing Fight Against hunger event  ow.ly/7E5SJ
• @UnivSettlement serves 25,000 people on a DAILY basis.
• @WeAreBCS  14 volunteers cooked and shared an early Thanksgiving meal with over 100 members of the BCS MetroClub.

You can also go to our website to sign our petition to protect human services funding and find other ways to get involved. Human services help people stay in their homes, have a good meal, and keeps families together. Funding for these programs is scarcer than ever, and we need your help to protect the programs so many people are thankful for.