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Stephen Levin

New York City Council Approves Long-Stalled Bills to Fast-Track Housing Vouchers for Homeless and Foster Youth

11/23/2021

New York City Council Approves Long-Stalled Bills to Fast-Track Housing Vouchers for Homeless and Foster Youth

Michael Fitzgerald

Today New York City Council approved two bills that make emergency rental assistance more accessible to at-risk youth.

Administration for Children's Services Commissioner David Hansell said they'd seen no indicators of an increase in undetected child abuse during the pandemic.

6/15/2021

No Evidence of Pandemic Child Abuse Surge in New York City, But Some See Other Crises For Child Welfare System

Michael Fitzgerald

Reports of child abuse in NYC dropped after the coronavirus struck and have not returned to previous levels, but some warn of other crises.

3/16/2021

New York City Leaders Push For Mayor to Increase Funding for Foster Youth Coaches

Michael Fitzgerald

Chantal Fernandez, 15, spoke at a virtual rally on Tuesday in support of New York City’s Fair Futures program, which provides professional, full-time “coaches” to older foster youth. Credit: The Imprint
Elected officials and political candidates in New York City rallied with foster youth Tuesday, urging Mayor Bill de Blasio to expand funding for a popular program that matches thousands of vulnerable young people to a paid mentor for help with everything from homework to life coaching.

10/28/2020

Too Many Black Families Get Caught in Child Welfare’s ‘Front Door,’ Advocates and System Leaders in New York Agree

Michael Fitzgerald

A parent-led protest against family separations by the child welfare system crossed the Brooklyn Bridge this summer. Photo: Michael Fitzgerald
For Taylor Thomas, a social worker in the Bronx, the nightmare started on June 1, with the coronavirus pandemic raging and protests against racism in policing filling the streets. 

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio Foster Care

6/25/2019

New York City Overhauls Short-Term Foster Care Shelter After Judge’s Contempt Order

Michael Fitzgerald

The Nicholas Scoppetta Children’s Center in Manhattan. Photo by Hiram Alejandro Durán.
New York City Council confronted the commissioner who oversees foster care again yesterday over his agency’s temporary intake center for foster youth, after news reports described child neglect and chaos at the facility.

Fair Futures New York City foster youth foster care ron richter oped

6/19/2019

New York City Chips In $10 Million to Pair Older Foster Youth with Life Coaches Through Age 26

Michael Fitzgerald

A foundation-funded advocacy push to provide full-time life coaches to New York City foster youth has secured an initial investment in next year’s budget, City Hall sources have confirmed to The Imprint.

3/28/2019

Is New York State Responsible for Some Long Stayers at the City’s Temporary Foster Home? City Child Welfare Commissioner Thinks So

Michael Fitzgerald

New York City Council questioned the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) this week about a teenager who was left living in a broken wheelchair in a short-term home for foster youth for more than a year.

    New York City Council member Stephen Levin worried that instances of child abuse would increase during the pandemic.

    12/20/2018

    New York City Councilman: More Support for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care and Accused Parents

    Michael Fitzgerald

    New York City Councilman Stephen Levin (D) is an unlikely foster care system watchdog. His council district encompasses upscale Brooklyn enclaves like Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO – neighborhoods that send relatively few children into foster placements – yet he chairs the council committee with oversight of the city’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), one of the largest local child welfare agencies in the country.

    New York City foster care chief David Hansell

    11/29/2018

    New York City Council Confronts Child Welfare Agency Over Emergency Parent-Child Separations

    Michael Fitzgerald

    New York City Council pressed the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) Commissioner David Hansell on Tuesday over a steep increase in emergency removals of children from parents who have been accused of child neglect or abuse.

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