City services for families in trouble could be cut, By Stephen Ceasar, June 8, 2010, New York Times: “The beating death of a 7-year-old, Nixzmary Brown, at the hands of her stepfather in 2006 helped prompt a series of reforms in New York’s child protection services, including a greater emphasis on providing intensive services to families with problems, from domestic abuse to mental illness, that put children in danger. The focus on preventing abuse has helped keep children safe, prevented families from being divided and avoided unnecessary referrals to costly foster care, according to children’s advocates. Now, under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s budget proposal, funding for preventive services for about 3,000 families could be cut. The city’s child protection agency, the Administration for Children’s Services, stands to lose $12.8 million for these services from the Bloomberg administration, which is trying to close a $5 billion deficit before the start of the fiscal year on July 1. And because the state matches city money for the agency, by nearly 2 to 1, the total reduction would amount to more than $35 million…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty