FY 2027 Executive Budget Hearing

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Good morning and welcome to today's New York City Council Executive Budget Hearing for the Committee on Finance, joined with the Committee on Children and Youth and joined with the Committee on Immigration. At this time, please silence all electronic devices and no one should approach the dais at any time. Chairs, we are ready to begin. Great. Okay, wait. Okay. Got a gavel. Always forget that part.

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And welcome to day three of the Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget Hearings. I am CM Linda Lee. Today's hearings will begin with the Administration for Children's Services, followed by the Department of Youth and Community Development and the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs. I am pleased to be joined by my colleague and your friend, CM Chair of the Committee on Children and Youth. Today we have been joined by CM Schulman, CM Epstein, CM Wong and Deputy Speaker Williams, who is on Zoom.

Welcome, Commissioner Jones Gaston. Week two, or day seven, rather day six, to you and your team. Thank you all for joining us today to answer our questions. On May 12, 2026, the administration released the Executive Financial Plan for Fiscal Years 2026 to 2030, with a proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget of $124.7 billion. The Administration for Children's Services' proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget of $3.51 billion represents 2.7% of the administration's proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget in the Executive Plan. This is an increase of $89.6 million, or 2.6%, from what was originally budgeted in the preliminary plan. This increase results from several actions, including additional funding added for child care vouchers, foster care staffing across the agency and a baselining of the Promise Program.

As of April 2026, the agency's account was $562 million less than their Fiscal Year 2026 budget. In the Council's preliminary budget response, we called on the Mayor to apply for the state waiver that would allow the City to apply for reimbursement of its expenditures across Fiscal Years 2019 to 2026 related to the implementation of the state's Raise the Age Act. Further, in our response, we called on the administration to continue to invest in child care vouchers by baselining the Promise Program. In our preliminary budget hearing, we encouraged the administration to explore ways to end the waiting list practice for child care vouchers, which now stands at approximately 25,000 children.

While we were pleased to see the Promise New York City baseline and some additional funding added for child care vouchers, I hope to see progress made in reducing the voucher waitlist and ensuring these families are able to receive the vital child care services that they need, whether through this agency or other agencies. I look forward to hearing from our new Commissioner on how she plans to address the urgent challenge of providing child care and continuing to equitably serve families amid citywide savings requirements. My questions today will largely focus on areas in which the agency sought to realize savings, the agency's process and methodology in identifying these savings and updates on the nearly $200 million in state funding designated for at-risk youth. I want to turn it over to my co-chair for this hearing, CM Stevens, for her opening statement. Good morning and thank you, Chair Lee.

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My name is Althea Stevens. I serve as Chair of the Committee on Children and Youth for this part of our hearing this morning. I look forward to discussing changes to the budget since the preliminary plan. The Executive Budget included investments in several areas, including child care vouchers, detention facilities and staffing across the agency. New needs were added in Fiscal Year 2026 in the Executive Plan, growing in Fiscal Year 2027 and dropping to $80.7 million in Fiscal Year 2028 and in the outer years. Additionally, other adjustments in Fiscal Year 2026 totaled, dropping to $2 million in Fiscal Year 2027 and in the out years.

While the City's budget has now been balanced without a property tax increase, all agencies are required to meet savings and vacancy reduction benchmarks. As agencies providing frontline services to some of the City's most vulnerable residents, understanding the impact of these savings targets is critical. My theme for today, and what will always continue to be my theme, is that the City will not be considered affordable if it is not affordable for young people. Because if we do not invest in our young people on the front end...

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...then ultimately we are investing in them on the back end when they are living and doing things that are...

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...not things that we want to see. I look forward to discussing how the agency responds to the Mayor's requirements, the methodology, the rationale and identifying areas where savings could be realized, and most critically, the effects on services or programming that these savings might have. I am also interested in understanding how the agency is working with state partners to maximize funding for vital services such as child care vouchers, preventive services and programming. I am also really curious to hear about the plan for the money that was allocated from the Governor, because in our preliminary hearing that plan still had not been discussed with us, and I want to make...

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...sure that the money that was allocated for youth services and the Raise the Age funding that we are going to discuss, and also...

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...put in a hardship application. In the Council's response, our responsibility is to ensure that the City budget is fair, transparent and accountable to New Yorkers. As the Chair of the Children and Youth Committee, I will continue to push for accountability and transparency in the budget. Amidst the need to eliminate budget gaps and meet savings requirements, our responsibility in enacting a budget that reflects the needs and interests of our City's youth takes on even higher importance. As I have often repeated, this budget must not be balanced on the backs of working people or young people. I am passionate about this because nobody keeps talking about the young people. So today, and throughout this examination, I will ensure that this is the case.

Before we get started, I would like to take a quick moment to thank both my staff and the entire Council Fiscal Division for their efforts in preparing for this hearing. Margaret, Julia, Richard, Rhea, Elizabeth and my Deputy Chief of Staff, and the entire team. At this time I pass it back to Chair Lee.

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Great. Thank you so much, Chair. Before we get started, I just wanted to take a moment to thank the entire Council Finance team and division for preparing today's hearing, especially Julia Harmless and Margaret Barnsley for today's hearing, and of course Brian Surf and all the finance analysts and support staff who make it all work.

Just as a reminder, for this year's Executive Budget Hearings, because we are on a tighter timeline than we normally are, we are going to be doing all of the public testimony on Wednesday the tenth, beginning at 9:30. I see some of our partners here from our nonprofits who are here with us, which I am glad about, actually, because I think it is always important to be in the room and listen to the feedback, and then also hopefully it will help inform the questions you have when we hopefully see you back on the tenth — June tenth, Wednesday, starting at 9:30 a.m. So I will turn it now over to our committee counsel to swear in the witnesses for their testimony.

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Yes. Deputy Commissioner Welcome? Yes. And Deputy Commissioner...

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Ginsberg? Yes. You may begin.

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Good morning. My name is Rebecca Jones Gaston and I am honored to serve as Commissioner for the Administration for Children's Services. I would like to thank Chair Stevens, Chair Lee and the members of the Children and Youth and Finance Committees for convening today's hearing on the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. I am joined by my colleagues: Deputy Commissioner for Financial Services Margaret Penticoff, Deputy Commissioner for External Affairs Stephanie Rendell, Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Youth and Family Justice Nancy Ginsberg, Deputy Commissioner for the Family Services Division Louisa Linares, Deputy Commissioner for Family Permanency Services Inna Mendez and Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Child and Family Well-Being Elizabeth Welcome.

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge Melissa Hester for her steady and compassionate leadership as Interim Commissioner during a period of transition. Melissa guided this agency with care, integrity and deep commitment to children and families, and I want to thank her and congratulate her on her new role as Executive Deputy Commissioner of People, Operations and Technology.

I often say that I was born into the system. Child welfare is not simply the work I do. It is personal to me. It has shaped my life, my sense of purpose and my understanding of what children, youth and families need not only to survive but to heal, grow and thrive. Because I know personally what systems can mean in the life of a child, I approach this role with both urgency and hope. My professional journey has taken me from frontline practice in child protection and foster care to leadership roles at the state and federal levels, including serving as Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families during the Biden-Harris administration. Across every role, every system and every community, one lesson has remained constant: meaningful and lasting change only happens when we remain grounded in the voices, experiences, strengths and hopes of the people most impacted by our decisions. That belief will guide my leadership.

I also recognize that this work does not happen in isolation. The well-being of children and families depends on strong partnerships across systems and sectors, including providers, advocates, community leaders and our partners in the judiciary. Lasting progress requires all of us working together with shared accountability and shared commitment to safety, healing, fairness and opportunity. I believe deeply that safety and connection must coexist. Children should be safe. Families should have the support they need to remain together whenever possible. Communities should be seen not simply through the lens of need, but through the lens of strength and possibility. Children are not cases. Families are not problems to solve. Communities are not deficits to manage. They are people with stories, strength, hopes and potential, and our responsibility is to shape systems that recognize their humanity and respond with accountability, compassion and intention.

As Commissioner, I am committed to continuing the work of strengthening a child welfare system that is more responsive, more equitable, more preventive and more humane. That means ensuring child protective intervention is focused on where children are truly unsafe, while continuing to invest in the community-based and family-centered supports that help families thrive. It means listening closely to young people and families with lived experience and recognizing them as partners in shaping solutions. It means continuing to transform how we support young people involved in the juvenile justice system, seeing them not only for the worst moment in their lives but for their future.

I also want to be clear about the tone and the spirit I hope to bring to this role. I believe in stewardship. I believe in partnership. I believe in accountability rooted in compassion. I believe that systems change happens when we are willing to listen, to learn and to act with informed intentionality. I also believe none of this work is possible without a skilled, supported and well-resourced workforce. Every day, staff, provider partners, attorneys, clinicians, case planners, direct care staff and so many others carry enormous responsibility on behalf of children and families, often under incredibly complex circumstances. If we want stronger outcomes for children and for families, we must continue investing in the people who make these outcomes possible. I look forward to building an honest and constructive partnership with this Council as we work together on behalf of New York City's children and families.

Today I will provide an overview of the Executive Budget, which is projected to be $3.51 billion, including in City funds. As you know, the Mamdani administration asked each agency to identify a Chief Savings Officer to carefully examine opportunities for savings and efficiencies. I want to thank our Chief Savings Officer Margaret Penticoff for leading this work thoughtfully with continued focus on minimizing impacts on children, families and providers who depend on our services.

Affordable child care is essential for families, so I am extremely pleased that the Mamdani administration has prioritized expanding access to quality child care throughout the City. The budget furthers this commitment in a number of ways. Due to the advocacy from the Mamdani administration, the City Council and many others, the state and City have come to a number of budgetary agreements that will enable New York City to expand and maintain access to early childhood education.

As it relates to funding, the City and state budget will enable us to continue to recertify the vast majority of families receiving low-income child care vouchers. The funding will also allow the City to support the growing need for child care vouchers among families on cash assistance who are served by the Human Resources Administration. In addition, we are extremely pleased to share that the Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget restores and baselines Promise at $25 million. This funding will enable the agency to maintain City-funded community-based child care. This funding supports approximately 1,000 slots. Historically, Promise was funded one year at a time. Baselining the funding for this crucial program creates certainty and stability.

I have dedicated my career to identifying ways to support and uplift families and communities so that they can be safe and thrive. As I take on this role, I remain committed to lifting up family-centered, prevention-driven solutions that improve outcomes and transform how systems support children, families and communities. I am committed to keeping children safe by providing child protective staff with the tools, supervision and training they need to make sound decisions. I am committed to ensuring the agency helps provide families and communities with the support they need to succeed. We will soon announce the providers recommended for the 11 Community Partnerships across the City. Community Partnerships are neighborhood coalitions that enhance child and family well-being through strategies responsive to each community's specific wants and needs. By listening to the voices and ideas of community members, the Community Partnerships work to increase coordination among service providers, connect families to resources and fill programming gaps. The new contracts will expand the role of Community Ambassadors — trusted community residents who build relationships with and connect families to information and resources. I am looking forward to the implementation of these new contracts and the positive impact the partnerships will have.

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We continue to have contracts with 44 provider agencies operating 127 programs for family services, previously referred to as prevention services, across the system. Contracts are for 10,277 slots, meaning more than 10,000 families can receive services at any one point in time. In calendar year 2025, a little over 30,000 children in 14,000 families received child welfare, family support and therapeutic treatment services. Our providers have been intentional about supporting communities, engaging families and connecting them to resources through this work. We have increased community referrals from 12% of all families served in January 2023 to 27% of them in 2026. These include referrals from schools, health care providers and families themselves.

As part of our efforts to look closely at our budget, this budget includes closing four programs totaling 360 slots for savings. We will be working closely with the four providers as well as the providers in the same catchment area to ensure that no family loses services. We will also continue to monitor community needs and make sure families continue to have access to services in New York City.

The number of children in foster care is at a historic low, with fewer than 6,300 children in care, down from 13,000 a decade ago and close to 42,000 when the agency was created 30 years ago. Our work centers on continuing to reduce the number of children in care, both by preventing children from entering in the first place and by intensifying efforts to reunify children more quickly. I am committed to working with the team and our providers to continue this reduction. For those children and youth in our care, it is essential that we provide them with the resources and skills that they need to become successful and thriving New Yorkers.

This budget includes important actions that reflect budgetary reductions in the foster care area that will have no impact on children, youth, families or providers, as the savings are from underspending or surpluses in specific budget codes, which I will describe in more detail. As you recall, last fiscal year's budget included the Youth Safety and Success Initiative, which was a $40 million investment in programs for youth in foster care and the justice system. Specifically as it relates to foster care, the initiative funded an expansion of the number of youth who could be served by Fair Futures coaches and tutors, the number of youth participating in the College Choice program and the creation of a new program, Career Choice. As a result of this investment, we see more youth getting connected to Fair Futures coaches and there are over 470 youth enrolled in College Choice, up from 430 last year.

In addition, we created and launched Career Choice, a new program that builds off the success of College Choice by connecting young people in foster care to similar financial, social and academic support when they elect to attend a vocational program or a job readiness program instead of college. The program was launched and the first ten youth are now enrolled in Career Choice programming. In addition, we are on track for 106 youth to participate in the Department of Youth and Community Development's Advance and Earn program this fiscal year, which is also a part of Career Choice.

The executive budget better aligns anticipated spending levels of both Fair Futures and Career Choice with no impact on services, to better match programmatic ramp-up and allocated funding. Specifically for Fair Futures, we plan for the program to grow in budget and youth served in both fiscal years 2027 and 2028, while saving about $2 million in 2028. We still anticipate full ramp-up to $42.7 million and 54 youth by 2029. Similarly, there is a $405,000 gross reduction in Career Choice in the current fiscal year 2026 due to savings from the initial startup time needed for the program.

All residential and specialized family foster care providers receive $3,500 for each youth ages 14 to 21 in their care for independent living services, referred to as Preparing Youth for Adulthood. These services help youth develop life skills through work and programs such as financial literacy, resume writing, college applications, grocery shopping, banking and driver's education. The executive budget includes an annual reduction in gross due to a surplus in the budget code. There will be no impact on providers or youth. Providers will continue to receive the $3,500 for each youth age 14 to 21.

The executive budget also includes a $233,000 total gross reduction for adoption recruitment contracts, which the agency no longer maintains and has not since 2015. Adoption and foster parent recruitment is now managed by our foster care providers and their current contracts include recruitment funding. Thus, there is no interruption in service and we do not anticipate any impact on providers or families.

The executive budget includes funding to address the Title IV budget gap the agency has been carrying due to the way the federal government reimburses for foster care. Specifically, while federal Title IV funding for foster care is a federal entitlement, it is only an entitlement for those children and youth who are federally eligible. While there are a number of eligibility requirements, family income is the one that causes most children to be ineligible for federal reimbursement. To be eligible, the current income of the child's family must be such that they would have been eligible for what was the predecessor of TANF in 1996. This has never been adjusted for inflation nor updated to reflect the current public assistance program. There was a period of time where the gap was being filled by the federal government through the David E. Waiver, but that ended in 2018. This additional funding fills the baseline gap the agency has been carrying in the executive budget.

The executive budget also includes $1.6 million for immigration legal services and fees for children and youth in foster care. Since at least 2006, the agency has been working with legal service providers to assist youth in care by obtaining Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. The agency is extremely grateful to these providers who have helped countless youth in care get green cards, all pro bono. Given the increasing demands for immigration legal assistance, the agency will now be able to provide attorneys handling these matters with $2,000 per child. In addition, the Trump administration recently created new fees and increased existing fees for various immigration relief applications, and this additional funding will provide reimbursement for those fees.

The agency continues to focus on meeting the needs of the increased number of youth across our juvenile justice continuum. As of May 13, 2026, there were 362 youth in secure detention, 66 youth in non-secure detention and 128 youth in Close to Home. The executive budget includes funding to support operations, maintenance and capacity needs at our facilities. The budget includes a baseline for juvenile justice facility needs associated with the creation of the exercise pavilion at Horizon, including the additional funding needed for maintenance, repairs and operations of the existing space. This funding will also be used for additional supplies needed for the population of youth in detention, such as uniforms, toiletries, bedding and food services. Finally, a portion of this initiative is additional funding needed for a nine-bed non-secure placement facility to help with the increased Close to Home census. The executive budget also includes additional capital needs for our juvenile justice programs, including funding for the Horizon Annex at Horizon and Crossroads, as well as other repairs and IT equipment at Horizon and

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Crossroads. So in closing, I believe this executive budget reflects an important investment in children, youth, families and communities across New York City. It represents an opportunity to continue shaping systems that are not only effective but also compassionate, responsive and grounded in partnership. As I begin in this role, I do so with humility, urgency and hope. I know the responsibility that comes with leading this agency and I know the profound impact our decisions have on the lives of children and families.

I also know this work cannot be done by any one agency or system alone. It requires partnership across government, with providers, advocates, communities and with our partners in the judiciary, and most importantly with young people and families whose lived experience must continue to inform and shape our work.

At the same time, we are navigating a period of significant change and uncertainty nationally. Federal policy shifts and broader pressures on social service systems continue to impact child welfare and youth-serving systems across the country. But even as systems adapt, transform and respond to those pressures, our responsibility must remain clear. Children, youth and families must be at the center of every decision we make. This moment calls not only for responsiveness but for intentional transformation rooted in equity, community partnership, accountability and the belief that every child and family deserves dignity, support, stability and possibility.

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I believe deeply in the power of connection and intentional action. I believe children, youth and families deserve systems that see their humanity, honor their strengths and create real pathways to healing, stability, opportunity and belonging. I believe our collective responsibility is not simply to respond to crisis but to help create conditions where children, families and communities can truly thrive. That is the work ahead of us and I look forward to doing it in partnership with all of you. Thank you, and I welcome your questions.

Thank you so much, Commissioner. Before I go into my questions, I just want to recognize we have been joined by CM Morano, CM Felder, CM J. Sanchez and CM Mealy. Thank you so much, Commissioner. We have two former nonprofit leaders here, which I really greatly appreciate, given the work and the portfolio that the agency has. I know that you are in charge of a lot and there is a lot on your plate. One of the things I hate is silos in government, and so whatever we can do on the Council, we have always tried to champion ways to make sure that the agencies are also talking to each other in ways that we can play a helpful role in that as well. So thank you.

I just wanted to ask a few questions before I pass it on to the Chair. In terms of the savings exercises, I know that every agency had a target goal for the fiscal year 2027 executive plan. How did the agency determine which savings to include in the executive plan and what was the process in terms of what metrics were used to make the assessment?

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Sure. Good morning. So as part of Executive Order 12, all agencies were required to identify recurring savings opportunities across the entire budget and review agency operations using a data-driven approach focused on operational efficiencies, program performance and long-term sustainability. At the agency, we took savings from sunset programs and contracts and we also looked across the entire agency budget and evaluated contracts based on performance and agency need. I want to stress that these decisions were difficult and we approached them very thoughtfully. Our focus throughout the process was to find savings and efficiencies that would not eliminate services for children, youth and families.

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Okay. Because I know that when we talked about savings on the Council side, and I know the Speaker has said this as well, we really wanted to emphasize that we do not want to make sure that services are cut. So just wanting to make sure that that was actually the case. Because you said sunsetting contracts and looking at other programs, which programs and services, if at all, were included in the savings measures? Will any direct services or programs see a decrease in funding from the savings exercise?

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The majority of our savings initiatives actually came out of maximizing revenue. More than half came through realizing additional fringe that we were able to receive as well as additional miscellaneous revenues out of audit. In terms of programs that were sunsetted, we sunsetted some administrative contracts. We made reductions for IT savings based on our understanding of our contracts. We had some programs that had already sunset, including Esperanza. We also looked at surpluses in our Committee on Special Education funding. We slowed down the ramp-up of some programs for which we had received funding as of last year's executive budget for the Youth Safety and Success Initiative. That includes identifying accrued savings in fiscal year 2026 for the Career Choice program as well as slowing the ramp-up of our Fair Futures program.

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And then we also had savings through prevention contracts. We are ending four contracts for prevention. We believe there is still program capacity and so all of the families and children will continue to be served. A lot of the slowing of the ramp-up was because of capacity and hiring processes, that sort of thing, like getting staff onboard.

Okay. I know that my colleagues probably have more questions on several savings measures. Some included a reduction of state and federal funding. What is the total loss in funding from each state and federal source from savings and can any of this funding be shifted?

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To different programs? So the revenue that was taken down is representative of the fact that for every dollar we spend we are able to draw down revenues. So the revenue cannot really be transferred because we need the local dollar to draw it down. Give me one second, I will tell you what the total value of the revenue takedown is. Give me two seconds.

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Yeah, no worries. I can get it for you. I am mostly focused on something else. I apologize. Okay, no worries. I was going to try to ask a quick question but I do not want to disturb. Please do. Come back because I am better at multitasking, so I never assume. Were you able to hit the target savings rate this year for the targeted amount? 1.5%? It was more than that, right? The savings that we achieved was... was at the target? Not at the target actually. And the total revenue takedown for fiscal year 2027 is... okay. And the second part of the question was just about whether any of the funding could be shifted to different programs or not. Okay.

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Okay. I will probably have follow-up later on that, but moving on.

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On to contracting and procurement, my favorite topic. Contracting is an issue across the board for a lot of City agencies, as we know. What is the average timeline for reimbursements to providers?

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So the average processing time for health and human service invoices is 7.7 days, which is much lower than the average across the City for health and human services agencies, which at the close of the year was 17-point-something days.

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From the time they submit the invoice. But then if there are questions about the invoicing and there is back and forth, how long does that take?

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And this does not mean the contracts are registered. We also need agencies to be timely in contract registration. So we are very good there. We do not actually have a way to measure if there is back and forth in terms of

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questions that might come up if something is submitted incorrectly and it has to be resubmitted or sent back to the provider. We do not have a way of measuring that. Okay. If there is some way to measure that, that would be great, only because we have been hearing — and I say this also as someone who used to contract with the agency and with a lot of other City agencies — that the timeline it takes usually for the reimbursement once you submit the voucher is quite a bit longer. So I just wanted to know if you have any information on that. That would be great.

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Not to brag, but yes, the agency is really good at this. Oh, yeah.

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Okay, so you guys are like A-plus. Really, 7.7 days from when, in total? Okay. And that is why I am a little skeptical, because from my nonprofit background it actually takes a lot longer.

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Okay, that is good. We want to know why other agencies are not doing the same.

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Yeah, exactly. And how has the agency dealt with and responded to challenges related to any contracting or procurement issues in the process? What are the major concerns or areas of concern for providers in terms of the contracting process? Have you heard any feedback?

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My understanding is that we have close to 100%, if not 100%, of all of our contracts registered on time on the human service side. So I do not think we have been hearing those types of concerns. Okay. So once it gets awarded, the schedule comes out and the contracts get procured, usually in a couple of months, and it is usually registered with the comptroller. Okay? Yeah. Okay.

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Moving on to the Raise the Age waiver. At the preliminary budget hearing, we urged the agency to apply to the State for the hardship waiver because this is money that has been owed to the City, I think going back to 2019. So since the preliminary budget hearing, have you had any conversations with the State regarding applying for the waiver or pursuing State reimbursement?

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Yes, we have had those conversations. We appreciate the Council's commitment and interest in New York City getting the funding from the state that it should get from Raise the Age. Back in the day, both Nancy and I advocated for Raise the Age and for the City to get reimbursement, and we have had those conversations. The decision about whether or not to seek a hardship waiver would not be up to us. It would be up to City Hall. The funding for Raise the Age would be bigger than just...

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Right. So okay, that is kind of leading somewhere. Next question, which is: are you able to share information regarding how the expenses... I know, like you just mentioned it, we would not be just with the... but would you be able to share any information regarding where the expenses would be directed? So in theory, Probation, ACS, all agencies, and probably a couple others, NYPD... are you okay? And do you know if the Mayor's Office would be able to share any of that information

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in terms of the funding? Sure. We shared a chart, which I can send to you as part of our response to the preliminary budget.

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I mean, it is an in-depth chart, so I can send that to you. And can you say for the record just how much you estimate the agency

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has spent on the implementation of Raise the Age from fiscal year 2019 to date, which I am assuming is quite a bit? Yes, we estimate that we have spent, going back, $149 million in expense and $133 million in capital. Okay, perfect. Thank

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you. And for at-risk youth funding, we had asked at the preliminary budget if you had details regarding the $100 million in baseline state funding provided, which was part of the total of $300 million added across several agencies that the state had given. Since the preliminary budget hearing, have you received any further guidance or clarification from the state?

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We

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have not, although we are hoping it will be imminent because I believe the Governor is probably signing the budget while we are sitting here right now. But it did finally pass. Let us know which programs and services it will fund. That would be great.

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For follow up — and the $300 million is definitely a significant portion of funding for the new fiscal year — have you developed any plans for how you will utilize the funding? Have those conversations happened? Not right... not to my awareness. Okay, so for a follow up, if you could let us know which programs you are thinking of expanding, reworking or adjusting, that would be

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great. My understanding about the $300 million is it is not meant for expansion but meant as revenue replacement. Okay, if you could... yeah, either way that would be great.

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If you could follow up. And before... I think that is it for now, but I am going to try and pass it over to Chair Stevens.

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Before I go, CM Rose, could you ask your question? He had to run off fast. Ask your question. Thank you so

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much, Chair. Good morning. Nice to see you. There are members of my district who are concerned about the issue of non-mandated child care vouchers for working parents. These are vouchers for low-income families who do not qualify for benefits but do not earn enough to afford child care. Because they were told the City has no more funding for these vouchers, parents and families in my district are concerned because these vouchers are crucial for them in accessing child care. I would like to know what the administration's plans are for funding these vouchers and, if there is a funding gap, what would be the alternative for these families.

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Well, first of all, I just want to acknowledge that child care is absolutely a critical priority for the Mamdani administration and for us. I would hope so — it would be crazy if you said otherwise. I would actually like to turn it over to Deputy Commissioner... to be able to give some details about what the plans are. Thank you. Yeah, absolutely.

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So you are right. As Stephanie said, we understand the budget is being finalized as we speak, so we are eager to see what is in the state budget because it is state funding that supports those low-income vouchers. It is true that currently we are not able to issue new vouchers, but we continue to recertify families that have vouchers. So the vast majority of families using vouchers are able to hang on to them. As soon as the budget is finalized, we will analyze what that means for how we can move forward in terms of when we will be able to move the wait list that we are maintaining.

Depending on age, there are a few options. New York City public schools for children zero to five do have open seats, and of course that depends on location and what families' preferences look like. There is also after-school programming, and we are regularly reaching out to families that are on our wait list to make sure that they are aware of those opportunities and can avail themselves of those. Thank you.

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Thank you, Councilmember.

(00:44:05)

I am just... thank you for being here. As I am listening to your testimony and going through some of the things, one of the things that is very glaring is that as of May 13, 2026, we have 362 young people in secured detention. This is really alarming for me. I think for me my question is — and this is why I say it is so important for us to invest in our young people on the front end — because now we have 362 young people in secured detention and that is a huge, alarming number for me.

So I want to ask specifically: is there some type of interagency task force or working group that is going on now to think about how we reduce these numbers? Because at this point I have been screaming at the top of my lungs for the last two years about this. I know everyone is up in arms about child care, but I want us to be just as up in arms about 362 young people being in secure

(00:45:04)

detention. This is alarming and honestly unacceptable to me. So I would love to hear: is there a plan? As we are going through this budget exercise and thinking about where savings are, are we thinking about how to get these young people from not ending up here? What would that look like?

(00:45:23)

Thank you, Chair Stevens. Just to note that we absolutely share the value of and the importance of our young people, their development and their well-being — absolutely crucial. We are focusing on what we are doing both from a prevention of foster care involvement to also prevention of involvement in the juvenile justice system. I will turn it over to Deputy Commissioner Ginsburg to give some more specific details.

(00:45:55)

Good morning. Thank you for your question. As you know, we share your concern.

(00:46:00)

But it is just frustrating because you all get them at the end, and so that is why I am asking: is there an interagency conversation about how we are going to reduce these numbers? Because you cannot do this on your own. How are we working with all these agencies that work with young people to get this number down? Because honestly, when we came in, I believe it was like 150, and no one is talking about these numbers constantly increasing. It is really driving me crazy.

So if we are not doing that, I want to just state for the record that that is something I need and want to see happen very soon. The good news is that since the change of administration, we have been actively in conversation with ACS. We have always been speaking with them, as they fund many of our programs in the facilities and also fund programs in the community. So when young people leave us, they can continue with some of that programming as supports in the community in order to prevent them from coming back.

That is why I have you all here, because I want us to make sure we are looking at this in a holistic perspective. This is a huge concern of mine. I definitely want to keep talking and thinking about how we are being intentional about getting these numbers down, because the situation is unacceptable.

Another thing in the testimony that was alarming to me and that I think is also connected to the savings: I see now that some of this money is going to be around securing a nine-bed non-placement facility for close to home. This is also very glaring and frustrating to me, because when we were right-sizing this program, I remember providers screaming from the top of their lungs that we were not right-sizing and that these numbers were going up and we should not be closing any of them. They also said that it was going to be very hard to get a facility back up and running — it takes a lot and we know it is not something that can be done overnight. So it is frustrating that now we are building another facility. This is a case where we should have been listening to providers. I get it — yes, we have to have savings, but it cannot be in areas where young people are impacted. So I need to understand how we get back to a place where, if we were right-sizing, we are now having to build a new facility.

(00:48:36)

I would just say first of all, you are correct. The history is that we reduced close to home capacity as part of the...

(00:48:45)

I do want to mention that it is not building a new facility. It is a current six-bed non-secured detention that we are going to turn into a nine-bed non-secure placement, so it is already a site that is part of our juvenile justice continuum. I just want to say again that I know that does not get to the heart of your concern.

(00:49:04)

Yeah, it does not. But you know, I just have to say these things. It needs to be said for the record because this is a situation where providers said, "Hey, do not do this because we are going to need it," and I feel like we are going full circle. So now where we are at with the savings and preventive care — this is also frustrating, because for the last two years it was said that the reason these numbers are down in these facilities is because of the work of preventive care and that that was necessary.

Right, that is the point I was trying to make. We need to listen to providers because they said this. We absolutely need to, and the partnership of providers is critical. You heard that testimony. Prevention services are critical as well — the entire continuum. We also as an agency have a responsibility for fiscal responsibility and aligning resources in ways so that we are investing and utilizing the resources we do have. The decision to eliminate slots is a really difficult decision, and I am happy to turn it over to Deputy Commissioner... to talk a little bit more about the prevention programs that I think you are referring to.

But it gets me very frustrated because preventive services has been cited as the reason for not having so many people in the facility. I think in your testimony you said that we are down like 13,000 from a decade ago, and these numbers have been consistently going down. It has been a continuous effort to get these numbers down, and preventive services has been the thing that has been pointed to as the reason we are getting these numbers down. So how do we now sit here and say that preventive services is a place where there should be savings? I do not like to use the word "cuts" — I know that is not what we are saying — but how do we justify that now, when that has been the thing we pointed to?

What is the plan to ensure continuity? Because one of the things that is frustrating for me is that I have heard things like, "Well, there are still slots." If I am a family and there are slots in the Bronx and I live in Queens and I already do not trust the system and I already have issues, I am not going. So I am trying to understand what the justification is, what the plan is and how this is going to look in actuality for these families. So I will stop there — and this might be my last one.

(00:51:32)

...

(00:51:34)

Hello. The close to home work is related to supporting young people who are involved with juvenile justice, those placements, and then the prevention services connected to preventing foster care placement. They are aligned but different sorts of

(00:51:55)

programs. Yeah, they are all different.

(00:51:57)

Right, that is the point I was trying to make. We need to listen to providers because they said this. We absolutely need to, and the partnership of providers is critical. You heard that testimony. Prevention services are critical as well — the entire continuum. We also as an agency have a responsibility for fiscal responsibility and aligning resources in ways so that we are investing and utilizing the resources we do have. The decision to eliminate slots is a really difficult decision, and I am happy to turn it over to Deputy Commissioner Lynn... to talk a little bit more about the prevention programs that I think you are referring to.

(00:52:48)

Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Chair Stevens. I share your sentiment. It was a very difficult decision for us, but we really had to maintain our fiscal responsibility and ensure that we are maintaining as strong a prevention program as possible. We looked at different indicators to make our recommendations. We wanted to make sure that one of the first things we considered when thinking about savings was that families are going to continue to have services. So you are right — we do not want a family from Brooklyn to have to think about a service in the Bronx. In a couple of the programs that are being cut, they were actually in Brooklyn. Can you tell us how many contracts are under this program that are being

(00:53:47)

eliminated and where they are

(00:53:49)

located? Yes. Before I answer that, I wanted to mention that when we look at things like families in the Bronx versus Brooklyn, we were very intentional in thinking about where our capacity was. So we tried to have a bird's-eye view of our entire system before we thought about where to make a recommendation. Once we did that, we landed on the cuts that we did, which are three programs in Brooklyn and one in Queens.

Once we determined that, we looked at things like whether there were other providers in Brooklyn and Queens. Once we looked at the catchment areas and determined that these were the areas where we had more capacity — where we had less need compared to other areas where we have other prevention providers available — we narrowed it down to those areas. Then we said, okay, now let us look at the providers that are in those areas and think about their performance against metrics: the number of families that they served. We did not look at a single point in time, so we did not look just at today. We went back and were intentional in looking at fiscal year 2024, fiscal year 2025 and also the remaining portion of fiscal year 2026. So we wanted to have a very comprehensive understanding of how those programs were faring against the key performance indicators. The other thing we had to consider was whether those programs were serving a specific population. Once we did that, we brought it down to those four providers that were put forward. How many clients are served by those

(00:55:56)

programs? So in family support programs, we serve a citywide total of 5,451 families. As of the most recent period, we had a total of 3,347 families that were receiving or had participated in services through family support. For these four programs, we have a total of 360 slots, and the currently active families actually receiving services in those programs is 199. Has there been an analysis of where the closest alternative is — like, if those families are not being served there, where is the closest facility or place they would have to go?

(00:56:43)

Yes, so that was part of the matrix that we looked at before making a recommendation, because we wanted to make sure that families can have services. Again, that was our first starting point — that families continue to have services, not only

(00:57:01)

The families that are currently in... well, I know that they would still have services, but I am trying to understand what the distance is like. Like, as a prime example, you said there are three in Brooklyn. Where are those? Are those in the same area? And are there other programs nearby? Because again, we know that these are vulnerable families. We know that these are a lot of Black and Brown families. I literally have a resolution about the harm that has been done to Black and Brown families because we know of the past harm. And so this, to me, is a disinvestment in those communities because we know we do not want to criminalize poverty, and a lot of these cases are often around poverty.

So if I am already struggling and now I have to travel and have that burden, I am trying to get an assessment of what is the closest facility that they are going to have to go to. Have you guys already thought about what that transition plan is? A lot of these families are vulnerable. I barely wanted to talk to the social worker, and now you think I am going to talk to the new social worker. I am not doing it. So I am trying to get a better understanding of what that is going to look like and understanding the bigger impact.

And again, I want to be clear. I know that no one wants to ever have programs cut and I know that you guys do not want to have things cut, but I just need us to make sure that as a City we are prioritizing the right things. For me, prioritization is young people and families. There is going to be harm, whether we like to say it or not. And for me it is like, how are we addressing this? I am not saying that you are not, but what I am saying is this is my concern. This is why I am focusing on this. Because there is no way that families who are already vulnerable, families who already do not trust the system, are now going to say, "Well, it is better over here, so I am going to go." So I just want to have more of a concrete sense of what this transition looks like, what the plan is and how we are going to ensure that we are mitigating the harm to all these families.

(00:59:01)

I would like to tell you that, unfortunately for me, I have a lot of experience with ending contracts because of the end of contracts in 2020 when we transitioned this system. During that time we had about 5,000 families who saw that we were transitioning, and we did so successfully. I like to say that we have very carefully thought about what it would mean for each individual family. You should know that as part of the end of contract, providers are notified immediately. We have a team specifically dedicated to reviewing each and every family case that is actively involved in prevention. The decision about the next steps is made together with the provider and the family. If the family decides that this is a time when a case can close and we can determine that is an appropriate decision, then we go ahead and make a case closure. So it is not... it is a process that is very well thought out and one that I am personally very proud of, despite the fact that it means that we are ending a contract. So what would these contracts... I am going to ask Margaret to help me with that question because I...

(01:00:29)

Saving for projected for fiscal year 27... we know that we need at least 90 days to continue the case management and to transfer cases. So we are saying 90 days. We know that we need 90 days from the beginning of the implementation in order to transfer all cases.

(01:00:57)

I should say that we transferred 5,000 families in a six-month period during COVID and we did so successfully. So while 90 days seems like a very short time, I do believe that we have a dedicated team that will make sure that every family and every provider gets the support they need to make this transition.

(01:01:17)

I mean, I just... yes, the families are also a factor in this, but 90 days for folks who are now out of a job is also a huge factor. So we cannot just leave that out of the conversation. I agree. It kind of felt cold. I am sorry, guys. I just... do not worry, when we go back... but sorry, guys, that is kind of upsetting. And you know this budget is not complete, so my hope is that we come up with a better solution than 90 days when thinking about the transition of families and figuring out a better way to achieve savings. Because again, everybody is talking about an affordable city on both sides, and that includes workers, right? I feel like we have passed multiple bills around workers in this Council. So my hope is that my colleagues get on board for us to fight to make sure that these workers are also protected, because the human service sector keeps getting hit.

So I hope other folks get on board with this, because it is kind of heartbreaking to think that people will be losing their jobs with 90 days to transition. I have some other questions around Fair Futures. I am going to ask those questions and then go to colleagues and come back. The Executive Plan included budget line savings from City and State funding starting in fiscal year 2026 related to Fair Futures programs.

(01:02:51)

Speaking with OMB, I understood the savings should only be reflected in fiscal year 2026 through 2028, with funding expected to be restored in fiscal year 2029 and 2030 in the future fiscal plan. ACS has publicly stated that they desire to expand Fair Futures programs. Given this, what is the rationale for the funding reduction in Fair Futures? And I bring this up again because this is another program that we have been raising the flag about and saying how great it is and all the things. So I get that we are in a savings mode, but it is mind-boggling that the programs that we have talked about for the last year since I have been here, and pointed to as successes in getting these numbers down in foster care and transitioning, are where we are finding savings. So I just have to figure out...

(01:03:40)

I will just start and then turn it over to the Deputy Commissioner. As you know, I think these programs are exactly what you are referring to when we are talking about focusing on youth and well-being and our responsibility to helping them develop and become successful adults and understand how to navigate the world as best as possible. Our commitment to that continues and you will hear from the Deputy Commissioner that it actually is not a loss in services and the investment is intended to be used in full.

(01:04:19)

Thank you for your question. So regarding Fair Futures, you may recall that in fiscal year 23 we baselined $30 million in City funding for the program. We were allowed to expand up to 26 providers serving children in care and out of care. Then with the Youth Safety and Success Initiative we received additional funding because we wanted to make sure we were resourced, because as we support the kids in care, even though that number is going down as children are leaving, we wanted to continue. So there was a robust plan to take these additional dollars and have the agencies quickly ramp up to serve — I think the original plan was 5,300 children starting either in fiscal year 27 or fiscal year 28.

So what we are doing is we are still expanding, and by fiscal year 29 we will get to 5,400. But we are doing this incrementally and we are allowing the providers to have a little bit more time to ramp up, and that will help them build the infrastructure, do the onboarding and hire the additional staff. So in fact, in fiscal year 27 they are receiving more money per slot for Fair Futures and we are looking for them to grow. There was a target for this year and there is going to be a target for fiscal year 27. So we are going to be growing and reaching more young people. The same thing for fiscal year 28, and then by fiscal year 29 they should have their infrastructure and all of their additional staff in place to reach that 5,400 number at a minimum.

What I will also say is, come to us and say, "Look, I can do more than what you are asking us to do." For example, we have the capacity to look at resources and shift them so that if there are additional children that need Fair Futures, we are committed to figuring out how they can get the support. Because we are committed to the program. So we are growing, we are just creating more of a runway to that growth.

(01:06:23)

And even to your point there around providers being able to come to us if they need additional growth — because I know this is a conversation we were having with the last Commissioner, where providers were not coming and saying that they needed additional funding or supports or whatever — how are we communicating that to providers? Because that is one of the things that providers are saying: that they did not even know it was possible.

(01:06:49)

So within the Division of Family Permanency we have a contract management unit and they work with the providers around their budgets. The providers are very vocal when they are having questions or they want to figure out the budget, so that conversation happens and we work on their budgets. We look at their budget narratives. So I will make sure the team communicates to each agency — because we go over each of their budgets — that if you feel you need more for Fair Futures or for anything, let us talk so that we can make sure that they can soundly do the work that they need to.

(01:07:24)

And I am sorry to interject. I just wanted to add that in my role I intend to spend time and have conversations and hear from providers in a variety of ways, in addition to each of the various programmatic areas and their relationship and contact on the nitty-gritty of the contract. That is one of the commitments I have made.

(01:07:50)

That is good to hear. What are some of the targets around... because I know you spoke about the different target areas around Fair Futures. What are those different target areas? And also thinking about, as the Commissioner is coming in and you are saying you are going to talk with them, do you guys have benchmarks or triggers like, "OK, we see that you are increasing," and so how do we then have that turn around and go over the top?

(01:08:13)

So for fiscal year 27 the target would be about 4,800. For fiscal year 28 we want to be at a little over 5,000. And again, for fiscal year 29, at that 5,400. We are in regular conversation with the Center for Fair Futures because they do a lot of the training and help the agencies implement the model. They have a database and our data team is able to look at data. What we really want to focus on now, as we are moving into this second piece of the expansion, is setting up some metrics and holding agencies accountable.

We were able to pull some data and we are able to say that right now there are about 2,300 young people involved with Fair Futures this fiscal year so far. It looks like — and I do not want to say anything we might be off track on — we are on track to surpass what we did last year. But about two-thirds of young people that are eligible are getting Fair Futures. So how do we make that number higher? How do we get to 75%? How do we get to 80%? I think that is about working with the Center for Fair Futures and also the agencies and having specific metrics that we can touch base on. We have a team in the Office of Youth Safety and Success. So we are going to have a conversation and co-design that with the providers so that we can make sure everyone is reaching the targets that we have outlined.

(01:09:39)

Yeah, and I would love for us to continue to think about what that looks like, even around the targets. Because again, thank you guys for coming to Shadow Day for our foster youth. You can hear they are working. Thank you for having us. Yeah, they were really excited to have you guys in. But even some of that... and I am not sure they did not actually have a lot of questions, but some of the conversations I had with them in passing showed there is still a big inconsistency in what information is being shared according to agencies. So I definitely want to make sure that we are working on that, especially with a program like this. How do we reach those targets? Because if people do not know, they do not know. And that is why there is a lower number of young people than originally planned being served by the program.

(01:10:16)

What steps are being taken to ensure providers are fully utilizing the funding in this program so that all eligible young people are receiving those vital supports? So again, we have our contract management unit. In addition to that, how often do they meet with the providers? The contract management unit... we need to get back to you with an exact frequency, but the invoices come in monthly or within...

(01:10:42)

...a few times a quarter, and there are a lot of conversations with the finance teams at the agencies. Now agencies have their allocations, at least for Enhanced Family Foster Care and Specialized Family Foster Care. We are going to be looking for them to submit their budgets, so there will be a lot of conversations. I will get an exact number and get back to you.

So they submit their invoices and we are able to look at the tracking based on what they are submitting. So let us say their budget is for a certain amount and then so far they have submitted a much lower number. We are going to have conversations about what is happening. Is there a trigger where it is like, "OK, we do not see a number and you guys reach out to ask what supports do you need?" Exactly. So that is the role of the contract management team: to look at, "Hey, you have not submitted invoices. Are there vacancies? Is there staff turnover? Are there difficulties?" I think we want to refine and hone in more on the qualitative piece, not just look at the monetary piece, but the qualitative piece and how you are leveraging that information. And then I think our partnership with the Center for Fair Futures will help intensify that, because they are working with the coaches regularly. So it is really just about expanding and making sure new staff come on and say, "Oh, you are this age, you should go to Fair Futures. Let me make a referral." All of that type of thing.

(01:12:09)

Just to add, you know, one of the things that I have throughout my career enjoyed is being able to spend time with young people and hear directly from them. So as I am learning all of the parts and pieces that we have available, I am certainly wanting to ensure that we have pathways for young people to engage and give us feedback directly about what they need and how information is best communicated to them from the various agencies that are serving them. So I am looking forward to engaging with the young people around that issue as well. And thank you for having a Shadow Day. I think it is critical. If you know me, everybody knows this: I only like kids. And so...

(01:12:53)

I get all the information from them, which is why when I come back I am so passionate, because I am translating that. I do not really like the adults, but the young people are what I am really focused on. And so a lot of things that I am coming back with are their direct conversations that I have had with them. Because I think it is so important that they have access to government and have conversations with us. So...

(01:13:15)

I look forward to going out and hanging out with kids and changing the system to actually work for them.

(01:13:21)

I still have a ton of questions, but I am going to pass it to the chair so that our colleagues can ask questions and I will come back in a second round. Great. I recognize we have been joined by CM Restler, Majority Leader Brad, CM Gutierrez and we are going to start with CM Wang, followed by CM Schulman.

(01:13:44)

Thank you, Chair. I would like to start about the relocation of your headquarters. When did the process begin and do you have an update on that?

(01:14:01)

As the last soul employee at 150... I will try to answer that question. By the end of the day today all staff will have moved out of 150 William Street. I got a special exemption to stay through the hearing, and by the end of today we will be fully out of 150 William Street. Our new headquarters is at 110 William Street. It is not fully complete. So to explain about the move: we had been in the current headquarters for about 30 years. The new headquarters is much more family-friendly. It has been intentionally developed to better meet the needs of the work we do. So there are a lot of family meeting rooms, there is a beautiful new playroom for kids, and the new office of advocacy is much more family-friendly. The old space was just developed in a different time. I do not know all the details — I was not personally involved in the details of the relocation — but I have been part of some of the City planning process, so I know a bit about the idea that this new location would better meet our needs for staff and for families.

(01:15:41)

Okay, thank you. I would like to ask about the two detention centers. I have been reading the Mayor's Executive Budget. I have been hearing and reading the statements. I just do not see any numbers regarding the number of kids in the two sites — that Promise website, 17 Bristol Street, and the one in Maspeth, Hunterdon and Brook Avenue. Can you talk about that? Sure, Nancy can give you — we have numbers in the testimony, but thank you.

As of this morning we had 181 young men in Horizon. In Crossroads we had 186 young people, 11 of whom are young women in that facility. Okay. Last year there was a report from the State Commission on Juvenile Justice regarding both sites, and I am going to read that to you. The report was dated April 2025, and it mentions that the absence rate — school absenteeism rate — supposedly ranges anywhere from 13 to 73% days absent. Can you talk about what has been done to improve that?

(01:17:06)

Yes, I can talk about that. That report covered the period of COVID. It was a period of five years, and mostly that predated the Adams administration. That is what it was looking at. The current attendance rate, according to our partners in both sites, is about 72 to 74%, which is close to the attendance rate in the community. Can you talk about the number of days the child spends in a detention center on average before they get to leave? In one minute.

(01:17:55)

The average length of stay in secure detention for 2025 was about 97.4 days. What about the graduation rates at these schools? So graduation rates are difficult — the school program is a program, it is not a school, because young people do not start on the first day of school. They come whenever the court mandates them into our facility. We have graduated about 150 young people over the last three and a half years, and two years ago we signed an MOU with CUNY. We have young people who have either graduated with a diploma or have achieved their GED and are engaged in college in both facilities through HOSTOS. Okay, thank you. Thank you.

(01:18:55)

Thank you. Okay, I have been reminded we have got to try to stick to time as best as possible, but we are going to do around two questions as well. CM Shellman, followed by CM Joseph.

(01:19:07)

Thank you. Good morning, Commissioner, and welcome to New York. I have to say your background is quite impressive and we are lucky to have you as the Commissioner. Since 1999, the number of children removed from families by ACS has dropped more than 80%, thanks to preventive services programs such as the one in my district at Forestdale, a 135-year-old organization that is the largest and most effective social services agency in the Borough of Queens. The families helped there are now at risk because of these proposed cuts.

I want to ask you — well, first of all, I know that a lot of your background is in preventive services and you have made some great achievements in many states and in the federal government. So with that, I want to know two things. One is the cuts that are being made to preventive services also have a match — you are losing a state match that

(01:19:56)

you are losing as part of that. That is number one. Number two is that it represents a very small piece of the budget, so I am wondering if there are other areas that can be cut instead. The next question after that is: Forestdale is getting the biggest cut. It looks like they are going to have to lay off some employees, and I have visited personally with the families there because I give them a lot of money from my budget and they have thanked me for keeping — you know, it is important to keep the families together and keep the children safe, which is your mantra. So is there a way that we can do these cuts differently?

(01:20:37)

Thank you for the question. Thank you for the welcome. It is a pleasure to be here and an honor to serve. I will just say yes, preventive services are absolutely and will continue to be a priority, and you have heard in testimony today around some of the process considerations that went into the decision making. I understand, and I have not had a chance to visit any of the providers yet, but I look forward to getting out and meeting with the providers, their teams, community members and the families that are being served. For the specific question around match, I am going to turn to Deputy Commissioner Platnik, and then if there are more questions about process for decision making, I am happy to pull in Deputy Commissioner Linares as well.

(01:21:31)

Sure, thank you. So the cuts are actually pretty even across all four contracts. It is 1.76, 1.75, 1.75 and 1.81, so it is approximately the same at all providers. The reimbursement is 62% that we receive from the Administration for Children's Services state funding.

(01:21:53)

Yeah, and I am asking because the total amount of the cut for the preventive services is a small piece of the budget. So were there any other areas that, since it is so important to have preventive services and we have seen the outcomes from preventive services — that is number one — and number two is that if you cut, and then you have to do remediation on the other end, that is even more expensive. So that is what I am asking here: if there is a way to do it differently. I know the administration has made a decision, I get that. You know, the Mayor ran on working with vulnerable families and also those who value the family unit, and so I think it is just important to really push and ask that question.

(01:22:46)

Yes, and I understand your concern. We did look across the entire agency, looked to maximize revenues, looked to find areas of underspending and really kept our focus on the least impact to children, youth and families. We want to note that there are over a thousand vacant slots in this program. When the contract gets paid depends on a whole bunch of things — Commissioner, you are a social worker, you know what is involved sometimes with families and everything else. So I get that. But I am imploring that the speed at which this is looked at again... I do not want to take up too much more time because I know that my time is up. So thank you. Thank you for the question. Thank you.

(01:23:35)

Thank you. And as a fellow social worker who ran a nonprofit, I totally just want to reiterate what your colleague was saying about how prevention is so key — it actually saves the City money in the long run. So I think it is smart to actually invest in more and more preventive services. I also just wanted to reiterate that it really does impact the planning — and I see this with almost past trauma in my voice — but it affects the planning of organizations, staffing, budgets, all of that. So we will definitely be continuing this conversation. I know there are going to be more questions about it, but I just want to reiterate that point. We have CM Joseph, followed by CM Epstein.

(01:24:18)

Thank you, both Chairs, and I would love to associate my comments with yours as well. Welcome, Commissioner. How are you? The Every Child and Family is Known initiative, a collaborative between ACS and which received additional funding in the same budget to expand its work with students living in shelters and other families facing crisis, relies on the New Visions portal to track and respond to families' needs. This school year, over 50,000 check-ins have been logged by caring adults in that portal. Please walk me through: how does the City plan on expanding the Every Child and Family is Known initiative while simultaneously cutting the platform it depends on to do the work? Can you share, if these cuts are sustained, how will it impact your work to support our youth who need this initiative the most?

(01:25:03)

Thank you for the question and thank you for the welcome. I am going to turn it over to Deputy Commissioner Mendez to be able to answer some of the specifics that you asked, but just again reiterating — our role when we are working with children and families is to ensure that they have their needs met and that we are finding ways to resource their needs based on what they need, and not just what we have. I look forward to continuing to have conversations. Absolutely, our numbers are tremendous — New York City public school students in temporary housing, it is over 155,000 students. 155,000 students. So, and you

(01:25:39)

know, I know that work. Good morning, CM Joseph. I am happy to report that ACS is working very closely with New York City Public Schools, the foster care office. As you know, we have a close collaboration with them and New Visions to explore how to introduce access to that portal to foster care agencies. As you can imagine, there are a lot of things we have to do on the back end. We have to formalize it, then we have to look at — I am not the computer person, but I think it is called the cloud service agreement. So we are going through some of those bureaucratic things, but we are also starting to talk to the foster care providers. So we are thinking about doing this as a pilot first, and we are talking to the foster care providers about what this should look like, what makes sense, and all of those things while we are doing the

(01:26:30)

back-end pieces. So we are hoping that that will continue to move forward so that in the next school year this can move forward. So the timeline is for this coming school year? You will spend the summer training and transitioning this platform — is that what it is looking like?

(01:26:44)

On the timeline, I think — and I can get back to you with actual specific milestones — as I mentioned, we have to create this MOU. There is back and forth, and I think CM Lee talked about that, because there will be some back and forth until you get it right. Until we get it right. The cloud service agreement — I know New York City Public Schools is currently using New Visions, so that should not be a problem. They should pass all those cybersecurity tests, but I do not want to get ahead of myself. I do know we are trying to launch in the next school year, so I would like to keep you updated as we get around to it.

(01:27:22)

Okay, well, I have more questions and I will just commit that we can follow up as it is evolving with you directly.

(01:27:29)

Okay, great. CM Epstein, followed by CM Restler. Is he here? Someone — okay, we can go get him if you want.

(01:27:37)

Commissioner, welcome. Thank you. Just to disclose, I was a foster care worker back in the day, so I appreciate your commitment to this issue. I do want to focus on prevention. You know, as someone who worked in foster care, we are hearing a lot about the vacant slots in prevention, but I want to talk about maybe the need to do additional outreach to prevent

(01:28:03)

that from happening. Maybe there are slots that are vacant — maybe that is related to the agency not doing a good enough job doing outreach in communities to get people into those services. I am wondering, obviously you are new to this role, what commitment you are going to make to ensure that there is outreach into our communities to make sure people know about those preventive services so they can get into those slots. Great, thank you

(01:28:26)

for the question and the welcome.

(01:28:27)

Yeah, as I am getting my feet underneath me and learning all the acronyms, one of the things I am committed to is looking at all of the programs and processes that we have and really finding ways that we can continue to improve outreach and how people know about what is available. Our relationships with providers and community are really, really critical to

(01:28:54)

that. Yeah, I would encourage you to do that and to work with us to ensure that happens, because I do worry that when you reduce prevention slots, we will — you know, obviously we have heard a lot about the negative impact that will have on families, and you know, beyond that, the human cost to the City, the human cost to those families who are not getting the support that they need, and the bad things that happen to their families.

(01:29:18)

Absolutely, and I look forward to working with sister agencies as well, collectively thinking about how we are serving kids and families as a whole.

(01:29:26)

Yeah, I want to flag the Children's Center for you because it is something — before I came to this lovely body I was an Assembly Member for eight years and dealt with lots of issues there and with programming and services available to young people. Some people are cycling in and out in a day, but some people are there for months on end. I am wondering what the plan is to ensure that the young people who are there are getting the support that they need while they are at the

(01:29:56)

Children's Center. I am learning, and one of the things I know is — I agree with you. We absolutely, if children are in our care, have a responsibility to make sure that we are meeting their needs. I am working with First Deputy Commissioner Saunders to understand what is happening at the Children's Center, where our needs are and where there is opportunity for improvement. Ultimately, I would love for there to be less and less need and utilization of the Children's Center, and that we have the ability to both keep children at home with their families and meet their needs, utilize kinship placements, identify family home placements outside of having to use the Children's Center. But the quality of care is critical as well. I am going to turn it over to Deputy Commissioner Mendez to see if she has anything else.

(01:30:54)

Sure. Just to piggyback on your question regarding services — I will not go into detail, we can definitely share — but there are a lot of robust services. Mental health and wellness services: KDKA provides mental health support, Children's Village is working with us on our youth that may be trafficked, we have different organizations providing mentorship programs, we have an eight-staff mental health team that is based in the Children's Center. So there is a lot of programming that Commissioner Jones and First Deputy Commissioner Saunders introduced. I am happy to report today there are 39 young people at the Children's Center, and we have brought down considerably the length of time children stay there. There are some, yes, that stay longer — our teens — but we are working, whether with our providers and also working with their families, to see if they can safely be returned home. So we have made a lot of strides. I could go on, but...

(01:31:49)

Yeah, I am happy to talk offline about that more. Good. It is something that we have seen as an ongoing concern. Yes, and

(01:31:54)

we work very closely with the community district in that area on a regular basis, so I think those partnerships and the commitment — what we do not want is children staying at the Children's Center any longer than they need to. While they are there, we want them to be supported and have their needs met. I just wanted to add that First Deputy Commissioner Saunders really wanted to be here today and unfortunately had a medical appointment she could not change. So I just wanted to put that on the record because I know she really would have wanted to share updated information about the Children's Center with you. As you know, we have both been longstanding members of the Children's Center Community Advisory Board, and I would be happy to set up a time for the four of us to meet so we can update you more fully. Sorry, four of us. Thank you.

(01:32:41)

Great, thank you so much. We have been joined also by CM Brewer, and we will go on to CM Restler, followed by Gutiérrez. Great.

(01:32:52)

Thank you. Congratulations, Commissioner. It is good to see you this morning. I will just note, building on CM Epstein for a second — the Children's Center in Brooklyn is moving. We have received no communication about that. So I would appreciate a briefing on what is planned and where that is going. It is in our district, it is an important location, and we really want to make sure that that is handled thoughtfully. With that I am going to switch

(01:33:15)

to the topic that your team knows I am going to ask about, which is vouchers. Building on CM Rose, just to affirm — there are 25,000 children currently on the voucher waiting list. So first of all, absolutely, commitment to follow up related to the question that you have, and then I will turn it over. Yes, based on the report from last Friday, 25,600 children desperately need child care who do not have it today, and with no plans right now to provide any funding to the families on the wait list. I want to be clear: I obviously share your concern and want to get care to as many families as possible. However, there are families on the wait list that are actively engaged in care, especially with New York City Public Schools. We keep those children on the wait list because if and when we are able to offer them a voucher, we want them to have the choice of type of

(01:34:07)

care. So you mentioned earlier that your team and others across the administration are doing outreach to folks on the wait list to connect them to seats. Can you quantify how many families have been successfully connected from the wait list to other child care options?

(01:34:23)

No, we do not have a way to quantify that, but I can say that there are about 6,000 children that are enrolled in CCBG-funded seats in New York City public schools. There may be children in other New York City public school seats, meaning funded by other funding streams, and we do not currently have the ability to do a data match with the OECD. Without a data match, we know that there are tens of thousands of children who are in desperate need of support. And while we know this is a major commitment for the Governor, local government and Mayor Mamdani, these families are left...

(01:34:54)

These families are left in the lurch. So just to understand, it certainly seems that with the historic investment in the state budget, there are resources available for this fiscal year to pay for additional vouchers without concern about future years. Can you confirm that is accurate? As you now know, the budget is either being signed or potentially signed. Well, we are shocked your funding was determined five months ago. We all know what those numbers are and we have known them for five months. The Mayor and the Governor did an announcement on like the fifth day in, and the numbers have not moved. So just to affirm a simple question: for this fiscal year

(01:35:29)

coming up after FY27, do we have funding for additional vouchers? Not for future years. I understand there is a major liability there.

(01:35:37)

Well, I do want to say that I have not seen it — I have not had a chance to look at the final bill, so I will take your word for it. But the language is complex and we do need to look at that, and we would be remiss if we did not, to ensure that it is exactly the same as the executive budget. However, we are always looking at where we are on spending and enrollments across the three agencies that use this funding, as you know, in New York City public schools. Now that the budget is final, we will need to look at and analyze how and when we will be able to move the wait list. I cannot confirm today what that time window looks like.

(01:36:07)

Where I am going with this... and Chair — Chairs, who I adore, who I did not say anything nice about at the beginning of my comments, I apologize. I do adore them, that is very, very sincere. You say that to all the chairs, but I really mean it today.

So just to ask: I understand that we have an enormous responsibility. We significantly increased enrollment for these non-mandated low-income childcare vouchers during COVID with an expectation of federal funds lasting forever, and we are not there. We have been successful for two years in a row with tremendous advocacy in Albany to maintain that every family who has a voucher is able to keep it. That is an enormous achievement. You guys deserve credit. Everybody involved deserves credit. God bless. But we do have a 25,000-person waiting list.

The suggestion I want to make to you on the record here is that we do SCF factors again. This was the model we crafted during the de Blasio administration. It can be funded for a single year. We do not make an in-perpetuity commitment that this child is going to have a voucher until they are 13 and age out, but that we add childcare capacity for this coming fiscal year with the resources we know we have today. I think that is the approach to help more families connect to care now. If we can get more money from Albany in the future, then let us enroll people in vouchers in the future, but let us do more today.

Last question — if you want to respond to that, you are welcome to add anything.

(01:37:32)

We know your recommendation. Thank you. I appreciate it.

(01:37:37)

Last thing: I am deeply disturbed by one policy that did not make it into the state budget, which has to do with OCFS's policy around hours that parents work and access to childcare vouchers. Basically, the policy only allows for a child to have a voucher during the precise hours that a parent is working. So if a parent works nights, then they do not get a daytime childcare voucher. If a parent works Mondays and Tuesdays, the kid can only go into the childcare center Mondays and Tuesdays.

If this policy is going to be imposed on the City, it would be profoundly disruptive. It would lead to child... because how can a childcare center that has a hundred kids have a different policy of what hours every one of those hundred kids is coming in? You cannot hire teachers that way. We will see enormous, enormous disruption to our childcare system.

I am hopeful that the Governor is able to guide her agency to do the right thing and that this policy is no longer pursued. This would be a disastrous policy for New York City childcare. Do you have any updates on your conversations on this, and do they recognize how harmful and disruptive this policy would be?

(01:38:59)

And first I will say, for the good of all, that the agency has been advocating. Yes. No, no, no, I am not criticizing you. I just want... you guys have been great. I will say that on the record. The agency and the position of this administration is that we agree that this would be bad for providers, bad for families, bad for child development. We have been advocating at OCFS and having conversations. The administration has been speaking with Albany about this. I do not have any updates, but we are holding on to the same hope that you are, that there is a pathway so that we can ensure that families who are juggling more than just their work schedule, as we know, have the opportunity to have this.

Today I think there are four or five working days left in session. Whether we pass the heavy... the Bruce Board Bill again, which is one way to fix this, or see if OCFS changes its regulations, which is another way to fix this, we just need it fixed because of the families in New York City. I am sorry, I am done. Thank you. Bye.

(01:39:54)

CM... followed by Council Majority... we do not know if he is here. We will move on if not.

(01:40:00)

Thank you, Chairs. Good to see everyone. Welcome, Commissioner. I want to just uplift the remarks of my colleague CM Schulman about the preventative services. I understand the role of the Chief Savings Officer. Obviously I think we are all in agreement — we want to be able to fund programs that we have many forms of evidence for and fund effective programs.

I do want to say that families in my district... I know the folks from CAMBA and Forest Hills are here and they will be testifying, but I really think that putting something out or making a proposal that severely cuts this program without much of a safety net, without an explanation of what is going to happen to those jobs, without explaining what is going to happen to those families impacted, is deeply, deeply concerning. And you heard about just the very simple math of the cost — the eventual cost savings to the City when we do invest in preventative care.

So I just want to uplift that. And of course I am also asking some questions about the childcare vouchers. It is a hot topic, mainly because obviously we care deeply about early childcare, as I think this administration does. But we have families that are saying: what about me? When the Mayor is talking about childcare, he is not talking about me. He is not talking about the voucher that I am desperately waiting on. So I just have some data questions if you can answer them specifically, and I will save them for round two if I need to. But can you share what percentage — as I understand it, every family was able to recertify...

(01:41:36)

Within this fiscal year, the vast majority of families have the opportunity to recertify, provided they submit a recertification application that is timely and complete. There is a small percentage — and not to minimize how important childcare is to this population — but there are about 6 to 7% of families that we serve that are not able to continue with their voucher. Because when we have limited funding, we are required by federal rules to serve three populations first: families that are unhoused, families with a child with special needs and families that are very low income, which is under 300% of the state income standard. So that is about 6 to 7% of those folks unable to maintain their voucher.

(01:42:16)

Okay. Do you have a sense of — of those that were able to recertify — how many of them potentially have siblings, younger siblings, that were not able to qualify? Because I think that puts parents in basically back to square one, where they have one child who is utilizing a voucher but they technically cannot go back to work because they have a younger child. Do you have a

(01:42:39)

sense of that? I do not have a sense of the magnitude. We know it is an issue. We do have families reaching out to us telling us that they are trying to add a child to their case and that child might be on the wait list while the family is still eligible and being served for other children. We can look into whether or not those analytics are possible and get back to you. Got it. Just so

(01:42:56)

you know, a few of my colleagues and myself jointly sent a letter to some of our folks at the state, knowing full well that the budget would not have been passed by April 1. Obviously we do not have anything. I think what you have shared today is just... nothing. So, my last question, and I will stand up for a round two: are there any specific circumstances outside of this miraculously appearing in the state budget that would allow us to begin offering vouchers to eligible families?

(01:43:28)

Well, I want to be clear that we will be looking at what is in the state budget, which is a substantial increase in funding that is allowing us at baseline to continue to serve those that have to recertify, which is not nothing. I just said nothing, and we will be looking at where enrollment stands across all three agencies and spending to assess if there is a time in the next months that we will be able to begin moving the wait list. But we do not know that yet, because we need to assess what is in the budget, what attrition in our system looks like, and what spending across ACS, HRA and New York City public schools looks like. Things like that. Thank you.

(01:44:05)

Okay. Deputy Speaker Williams, followed by... okay, come on in. I am just going to ask a few questions. I am asking all the agencies these questions. I am super excited to have the preliminary plans and want to make sure that as we talk about the budget, we have a lens of racial

(01:44:35)

equity. So what have been determined as the short and mid-term goals to achieve in relation to the equity plan?

(01:44:48)

Good — I was going to say good afternoon, but good morning. Deputy Speaker, it feels like afternoon already. I know I said this for another question, but I just must state for the record that First Deputy Commissioner Saunders, who is leading this work for us, wanted to be here to answer this question but is not, so I am here answering it for her. She unfortunately could not make it today for a medical reason. We are glad you are here. It is okay.

So on the short-term goals, we have: launching school-based early support and prevention, and increasing community referrals to prevention. Those are the short-term goals. Do you want me to do the mid-term? Yeah, let us do it.

Mid-term is: continuing to invest in training staff and providers to provide quality services; fostering a psychologically safe work environment that embraces equity and transparency; investing in the development of community spaces that contribute to healthy child development and family strength; continuing to decrease unnecessary child welfare reports by promoting a citywide culture shift among mandated reporters so that they are not calling the hotline when there is a child who does not have a safety concern; and strengthening restorative approaches to addressing conflict in community justice settings. Do you want me to do the long-term? No, the short and

(01:46:13)

mid-term is okay. Can you share the full plan with me? I think it is public. Yes. What, if any, budgetary actions need to be taken to help achieve these

(01:46:26)

goals? Well, before Deputy Commissioner Kendall jumps in, I just want to also chime in here. First of all, I am super delighted that the agency has a racial equity plan. I am looking forward to digging into it and adding some of my perspective and experience to be able to deepen the work that we are doing with the identified goals and focus areas, but also to look for other opportunities where we can really focus on decreasing the disproportionality and disparity that is experienced across our communities, particularly in the services that we provide.

(01:47:13)

And I will just answer your question: I believe that both the short-term and medium-term goals are all able to be accomplished within our current budget framework, but I will verify that with the First Deputy Commissioner.

(01:47:28)

Okay. The City's preliminary racial equity plan states that it plans to support young people in preventing contact with the juvenile justice system by expanding community-based programs that serve youth before they come to the attention of family court. How does the agency plan to identify youth who may be at risk of system involvement, and what specific community-based programs or interventions does the agency plan to expand or invest in, and what resources are included, if any, in the executive plan to support this work?

(01:48:00)

I am going to turn it over to Deputy Commissioner Ginsburg to talk a bit about ACES and Girls Just Us and maybe other items.

(01:48:09)

Good morning. Nice to see you. Thank you for your question. As you are aware, we engaged in a large expansion of both ACES through the ACES program and Girls Just Us in the last year. In the upcoming year, in FY26, that budget includes additional young women who will be served via this expansion. It is a program that started in Brooklyn and is going to be expanded to Queens and the Bronx in FY27. There is also $0.8 million in that budget for ACES, which is a program — it is the only ACES program that exists in the City. It is an extremely important program for heavily street-involved young people. It is one of the only of its kind in the City. We have expanded that program so that 400 more young people will be able to take part in that in FY27.

(01:49:34)

Before we move on, CM Lee, can we correct something for the record from your earlier question? Sure. Yeah, I apologize — when you asked me about the revenue impact, I rushed and misstated. The actual revenue impact is... I had accidentally said 28.9 in my haste, so I apologize. Great.

(01:49:55)

Thank you so much. Okay, CM Mealy, followed by CM...

(01:50:02)

Yes. Congratulations. Thank you. Cheers for this great hearing. I want to concur with my colleague Adrienne in regards to juvenile justice. You said most of this funding will support administrative and operational costs, including supplies, maintenance and repairs that are not capitally eligible, at the Crossroads Detention Center in Brooklyn. A portion of these funds — a half a million, which is baseline — in FY27 will support three additional beds in non-secure detention facilities. I am glad to hear that the half a million is going here, because I have to say, I put funding in with... to clean all around that detention center.

(01:50:56)

I think you have to look into that to see when they are going to be moving the cars and make sure the area is neat. I am making sure that area is clean. I was just there last year. In regards to the last administration, we put in — I was going to put in about $5 million this year and the last administration had some from... I am hearing you are only doing three beds in a non-secure facility. We

(01:51:27)

had the contractors there. One of the courts was being taken because they have released about three courts in it, and we said we could take one of the courts to make sure that our young men are not sleeping on the floor. I went myself and walked through — numerous young people are sleeping on the floor. And now to hear the job is putting money in, a million dollars, to put in some of the classrooms — 30, 22, 40 classrooms. Is this not kind of a mix-up?

(01:52:05)

Yeah, I think we can explain some of it, and then I will turn it over to Deputy Commissioner Ginsburg. So the plan you are talking about... first I want to state: no child, no young person is sleeping on the floor. I was there myself. Some young people have temporary beds, but nobody is sleeping... I have seen chairs — they put their chairs together to sleep in? No, no, no, no,

(01:52:28)

they

(01:52:28)

are giving you a very... we should do a walk-through. Really. So happy to do that.

(01:52:33)

Sure. Sometimes it is that major capacity issue and that is why that

(01:52:36)

they do not have enough.

(01:52:38)

Correct. So that is why we were putting more money in to

(01:52:40)

make sure that no one is... and I have to say, Crossroads sometimes has more employees than young people in there, so it fluctuates. But recently it has been almost 19. So we are building a temporary structure at Crossroads. No, no. So the two... what are the extra beds? It is different. So last year's budget included capital funding — or rather expense funding, Margaret, correct me — to do a somewhat temporary facility at Crossroads to address capacity. This year's budget includes funding unrelated to Crossroads and unrelated to secure detention, to take a non-secure detention facility and make it slightly larger to serve more children for close-to-home placement. So that is separate from Crossroads — from 629 beds — but nothing to do with Crossroads.

(01:53:41)

...do you want to talk more? I would like to build an additional 28 beds there. That will be two halls. Each hall will have education and programming space. We are also planning for additional classroom space to accommodate the increased population. Okay, 28 beds, sounds more like it. Yes. Okay.

(01:54:11)

We are there with you and we appreciated your visit and you are welcome to come back anytime. Please think about the maintenance around the facility. It is an eyesore on the community because they never move the cars. 73 Precinct is right across the street. Yeah, they do not move their cars, so I have to put funds in just to make sure that the community looks nice.

(01:54:35)

We appreciate your partnership on that. We are struggling with the fact that we are a 24/7 operation and staff needs someplace to park their cars, but sometimes we have got to take up one side of the month and just ask everyone to move it to the

(01:54:54)

next side of the block. You know, I am happy about your street because I see the City mob coming in, so we do not have to worry. Thank you very much.

(01:55:00)

Thank you. Okay, Council Member Brewer. Thank you. I have a question about Rikers. I go to Rikers a lot and I have been a foster parent and now I have migrant kids in my house, so I am familiar with the crew. My question is, coming out of Rikers or coming out from upstate, women in particular, are you in touch with the Department of Correction? Because we all know that maybe the kids are in foster care and they really want to go back with their parents. They cannot go back until they have a place to live, blah blah blah. I worry about that population because that population, I know, you get mental health issues when your parents are incarcerated.

Do you have that kind of connection at all? Is that something that you are focused on, either with Fortune Society, Correction or anybody else? I just want to make sure we are clear. Are you asking about children in foster care whose parents are incarcerated? Correct. And I am also concerned — it is not a big population, I do not know, four or 500 at Rikers. But it is a population where young people can be damaged mentally if they do not get support. That is important to us now.

(01:56:11)

So thank you for your question. We have a team called CHIP, Children of Incarcerated Parents, and we work very closely with the foster care providers to ensure that while children are in care and their parents are incarcerated throughout the state or even in the country, we facilitate visits. That team also works closely with agencies because case planning should continue. When parents are released and they are moving back into the area, if the goal remains reunification, there is an expectation that the agencies are supporting those families to assess and make a decision about safe and timely reunification. To your question about a formal agreement or partnership, we do not have that right now, but we can definitely take that on and I would like to take a look at that.

(01:56:57)

Obviously the new Commissioner is phenomenal. I have known him for 40 years and the fact of the matter is, I think he would be interested in this. We are trying to reduce the population. Look, this would be one way to do it. I do not know if there is funding allocated to it. I do not know what the numbers are. What I would love to see is some data as to how many women could be reunited, so that the families are in better shape, the women are in better shape and they get support. Is that something that you could get back to us on? Yes. Okay. I get in trouble when I say I will take a look into that. Yes, I think so. It is a really important population and they are going to end up in recidivism if that issue is not addressed, in my opinion.

(01:57:41)

I will remove the getting in trouble and say yes, we will absolutely follow up and look forward to meeting the Commissioner. Thank you.

(01:57:49)

The second issue quickly is around Fair Futures. It is a wonderful program and the fact that True Colors and others are trying to deal with young people coming out of foster care becoming adults, et cetera. So what are the numbers on that? In other words, because we do not want people to end up in shelters, we want people to have a life after foster care. True Colors helps, others help. I just want to know what the numbers are and what it says here in this question, that there is money allocated toward coming out of foster care, et cetera. So what are the numbers and how are we doing on that?

(01:58:22)

Agreed. Absolutely. So for calendar year 2024, we had 420 young people with non-permanency discharges. That number is down in calendar year 2025 to 383. We work very closely with the foster care providers who do a wonderful job engaging young people and preparing them for transition, so there are independent living skills that are provided prior. We have our Fair Futures program. We work very closely to understand and assess the child's needs post foster care. Will they need supportive housing? We work with our supportive housing partners to make sure that if they need supportive housing, they can go there. We work closely with ANTOS and we have City FHEPS vouchers so young people get City FHEPS vouchers.

Keep going. ANTOS does aftercare, so they help with the stabilization after, because we know that once you just get your keys, there is more to it. Fair Futures, I think you know, is available up to age 26 for those that decide to leave care prior to turning 21. We have a team called Supervision to 21 that does their best to track these young people, providing them supports and connecting them to services. If need be, we will hold a conference to see if they need to come back. So I say all that to say we do try as much as possible to have a net around these individuals to support them. The organization that you mentioned — we will make sure that our providers are aware to connect the young people to that organization and also the Center for Fair Futures as they are working with the coaching. I guess my question would be, not right now, but is there extra funding, are there extra resources, despite all the amazing work that you, Fair Futures, Laura and everybody else is doing? That would be my question.

(02:00:18)

You always need more money, but in this case this is a real, again, a really important issue. I would put that back and look into it. This population faces recidivism if you do not address it now. And we really, that is why the partnership with ANTOS is so critical, because they provide the year of stabilization. So we are very aware of that. Very well.

(02:00:40)

380 — what is that number? I am sorry. We know that is the number of youth non-permanency discharges. If I am correct, those are young

(02:00:48)

people that left care not through adoption or reunification — those are the ones who need help. Okay. Thank you very much.

(02:00:55)

Thank you, CM Brewer. I am going to do a lightning round just because I know that there are a couple of folks who still want to ask a few questions.

(02:01:02)

I guess my first question is just around the preventative service contracts. Have we

(02:01:09)

notified those that are being cut? Have we notified those providers in writing and have they received the date of when those contracts will be ending? If not, when will that be going out? So I can be corrected, but we have not notified in writing yet. I did have an opportunity to meet with each of the organizations' leadership yesterday and we are waiting for final approval on the budget and then we will move forward with written communication and then the timeline of the 90 days as stated earlier.

(02:01:47)

I think the plan includes a budget of around $385 million for protective services areas. How many vacancies are there currently in this program? I am going to ask a couple of questions. Were any vacancies in this program area limited as part of the Mayor's savings? If so, how many and why? I am going to turn that over to

(02:02:08)

Deputy Commissioner Lynn. Again, so we have the contract capacity for the primary support model, which is 4,512. I know that is about 44% of our total capacity, which is 10,637. We had a total of 3,347 families that were participating in the services. So we have over a thousand contractor slots of capacity to serve families. The family support programs do not account for the other programs that we have available in the boroughs. We do not anticipate any of the families will be waitlisted. There are different reasons why there are some vacancies, so we have taken steps to increase utilization. We have worked closely to make sure that we are in the community. We do things like a Family Day and invite prevention providers to the table so that they can connect with families in an effort to make sure that their utilization is increased. I think we have seen an increase in our community referrals where we have gone up from last year at the same time by about 20%.

You also asked about child protective services. Sorry, I misunderstood. Okay, so the plan does not have any new savings there. We currently have 191 vacancies in the Division of Child Protection. The actual Child Protective Specialist budget position is 1,855 and there are 188 that are vacant.

(02:04:11)

What is the civil service timeline for frontline staff such as Child Protective Specialists? Does ACS perform its own background checks on candidates? If so, how long does it take and if not, how do those background checks take place?

(02:04:23)

There is a background check practice and policy. It varies by position what is required and so it would vary how long it takes. Do you have an average? About six weeks. Six weeks. Thank you, that is helpful.

(02:04:39)

How does the onboarding typically take place for training a Child Protective Specialist and what is the percentage of candidates who are provided job offers that actually complete the hiring process and onboarding? What difficulties has ACS faced in hiring those workers and what are those issues?

(02:04:58)

So we have a very extensive training program for new staff. They spend several months at the Satellite Academy and that also includes a simulation site where part of the job is practicing what it is like to go to court and what it is like to go to a home. Then they go into a training unit in their offices with cases, and then they go back to training at the Academy because they have a better sense of what the job is like when they have done a few cases and they come back to the Academy. So it takes several months and I think about 75% of recruits complete it. Closer to 70%. Those are all the

(02:05:47)

questions I have now. I still have a number of questions and we will send them to you in writing because I know we are kind of pressed for time. I just want to remind our colleagues and you all to try to be as concise as possible because there are others in the other room waiting. Please. Thank you. Okay, round two. We have got CM Joseph followed by CM Coleman.

(02:06:06)

Thank you, Chairs. I just wanted to ask a quick question. How many young people do we have at Crossroads and how many at Horizon? 181 at Horizon, 186 at Crossroads. What is the capacity they were built for? 245. All right, so we are over capacity. Okay, we are going to hold that right there. The City has a unique obligation for students in foster care who are under the City's care and custody. We must do more to support their education, including ensuring that they get to school in the first place. Has ACS worked with New York City Public Schools to identify and implement a solution that allows students to get to school as soon as they are placed in foster care or change foster care homes, utilizing vehicles?

(02:07:01)

So yes, in October and November of 2022, we worked with New York City Public Schools, the Foster Care Office and the Transportation Office and we released a reimbursement and guidelines around transportation. We outlined that as soon as children come into care, the school should be notified and then providers will be reimbursed. At the time it was up to $200 a day if they had to cover the transportation, because the providers or the foster parents would cover it. We have had that plan in place. We made some revisions, I believe last school year, and then New York City Public Schools, after some additional conversations and hearing from the community, increased the $200 a day. That is a new and positive development. We are revising the transition plan and have also extended who could apply, so children that are going to school in the City or out of the City, and then those that live out of the City that need to come into the City. They will also reimburse providers if they use other types of car services, which was not part of the original plan. So we are in the process of revising the current policy and hopefully we will have that online for the start of the next school year.

(02:08:16)

For children at the Children's Center, when you think about it, they are in custody, so we are now responsible for getting them to school. All of the children are in our custody but

(02:08:27)

they are in our house, if you will. So we are responsible. We have an added interest to make sure they go to school. We use our transportation and our Deputy Commissioner of Administration coordinates with the Children's Center team to make sure those cars are available and they have a plan to get the children to school. The ones that are in an agency service this fall will have a plan to make sure they get to and from school because they have the highest absenteeism rate entering into care. We are hoping that with this revised policy, since they are going to get reimbursed for more money per day and will be able to use other services like KidsCar, that should increase their attendance and address the challenges that they have experienced. Okay, thank you.

(02:09:23)

Okay, CM Schulman followed by CM... thank

(02:09:26)

you. I have two questions. One, are there currently any tools and data sharing agreements in place that make it easier for public school staff to understand student needs and support matching with prevention services? I think you are best for that question. So, as you may know, because of social service laws, we will need consent forms to get information about the education of the children. So we do not have a data agreement where we can exchange our data in aggregate.

(02:09:57)

However, if a provider is in need of specific information about a specific child, as long as they have a consent form, we are able to work with them and get them the information that they need. But unfortunately, because of social service laws, we need consent. There have been some conversations in terms of trying to figure out how to do that, but we will continue this conversation and try to figure out how to do it in a way that obviously keeps the confidentiality of the family safe. Great. Keep us informed. The other question is that should these cuts go through for the preventive services, I would like a briefing on how that is going to affect particularly the agency in my district. Yes, that is a yes. Okay. Thank you very much.

(02:11:01)

Okay, Deputy Speaker. Yes, I am back. So back to the racial equity plans. Fair Futures provides justice-involved youth with coaches, housing specialists and educational services. Given the reduction in funding in fiscal years 2026 through 2028 for Fair Futures that was included as savings in the executive plan, will any slots that were pledged in the racial equity plan be eliminated due to this reduction in funding? How many additional youth does ACS hope to serve if it does expand the program? When can we expect to see this expansion and how will it be funded?

(02:11:48)

We are continuing to expand Fair Futures and it is both on the juvenile justice side and on the child welfare side. The budget action slows the growth, but by fiscal year 2029 we will achieve the same number of 50,400, which was the goal. When we get to fiscal year 2029, if we feel that is sufficient, obviously we could have conversations about where to go from there. Okay, great.

(02:12:19)

And back to CM... thank you. Real quick, two more questions. Over the past five years, how many youth have enrolled in college? So I

(02:12:35)

do not have the past five years. I can give you, in calendar year 2024, we had 420 non-permanency discharges. Those are youth leaving foster care. In calendar year 2025 we had 383. So I have to get the other information and then also crosswalk that with our College Choice data. We do know that when College Choice launched in 2022 we had 200 young people and I believe in the spring semester of 2026 we had 471. I think that is the College Choice data, but I will have to crosswalk the

(02:13:17)

For foster youth with foster care experience who did not complete college, what academic career reengagement supports are available for them to re-enroll or transition into employment pathways? So for young people that are in college specifically, we work very closely with New York Family. They do our college support services program and they provide, in addition to supporting around the financial issues, the wraparound academic advisement. So for those that are going to be struggling, let us say they are on probation, they are providing additional support. If they do have to leave school, they still, if they are in care, still have their kids planning team. They will have their Fair Futures coach and then we have our other supports. So we do really work to reengage. There have been young people that have been in the college choice program, discontinued, and now are looking at our career choice program, which launched this fiscal year. So maybe they are going to take a different path.

(02:14:14)

Thank you. Thank you. Okay, great. Chair, do you have any more? Okay. I think we are good. So thank you so much for joining us. We are just going to take a quick break.

(02:14:26)

Okay, we are back. Just a reminder to everyone: please do not approach the dais at any point. No food or beverages in the room. Please quiet down. Please find your seats. We are getting ready to begin. Please find your seats. Just a reminder: no one is to approach the dais at any time and no food or beverages are allowed in this room. Okay, are you guys ready? Okay.

(02:24:51)

I think we can go ahead and get started. So good afternoon and welcome to today's second hearing on the Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget, and CM Linda Lee. Today we will hear from the Department of Youth and Community Development. I am pleased to be joined again by my colleague, CM and Chair Althea Stevens. We have also been joined by the Deputy Speaker, CM Maloney, CM Epstein, CM Wong and CM Felder. Welcome, Commissioner, and your team, and thank you so much for joining us today to answer our questions.

I just want to note it is really cool that three of us all have former nonprofit experience, and I think there need to be more of us in government spaces, so I will just say that. So on May 12, 2026, the administration released the Executive Financial Plan for FY26 through FY30, with a proposed Fiscal Year 27 budget. The Department of Youth and Community Development's proposed FY27 budget represents 1.3% of the administration's proposed Fiscal Year 27 budget in the Executive Plan. This is a decrease of less than 1% from what was originally budgeted in the Preliminary Plan. This decrease results from several actions, including savings the agency found through elimination of certain consulting contracts, vacancy reduction, COLA adjustments, underspending in community resources for employment, and other programs. This was slightly offset by the addition of funding to expand services for the Crisis Management System program and supporting wraparound services.

As of April 2026, the actual headcount of 626 is 71 less than their Fiscal Year 26 budgeted count of 697. In the Council's Preliminary Budget response, we called on the Mayor to add $14.2 million to the budget to invest in expense funding for programs related to runaway homeless youth, peer navigators and runaway homeless youth housing navigators. Although these requests were not included in the plan, we remain hopeful that today's hearing will give us the opportunity to discuss a path forward to secure funding for these programs. Now I want to turn it over to my co-chair for the hearing.

(02:27:23)

Chair Stevens: Good afternoon and welcome to our second half of the Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget hearing for the Department of Youth and Community Development. I am CM Althea Stevens, Chair of the Committee on Children and Youth. We will be hearing from our new Commissioner, Sandra Escobar-Davies, along with our First Deputy and our financial officers. Thank you for joining us today.

We are here to discuss the agency's recently released Executive Plan, which includes a budget of $1.6 billion for Fiscal Year 2027. This funding includes personnel services to support a budget headcount of 704 positions, in addition to other than personnel services. The current Fiscal Year 2027 budget is 7% more than the Fiscal Year 2026 budget. However, the Fiscal Year 2027 budget decreased from the budget in the Fiscal Year 2027 Preliminary Financial Plan. Notable changes in the Executive Plan include an additional $14.8 million to expand services for the Crisis Management programs and supporting wraparound services in Fiscal Year 2027, Fiscal Year 2028 and the outer years. The plan includes baseline funding in the Office of Community Safety to support the programs and the new approach in the new office. The plan also added $8.8 million for the Office of Economic Opportunity adjustments for the Advance and Earn program that helps

(02:29:00)

train and employ young people ages 16 through 24. The plan also includes savings the agency found to meet the targets set by the Office of Management and Budget. That included $6.3 million for over-budgeting in the Community Resources for Employment and Development, CRED, and other programs, as well as cost of living adjustment savings resulting in a $31 million assessment that providers received on distribution of funding for the 4% increase for human service contracts. I want to ensure that the COLA adjustments do not impact programming and provide adequate funding to the providers.

I am concerned that the Executive Plan includes baseline savings of $3 million from the elimination of 27 vacant positions beginning in Fiscal Year 2026. Again, I want to ensure that these actions do not impact programming. The Executive Budget did not include Fiscal Year 2026 one-shot funding for youth navigators, which is something that I have been fighting consistently to make sure that we are funding, because we do not want to forget about our young people. I do hope the administration will provide baseline funding in the adopted budget for the navigators, because that was the program that we lost and then the Council brought back. So we want to make sure that this is something that is credible and sustainable, because the young people and providers have said it is a critical service. Peer navigators better relate to their peers. This gives them a sense of belonging, a sense of understanding. The housing navigators assist in navigating young people through transition into safe, dependable housing. The services for youth do not stop at the door, but they begin at the door.

I am pleased that after 10 years, the request for elementary and middle school students was released, and I do appreciate the dedication and hard work. I really want to give it up to you guys because everyone knows that I was very critical when they put this on you, and the turnaround was done. I knew it was going to get done. I mean, it did age you a little, I am not going to lie, but you still look good. You guys worked really hard to get it done and I am really happy. However, you know, with this work there are always these mitigating factors that come in, and including myself and everyone here. CM Williams just came to me and said she is also being contacted about the COMPASS. We are getting so many calls about worried providers who may have to fold as a result of the deficit of services that they would be able to provide to their communities.

I am concerned, and I know as our new Commissioner comes in, she is being so thoughtful and bringing the perspective of a former provider in trying to figure out the best way forward and make sure that everyone is whole, including the providers. You know, I think sometimes we talk about it as if the providers are not a workforce as well. This Council has spent a lot of time and energy talking about the workforce, but for some reason we forget to keep fighting for human service workers, and I think that is just as important. So when we do these contracts, we have to — and I know you guys have been thoughtful — I think as a Council we have to think about how do we protect them as well, and that is something that I am dedicated to.

There are other RFPs that I see are overdue, like the Beacons and Cornerstones. I want the agency to take this opportunity to further evaluate and examine every process, every methodology and matrix used to identify changes that can be made for the next one so that it has a fair and more equitable process. And honestly, I think that if anything, we probably need to get all the RFPs done. I am going to say it because I just have a feeling that with that provider background it would look a lot different than this one did. So I have been pushing for a lot more pieces so we are clear, so we can have stable programs, so that when I am gone they will be in good hands. I am excited about that and I will be pushing for that.

Everyone here today in Fiscal Year 2027 deserves the best services. It is my expectation and my hope that the Fiscal Year 2027 adopted budget meets the goals set forth by the Council. We want to ensure that every youth and adult program provides essential necessities, including adequate funding to meet the everyday needs. I would like to recognize most of my staff already, but I want to recognize the fiscal staff: Sandra Gray, our Senior Fiscal Analyst, Aliyah, Assistant Director, and I also want to give a shout out to her because I have been driving her crazy as well. So with that, I will turn it over to Chair Lee.

(02:34:21)

Thank you. Just as a reminder really quickly, we are having all of our public testimony for all the agencies on Wednesday, June 10, beginning at 9:30 a.m. So Wednesday, June 10, beginning at 9:30 a.m. is when we are having an all-day public testimony hearing, so please make sure to sign up for those. And then, oh wait, hold on. We have also been joined by CM Justin Sanchez — everyone is going to start using first names, his first name is Justin — CM Sanchez. Sorry. Also welcome CM Wilson, our newest Council Member, and CM Joseph. With that, I will turn it over to Committee Counsel to swear in the witnesses for their testimony.

(02:35:47)

Good afternoon, Chair Stevens and Chair Lee, and members of the Finance and Children and Youth Committees. I am Commissioner Sandra Escobar-Davies and I am joined by Chief Financial Officer Evita Bailey and other staff who are here and available to answer your questions today. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss DYCD's Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget.

Since becoming Commissioner, I have spent the past few months learning from staff, providers and partners across the City. What has become clear is that this agency is powered by an extraordinary, dedicated workforce and a provider network that continues to deliver critical services for children, youth and families every day. As the agency has grown significantly over the years, both in scale and complexity, my team and I are taking a thoughtful look at how our internal infrastructure, staffing and operational systems support that work. This includes examining areas such as procurement, contracting, payments, program operations and performance management, so that DYCD can continue to operate in a way that is responsive, effective and aligned with the evolving needs of New Yorkers.

At the same time, we are engaging providers and community partners to better understand both operational challenges and opportunities for innovation across our programs and services. These conversations are helping to inform how we strengthen and broaden the ecosystem that supports young people and families across this great City. The Executive Budget presented today reflects Mayor Mamdani's vision for a more affordable, equitable and safer New York City and demonstrates a continued commitment to the children, youth, families and communities it serves every day, despite broader fiscal

(02:37:37)

Pressures facing the City, the budget protects core programming and continues to invest in services and opportunities that support young people and strengthen communities across all five boroughs. The agency proposed a series of savings totaling in the current fiscal year, next year and in the outer years. This includes savings from conducting audit functions in-house, along with savings from readjustments to cost estimates. The budget stands at, compared to the Fiscal Year 2027 Preliminary Budget, and the breakdown is as follows: in tax levy funds, in federal funds, or about 1.13% in state funding, and in inter-city funds. These resources support a wide range of investments across the agency's portfolio. While not an exhaustive list, I want to highlight several key initiatives that reflect how these funds strengthen services for young people, families and communities across the City.

First, I will start with the COMPASS Request for Proposals. COMPASS is the nation's largest after-school system, serving elementary and middle school students across New York City through COMPASS Elementary and School's Out New York City. The release of the COMPASS center-based and school-based awards marks the very first major re-procurement and modernization of after-school contracts in more than a decade, and that is just so exciting. This investment reflects what families, schools and providers have consistently called for: expanded access, stronger program quality, workforce stability and greater equity across the after-school system. For Fiscal Year 2027, the City committed $727 million in COMPASS funding. This investment supports an additional 22,000 new elementary school seats over three school years and increased the price-per-participant rate to better support provider stability, staffing and high-quality programs for children and families. This includes 121 center-based awards representing 78,400 seats, 806 school-based awards representing 95,841 seats, expansions into 71 new elementary schools across 32 high-need community districts, 8,621 additional City seats and 52 new community-based organizations joining the COMPASS portfolio, including at least one in every borough.

This also reflects the evolving needs of young people and families, including strong expectations around social-emotional learning, career exploration and future readiness, expanded inclusion supports, enhanced program quality standards and greater alignment between after-school programming and broader youth development goals. The increased investment in COMPASS represents an investment in stability for the sector by supporting stronger staffing structures, better wages, more sustainable program models and expanding access for children and families across New York City. We are proud of the expanded access, strengthened program models and new investments reflected in these awards, and it really is noteworthy. Yet at the same time, I want to recognize that there were providers who were not awarded contracts through this process. For some organizations, this transition will have significant financial and operational impacts, particularly for providers that have served children, families and school communities for many years. We do not take that lightly. I do not take that lightly. Those contributions, relationships and years of service are meaningful and worthy of recognition and respect. And yet it is also true that this was a competitive procurement process guided by clearly defined evaluation criteria, including program quality, organizational capacity and operational readiness, in partnership with New York City Public Schools.

The process also incorporated principal input for school-based programs.

As implementation moves forward, we are committed to supporting thoughtful transitions, maintaining continuity for young people and families and working closely with schools, outgoing providers, incoming providers and communities to help open strong in the fall. The second program that I want to highlight is Summerizing. The 2026 application portal opened on March 3 and closed on March 27, during which time more than 150,000 applications were submitted by families across New York City. Using a data-driven understanding of enrollment patterns and demand, the City extended approximately 127,000 offers to families, and this is an increase of 3,500 offers compared to last summer. Available seats will continue to be offered to families throughout the summer to support expanded access. New York City Public Schools opened 19 additional buildings, bringing the total of Summerizing sites citywide to 379. The agency and New York City Public Schools continue to work closely together to strengthen and expand high-quality summer enrichment opportunities for young people. This includes deeper collaboration between principals and community-based organizations, strengthening supports for students with disabilities and enhancing program opportunities such as field trips and career exploration.

The next program I would like to highlight is Runaway and Homeless Youth. We are so thankful for the early mayoral commitment to continue the critical role of housing navigation, peer navigators and financial coaches as part of the services offered to youth in our drop-in centers. The budget process is ongoing, but we are pleased that the City recognizes the importance of these supports for runaway and homeless youth, and providers now have the opportunity to better plan the delivery of services for the upcoming fiscal year. We are in the thick of Summer Youth Employment. Mayor Mamdani officially launched the 2026 Summer Youth Employment program on January 20, marking the earliest application opening in the program's history. This program received a record 230,000 applications from young people across New York City. Funded at $246 million, the program will once again serve more than 100,000 youth this summer through paid work experiences, career exploration, skill building and supportive opportunities. As one of the nation's largest youth employment programs, it continues to be a critical pathway to economic opportunity and future readiness for young New Yorkers. This year, the agency is expanding career-ready programs to 260 schools, up from 230 in 2025, while continuing high school credit and career-ready programming so that more students can earn high school or college credit through participation.

The program also continues to prioritize young people facing barriers to employment, including NYCHA residents and youth living in priority communities.

In addition, the agency is continuing initiatives launched in previous years, including TYPE Pride, in partnership with the Mayor's Office of Equity and Racial Justice and the New York City Commission on Human Rights, which offers providers and employers training, supportive work experiences and professional development opportunities for participants. Finally, the Fatherhood Program: to date, the Fatherhood Program has engaged more than 500 fathers, supporting them as they navigate co-parenting, custody and other complex family and child issues, while strengthening parenting skills, family stability and long-term father engagement through workshops, trainings and supportive resources. These programs help fathers build connections with their children, families and communities. Last month, the second annual Fatherhood Policy Symposium convened more than 100 leaders from government, academia and community organizations to highlight the critical role fathers play in the well-being of children and families and to advance family-friendly policies and practices across the City. On June 20, the agency will host its fifth annual Affirming Fathers convening at Jay College of Criminal Justice to further elevate the importance of

(02:46:28)

father engagement, leadership and community connection, while continuing conversations about how systems and institutions can better support fathers and families across New York City. And if I had more time, I would tout all of the other wonderful programs that this investment will yield for us, as well as this extraordinary staff that I have behind me and working in the field right now, who are doing everything they can to provide quality support to the network of providers that serve young people every day. Thank you again for the opportunity to discuss the Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget, and we are looking forward to answering any questions you have.

(02:47:04)

Thank you. We have also been joined by CM Brooks-Powers, and I am just going to... sorry. Here we go. CM Felder, for the subcommittee chair. Okay. So I am going to just dive right in so I can pass it off to my colleagues for Fiscal Year 2027.

(02:47:35)

Comparing the Fiscal Year 2027 budget in the Executive Plan to the Fiscal Year 2026 adopted budget, we see that there is a reduction in community development programs, of which is contractual services. So why is there a reduction in contractual services for community development programs, and also what is the reason for the reduction in full-time salary positions?

(02:48:09)

Good morning. Nice to see you. So the original reduction you are referencing regarding the programs within the City portfolio — that is adult literacy — and that is due to a one-time fund that we receive annually for that portfolio.

(02:48:25)

The restoration. Okay. And was the funding moved to other programs? No, because it is a one-time restoration that came from the Council. Okay, got it.

(02:48:36)

And then in terms of

(02:48:37)

the vacancy reduction — a reduction of $3 million in Fiscal Year 2026 to Fiscal Year 2027 — with a head count reduction of 27 in each fiscal year: which programs will see a head count reduction and what is the amount for each?

(02:48:50)

At this time we have not identified the locations where we will have the reductions. We were just notified of it, and as you know the agency has all their hands full with the implementation of these new initiatives. The agency will start to look at where we will apply these reductions shortly.

(02:49:04)

Okay, if you could keep us updated on that, that would be great. And is this just to reduce vacancy for each of the programs? What is the remaining vacancy for each of the programs and the overall percentage? I know you are still working this out, but just some of the questions in terms of the alignment of where we are going. And then also, will this head count reduction impact services provided by the agency?

(02:49:27)

Hopefully the answer is no. Ultimately, as the Commissioner indicated at the first hearing, she is doing an assessment of the organization, and so at this time we have not identified the total impact of it. But the ultimate goal is to ensure that there is no disruption to services, and we are confident that with the remaining vacancies and our existing staff, we will do our best to make sure that we do appropriate oversight on the program areas and that providers are registered and paid.

(02:49:56)

Perfect. And what savings, if any, were identified in the Executive Budget due to the Mayor's Executive Order 12?

(02:50:04)

As part of Executive Order 12, we looked into the organization to see where we could find out how funding was being utilized, and we identified surplus as well as unobligated funding in a number of program areas. With that, we submitted that and it was accepted, and as a result we did not do any service cuts for any programs. We were just prioritizing that.

(02:50:26)

And then just really quickly moving over to COMPASS, because I know you all have been putting a lot of effort into the new piece. I have to say I started my first-year social work degree at a Beacon program, so I just want to plus-one what you are saying. But I know you said there was $727 million total for the RFPs, so what is the breakdown between the school-based versus the center-based

(02:50:53)

budgets? I do not have that on hand. I can get back to you on that — I do not want to give you wrong information, but I can get that to you.

(02:50:57)

Okay, perfect. And now that you have provided the list of new providers who will be entering the COMPASS system, does the agency feel there is enough time to process the contracts by the beginning of the school year? I know that is a challenge that you are trying to push through, so I am just wondering if you could speak to that.

(02:51:17)

Thank you for the question. We are committed to ensuring that the contracts are registered on time. We have a team that is dedicated to moving with the providers. We have had sessions with the providers so they are clear on the documents that are needed. We are working very closely with MOCS as well as the Comptroller's Office to expedite registration. We also know that the timeline is very, very tight, and we are planning to... the biggest thing for providers is cash flow. So we are making sure that we have a plan in place for those that may not be registered on time. We are definitely committed to getting them registered quickly.

(02:51:49)

Okay, you have to include OMB in that conversation and the Comptroller's Office, because we have got to get those contracts registered quickly. And what is the target date for completing the new contracts, and does the agency foresee any obstacles in meeting the target date? I know you just mentioned some of those things, but

(02:52:07)

what is the final sort of deadline that you are hoping to complete?

(02:52:21)

Currently, for school-based registration, we have about at least 50% of our contracts ready for that piece, primarily for registration. For center-based, about 30% are already getting processed, so we are confident that we are moving

(02:52:32)

forward. In the next week or so, our school-based awardees will start getting their contracts, and in the next couple of weeks. So we are hopeful that by a month or so, providers will have their contracts and be moving forward.

(02:52:46)

Okay, great. And what was the final number of applications received for both the center-based and the school-based providers? I am going to defer to our youth services team to provide that information. And then sort of the second part of that question, which I will just ask, is: what percentage of the center-based providers who submitted an application received an award? So the first part is just the total number of applications received for both.

(02:53:20)

Thank you, Chair. I think it was roughly 290 center-based proposals — forgive me if I am a little off — and we had proposals from roughly 3,500, if you consider each of the individual schools, because we had a community district competition. It was many fewer than that, and we can get back to you.

(02:53:43)

And then okay, so 209, and then how many of those that submitted were awarded for the center-based? 121. Right, 121 out of 209. Okay. And what percentage of school-based providers received an award? So 3,500 applicants — and then, sorry, what was the number?

(02:54:09)

We made 806 awards in the school-based competition.

(02:54:11)

Yes. And then there were, as you said, 3,500 individual school proposals, but

(02:54:20)

if we count the community district proposals...

(02:54:24)

Okay, just to add — sorry — for school-based: 228 unique providers applied and 147 were awarded. Okay.

(02:54:41)

Thank you. And then what was the criteria used to score the COMPASS applicants and what was deemed as a viable score?

(02:54:51)

So the criteria were organizational experience, service requirements, staffing,

(02:54:56)

community partnership approach and budget. Those are the criteria that we looked at, and the minimum score was a 70.

(02:55:07)

Okay. I know there are going to be a lot more questions on that, so I will leave it to my colleagues. CM Stevens, I will jump right into it. I know we are kind of pressed for time, so I just ask that the answers be brief, because we want to make sure we get to as many people as possible.

(02:55:26)

So I will stay with the COMPASS theme, and just thinking about the impact on organizations — as we know, these decisions are not being made easily for you, but just thinking about the fact that some of these organizations did not get contracts, this is actually going to be a huge impact on their agencies. So I wanted to know: how is the agency responding to the providers? What supports have you been giving them? What has this transition been looking like, especially for those who we know are going to have big impacts because they did not get any awards?

So we are in the protest phase for the school-based, and so I am going to speak more generally. First, I want to say that the non-awardees — I want to acknowledge that they have financial and operational impacts that are going to force them to make really difficult decisions, and we do not take that lightly. As I mentioned before, this was a procurement process that followed all of the guidelines of procurement law. And yet we are going to try to stand in the gap for these providers. We are conducting briefings for them. We have extended, based on their feedback, the protest period so that everybody can get a briefing before they send a protest letter. We are also trying to figure out what this is going to look like and having conversations about what other things we could do to support them, and then really leaning into the transition period and figuring out what transition looks like from summer — how do we help transition providers in ways that hold their dignity intact, while bringing in new providers and making it possible for good providers to also stand in that gap and support children, youth and families. Thank you.

(02:57:22)

And just even thinking about the summer, because I know you brought up summer. So as we are thinking about summarizing, just going to go on record again. Everybody knows I do not like that program anyway. I just always have to say it. But anyway, wanting to think about the providers who would be running and operating, summarizing and then not having a whole site, going back and moving forward. What is the plan around... what is he planning to support those providers whose programs are closing out right after that? And also just kind of considering what the morale for some of these programs is going to be for this summer and closing out.

So I think, thank you, it is a good question because there are two parts of this, right. There is the contracting close process, but we want to make this process as humane as possible. So our teams will be coordinating with those who have conversations on the process itself, from the contracting side, from the financial side, and also that transition between coordinating general transition meetings between connecting with school leaders and community, to again really emphasize that this is not just about the contract, it is about the morale on the site as well.

Could you talk to me a little bit about what the transition process looks like? I know that is one of my biggest things. Like, how are we working with organizations on this transition process and what is that going to look like? You know, especially where there are cases where they might not have gotten that site but they have another site. And so yes, we would love for those folks who work in the program to stay. But if some people are going to go to the sites, I just think this reshuffling is going to cause a little bit of chaos. So just trying to understand, like, how are we preparing not only the providers but schools and families around this transition and what it is going to look like? Do we have... are we working on a toolkit? And then also, how will we be involving the Council members, who I know a lot of them are already getting a lot of calls and pushback, and I want to make sure that the local Council members are part of those conversations when these transition processes happen.

(02:59:33)

That is a great segue because part of this process is a real coordinated effort between all those stakeholders for, again, the best transition possible, because the timeline is difficult and there are a lot of concerns about incoming change, right. So the first part is there are core components of the plan that focus on transition meetings between all the different stakeholders, knowledge transfer. The transition meetings have already started to take place. Yeah, starting to take place, right. We are, you know, also keeping in mind that we are in a protest and appeal period, right, trying to make sure that we are coordinating all those engagements as well, being thoughtful about them in that process and in a respectful way. Thinking about, you know, what staff retention looks like, connecting with the school leaders, family and school communication, and coordinating with New York City Public Schools centrally and doing district level engagement and principal level engagement, because in some instances it is a good change that they have really been anticipating and have been working for a long time towards.

And then what are the roles that really kind of serve as that center point to lift and escalate if there are some challenging conversations along the way, and what will we be tracking along that path. So one thing that we have already started is engaging with those new CBOs and walking them in and really thinking about readiness checks. Where are they as an organization? Where are they in terms of staffing supports? Coordination with types of activities they are looking towards doing? Connecting them with the school leader. So every single principal, as part of the announcement, was provided with who the contact information was, according to Public Schools. There are some instances where there is some disconnect, so that is what we want to ensure throughout the process.

(03:01:06)

And I know it is a fast turnaround time, but again, I just want to make sure that we are tapping in the local Council members to be a part of those conversations so that we could all be on the same page. Because it starts to get... this can join it, Adrienne, have parents reached out to the schools and all the things. So I want to make sure that local Council members are part of the conversations and being brought in to be as supportive as possible with these transitions. I think, you know, a lot of folks are not happy and we are in a place where some of these decisions are final. So thinking about how do we work together to get not only the will, but also welcome those coming into their communities.

(03:01:45)

This is a community effort, so all stakeholders are involved. If, you know, we will definitely be connecting with you all and if there are any questions...

(03:01:52)

Flags. Yeah, absolutely. So according to the expansion plan, 5,000 additional seats will be added in fall 2027 or fiscal 2028, in addition to the slots that are already out in this. How will you determine where those slots will be located? What is the timeline for determining providers and beginning those slots? Where are we in the process of making strategic decisions about how to leverage those slots specifically to continue to stabilize the ecosystem and strengthen it as well? Will there be an impact on providers who are currently...

(03:02:27)

...providing after school program services? So thinking about, as you are thinking about those expansions and even thinking about some of the mitigating factors now, how are we looking to leverage some of the losses that we have now moving forward? Is there going to be another... like, what does that look like?

(03:02:42)

I would say, in short, we are going to move in ways that honor the current procurement process, but also that we are going to be opportunistic about ways to leverage the current slots and the future slots in ways that help to mitigate some of the impact post award...

(03:02:58)

...announcement. There is a ten-day appeal process with a submission date of April 24 for the center-based providers that were not viable to receive awards. Has there been any changes in this appeal process? We extended the appeal process, I believe by two weeks, in order to have providers be able to receive a briefing before they made their appeal.

And I know it looks like the community-based, it is a little different than it is for the school-based. One of my biggest issues with the community-based was that we were going to be closing programs at a time where we are seeing young people having a lack of programs. I am like, why would we be closing any programs? So can we talk about what that process was? And I know the leads have been really thoughtful, right, thinking about creative ways of trying to work with different providers. But especially with community-based, I think in a moment of trying to close any center at this moment, it sounds crazy to me, especially going into the summer. So I am just trying to get an understanding of where we are with that and how do we move...

(03:04:08)

...forward. We are in the process of looking at the impact and making strategic decisions about how we move forward. Because we are in the process of investigating that right now and looking into it deeply, I do not have a formal strategy to share right now. Thank you.

(03:04:28)

Has there been any additional funding from outside to fill the gaps for community centers?

(03:04:36)

I think there are ongoing conversations that the Commissioner just mentioned, recognizing the impact of the most...

(03:04:41)

...recent awards, and we are looking into how we can appropriately respond to the concerns of all stakeholders. We are in ongoing conversations with the...

(03:04:50)

Okay, I will join those ongoing conversations because again, I just want to say, like, you know, community-based... everybody knows community-based programs have a special place in my heart, and that is because they do a different type of work. The same student that a school-based program typically serves does not show up at a community center, and those are a lot of times the kids we need to be reaching, right. The communities and their staff are the ones that are typically out from the community, out on the ground in there. So for me, in this moment, these community-based programs have to be a priority, and that has been one of the biggest things that I have been pushing for.

I think, like, as we are thinking about where we need to save, I understand our constraints, but we cannot do it on the back of young people, and that is one thing that I am just not okay with. I have been saying that is my theme today: we are going to have an affordable city, it needs to be affordable for young people, and these are the things that we need, especially when we had before you all and we have 362 young people in secure detention currently. That is abysmal because when I got into office it was 150, and so those numbers have tripled at this point. Closing community centers just does not sound like something we should be doing in this moment. So I am going to continue to advocate and push because community-based programs need to be open and we should be expanding that work. I am not closing any program.

So I have a couple of questions about the appeal process for the school-based providers. Is the appeal process the same for the school-based providers? If they were not deemed viable, is it still ten days for them as well?

(03:06:27)

Yes. So anyone that was not selected for an award, whether center-based or school-based, has the right to appeal, and it is the same process as well. There was an extension for center-based. There was not an extension for the school-based. We gave the extension given the volume and...

(03:06:42)

A question even around the contracts: has every contract been awarded already? So for school-based, the majority of the contracts were awarded. There were 12 schools right now that currently were not awarded that we are working on. So what does that process look like and why...

(03:07:00)

...were they not awarded? So within that competition there was either no viable proposal or no one submitted a proposal for that particular school. So we are right now in conversations to finalize the plan. So what does that plan look like and how is that going to work? Is it going to go back out to permit? Are we looking at some of the providers that are already in the pool? I am just trying to get an understanding of, like, how do we then... what does the mitigation for that look like?

(03:07:25)

It is still under review for consideration because our ultimate priority is to ensure that services are happening for the fall. We want to make sure that there is no lapse. So we are looking to see what is in the best interest of the City to get services started.

For the record, I just want to go on record saying there were a lot of providers who got multiple contracts. So if they are the people getting additional contracts, I am going to be upset, because I think capacity is one of the things that, you know, we know that a lot of these folks will say they have the capacity and then when it is time to produce, it starts to get watered down. So I wanted to really look at some of these groups who might not have been able to get awarded because there was a lot of competition in certain areas and things like that, to kind of mitigate that. But thinking about capacity and being able to try to keep some of these providers whole should be a priority, and I would like to see that be a priority.

How is the agency assessing providers who do not have school-age child care licenses? Because that is another question, especially for the new providers that are coming in, that are going to be in these places. One of the things I was going on about when the results came out was just like, are we giving additional supports to partners in this process that we kind of forget about? So I am trying to...

(03:08:39)

...understand, especially with these new programs coming in. You were cleared to know the site, you have got to do the process over and with the licensing requirements. I am really concerned about folks being able to start and being able to get up and going by... what is the date? September? August? What is it? September. September. So thank...

(03:09:01)

...you, Chair. That is a great...

(03:09:02)

...question. At the start of the planning process, we have been in full engagement because there is a whole coordinated process that happens behind the scenes outside of the application process, which includes inspections of the facilities itself. So we wanted to really focus on the more trouble spots and areas, and then on the application side to work with those new and existing CBOs so that they fully understand the process itself and that we have support and technical assistance that we can provide on our end as well. What has been great is that there is only a small subset of these programs starting in the fall that actually require a new license itself. So how many? Right now we are looking at just over 200. So that is a share, again, it is...

(03:09:48)

Awesome, you... that is going to be like...

(03:09:50)

...too. But let us be clear: 200 out of the total 900-plus programs we...

(03:09:57)

...have. We have done this in the past when we did the expansion and I was there and it was... it was not smooth. It was not smooth, and I was there, it was not smooth, and it was a mess.

(03:10:08)

And you are a hundred percent correct on that.

(03:10:10)

And what has been great since then is that there actually is an online process, right. We had to go from a paper-based to online since then. So there has been a lot of progress.

(03:10:18)

And we looked at a lot of hiccups in there too, and you know, I heard that. That is the process of what we do here at the City, to make sure that we can address those troublesome spots.

(03:10:28)

As comfortable as possible, right. I think this is an opportunity for us to really think about these processes across multiple agencies and how we are tracking them and ensure that we are escalating. As we speak right now, we have these teams coordinating and meeting to discuss where additional supports are going to be needed, really coordinating with Public Schools, identifying the... so they can go out and do the inspections in a quick manner and engaging with those who still need support in that process.

(03:10:52)

Is there a contingency plan if they are not able to get their licensing and get up and running?

(03:10:58)

Yes, there will be plans in place. So you have that plan right now? Okay, so you will share that with me.

(03:11:01)

Yes. All right, great. Can the agency provide the City Council with a list of current school-based providers who did not get awards, a list of school-based programs who did not get awarded with the old funded amount lines, a list of non-viable center-based providers and a list of funding groups for both center-based and school-based awards and their amounts? You do not have to go through it now. If you all can just get back to me. Yes, because I have a lot of questions, but I am going to pass it off.

(03:11:34)

I did not even get to any of the other sections, so I will be back. Thank you. Will be back for round two. Okay, so we are going to move to Council member questions. CM Maloney, followed by Deputy Speaker...

(03:11:48)

Thank you. On behalf of countless parents and principals across my district, and you are going to be hearing from other districts in Manhattan, I have concerns about the new Compass and in particular Manhattan Youth, which was discontinued at some schools but not all schools, with limited transparency about why and limited engagement with the parents and the principals on the ground. To CM Stevens's point earlier, this is a program that had a 94% attendance rate, positive audits and was recommended first by many principals. So the question is, why? Why were they deemed insufficient? And if their program truly was not sufficient, then why were they awarded for some contracts and not others, including a case where there is a co-located school where Manhattan Youth was awarded for one school and not the other? And I think we could...

(03:12:47)

I want to say that I want to speak more broadly about the selection process and I am going to hand it over to Dana, but I do want to talk about this in terms of transparency and the narratives that are out there. This was a procurement process that was highly transparent. The concept paper was developed by the field and in any procurement there are winners and non-winners, and my heart goes out to all of the agencies that were not awarded. But I am really proud of the rigorous process that we engaged in and the level of care that went into making these awards.

I want to speak about that, but I also want to give you the technical answer, which I am going to hand over to Dana. I also want to say that every single competition in every single region was competing with other providers and so they were ranked in that geographical area accordingly. So there were some providers that in some areas were awarded their specific contracts and in other areas they were not, and I can tell you on the provider side that that is, as someone who has been a provider, devastating, and yet it is part of the procurement process.

I think the thing I want to highlight is that because this has not been procured for over 10 years, there is a sense of ownership that I think is really felt in terms of relationships and in terms of continuity. And yet what we know to be true is that procurement is necessary because it allows for equity and for accountability. So I think more than one thing can be true about this process. But again, I share the deep empathy and regard for the staff, for the families and the children and youth that are going to have a new provider. But I am also really excited about the providers that were selected, that are high quality, high caliber and that offer really great services. Thank you.

(03:14:49)

Thank you, Commissioner. I definitely want to push back a little on the fact that the procurement was not transparent — it was extremely transparent. We made selections based on a basis for award where there was criteria outlined on how we were making the awards. In the case of Manhattan Youth, they did apply to multiple competitions and each competition is handled on its own merit. So you could have one school, which was considered a competition, be more competitive than others, and we made selections based on where scores, ranking and provided diversity. There were many areas that we looked at when making the selections, but it stood behind the basis for award that was released, and that was a procurement document that was made public.

I will ask them one question. You shared what the technical factors are that you were looking at. One of them was around youth scored against those criteria. At this time we cannot give specifics because we are in the protest period, and also they will be awarded a briefing so they will get not only their scores and how they fared in relationship to other providers, but they will also get specific feedback on their areas that were highlighted by the evaluator.

(03:16:11)

And are there instances where a school and a principal did rank Manhattan Youth as excellent and it was still not awarded? And if that is the case, there is a process where the principals on the ground are being overruled in a closed-door process. If you could speak to that...

(03:16:30)

It was not a closed-door process. It was actually a transparent process that was guided by a contribution that was made by the principal. So principal selections were weighed, but the primary selections, as Dana mentioned, were scored. I am proud to say that over 80% of principals got their first or second choice. For principals that did not get their first ranking, we are going to be working to help that transition on the ground, to really think about ways to be a bridge and to make sure that they are centering this choice around children, youth...

(03:17:09)

...and families. My last question — I know I am out of time here — is whether there is a chance to re-evaluate these decisions. We are signing up for a six-year term, so if these programs are not meeting the needs of the community, for example in this case there are scopes of services like sports, arts or academic enrichment that the prior provider did offer that the new provider does not, which can be very disruptive for the youth and families, and that is who I am representing today.

(03:17:38)

What is the recourse? I want to say two things. The first is that I know how resilient young people are and how adaptable they are to change, and I also know how important providers are to children, youth and families and how they will tailor their services to meet the needs of young people. Yes, it is a new process. Yes, there will be an on-ramp, but I believe that at the end of this there will be responsive services that center young people. And yet if they do not, like any other process that we do, we will take the necessary course...

(03:18:15)

...of action. Just really quickly — I know you said that you are going to be doing a briefing with the providers and a debrief around the folks who were not awarded. Can you please make sure you share that information with us and also let us know when that is happening so we can possibly participate in support. Thank you.

(03:18:32)

Great. Okay, Deputy Speaker, followed by CM Epstein. Thank you, Chair. Deputy Speaker first, followed by...

(03:19:28)

Good afternoon. I am Denise Ramirez and I serve as the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer here. Yes, there are budget implications for our goals and our strategies, but the way we approached this is to incorporate it into our operations. We have a goal in capacity building that is part of the budget for this year. We have the equity methodology, which will be integrated into the process as we move forward, so it is integrated into how we approach the work. Thank you.

(03:20:05)

I am happy you mentioned the methodology. So in 2020-21, you began developing an equitable investment methodology that prioritizes communities with the highest concentration of poverty. However, the City's racial equity plan states that this methodology will not be fully applied to all City tax levy funded programs until 2034. Why will it take more than a decade to fully implement this approach and what barriers are...

(03:20:36)

...preventing faster implementation? The timeline of 2034 is to align with what we expect to be the cycle of our programs coming online. I will say, I think the hurdles are what we have been talking about — anytime that we are implementing change it will take time to iterate, adapt and integrate the methodology. So it is part of the process. I just think that is a very long time to do...

(03:21:08)

...especially considering you started this in 2021. So one of your long-term goals is to apply this investment methodology to 100% of the funding programs. What percentage of the City tax levy funded programs currently use this methodology? It was applied to the literacy program in 2024, and an equity approach was also applied to the COMPASS program. So far, can you explain...

(03:21:42)

...how this methodology weighs poverty data, demographic data, community violence indicators and existing service gaps when allocating program slots? The primary driver for the methodology is poverty — looking at poverty data. So you do not use any other metrics of data, only poverty? It is the driver...

(03:22:04)

...and poverty makes up at least...

(03:22:06)

...70%. In some cases, like the literacy program, we took into account the program-specific needs, so looking at data on limited English proficiency or looking at data on adults without a high school diploma. So we will look at other factors, but poverty is the primary driver. But when do you look at other factors?

(03:22:31)

Yes, you know what I am saying — when do we look at other factors?

(03:22:36)

As part of the process. So in the COMPASS program we looked at students with disabilities, students in temporary housing. As part of that process we also looked at the priority precincts with the highest levels of gun violence. So as part of that process we will...

(03:22:58)

...look at other data metrics, but primarily poverty. Okay. And just the last question — will you share the underlying data used to determine which neighborhoods received priority investments?

(03:23:18)

So one of the strategies that we included in this long-term goal is to conduct outreach and engagement to get input on the methodology. So as part of that process, we will be sharing, as we do that outreach, what has been done and soliciting feedback. Yes. Okay. Thank you.

(03:23:42)

CM Epstein, followed by CM Joseph. Good afternoon...

(03:23:48)

...Commissioner. So I just want to first focus on center-based providers that lost their funding. I know we have talked a lot about this, especially Henry Street in my district — it has got a 150-year history providing services and has a Boys and Girls Republic Center that now... you know, how are we going to make them whole to ensure families who have been relying on that place for decades are going to be able to have services for their children? We are in the process of evaluating a strategy to really think about strengthening stability and continuity and so we are in the thick of...

(03:24:20)

...that. So what is our timeline...

(03:24:22)

...for them to hear back from you?

(03:24:25)

I believe that the protest period ends June 4. Yeah, June 4, and everybody gets a briefing. So thereafter we hope to be able to identify some next...

(03:24:39)

...steps. Yeah, because they have staff and staffing needs and they are making some decisions — we need to be able to address that. Families also have to make decisions based on that as well.

(03:24:49)

Yeah, absolutely. So you think soon after June 5 you will be able to get back to them? Absolutely. Yeah.

(03:24:55)

And just on the other providers, the school-based providers — I want to follow up with CM Maloney on some of these determinations. How much did family input play into this? How much did principal input play? How much did services like whether someone has a sports program or not play? How are all these factors weighed? Because from the families we were hearing from — hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of families — they were very happy with the provider. I understand that you went through a process and I respect that, but it feels like they are not feeling like their input has been heard.

(03:25:38)

So as part of the procurement process, the principals did have an opportunity to weigh in through their ranking. When we made those selections we did take other factors into consideration. The parents at the time of that process were not taken into consideration. However, that will be done as part of the school partnership agreement process when we are bringing in the new providers, and that is when the opportunity for the parents to speak about what programming they want the new provider...

(03:26:03)

...to be providing. I appreciate that, but I am not sure why after the fact you would take parents' considerations in. Why not have that involved in the application process — parent engagement and whether they are happy? I appreciate the principals, and the three schools that lost Manhattan Youth in my district all rated and ranked them as number one. So they have already said they want them to continue. The parents want them to continue, but we are not really listening to the parents. The second question I will ask, because I know I am almost out of time, is: are you committed to coming out to the school to talk to parents, or will your team be? We would like to be able to set that up before the end of the school year. Can I get a commitment now to make sure that happens in the next couple of weeks?

(03:26:42)

I am committed to speaking to whoever wants to speak to me about this process.

(03:26:48)

Yeah. I also just want to add, in terms of parent engagement, prior to the procurement, as part of our stakeholder engagement, we did engage families to build the new COMPASS model that made it into the process. So parents were engaged before, but during the...

(03:27:03)

...actual process it was really between the school principals. And I will just say I think that is a mistake. Honestly, I think parents are the recipients of these services and they are the ones best placed to judge, beyond the paper, what happens day to day in those schools. I think taking their considerations out of the mix as an instrumental part of what we are doing was unfortunately a mistake and I think it will have some consequences in our district and we are hearing directly from it. We would love to figure that out and I appreciate your willingness to come talk to parents and to hear directly from them. But also hearing directly from the community about the jobs and the staffing and making sure people who are working for Manhattan Youth — maybe they can either stay on with a new provider or whatever we can do to fix this problem. We really do need to fix it.

(03:27:57)

I just wanted to add something to that — about the principal engagement and how extensively through this process the superintendents and the principals were involved. But where we are right now, having just announced these awards and finalizing the protest period, is precisely the time when families and young people and principals and superintendents can express what it is that they love about their current provider and how those programs and services could be implemented in the fall. What...

(03:28:27)

...they have not had and what they would like to see.

(03:28:31)

Everyone loves their after-school provider — that is like the best thing for us and we really appreciate the advocacy. If that energy could be brought to help plan and coordinate with the new provider: this is what our kids want, we have a whole group who wants theater, we cannot live without soccer here — can you hire with that in mind? This is the time for the school-specific, student-specific activities to be negotiated, and that is what Daniel and the team are going to be engaging with providers on now. So I hope that the adults working with young people around this will take that opportunity to engage with the new providers to get things off to a good start in the fall. I know my time is up, Chair, so I will come back for a second round. Thank you.

(03:29:18)

Perfect. I will add you to the list. CM Joseph, followed by CM Restler.

(03:29:24)

Thank you, Chair. I hope young people are also at the table when you are making these decisions and their voices are centered. Thank you so much. You know what my favorite topic is. What is the total budget for the summer program and can you provide the status of the number of providers for the summer program remaining outstanding or not receiving payments for fiscal year 2025 services?

(03:29:47)

Hello...

(03:29:52)

Hello. Hi. Our summer program budget for fiscal year 2027 is $151 million. We are grateful that the most recent administration maintained it based on the plan. So we know for this upcoming summer the funding is secured and there will be continuity of services. Was that...

(03:30:10)

...waving from providers that...

(03:30:10)

...have not been paid from fiscal year 2025? All of our fiscal year 2026 amendments are inclusive of the summer program and are pretty much registered. I will just get the exact number, but for the most part, for fiscal year 2027, 98% of our registered amendments associated with all types of funding increases have been processed. About — and this is fiscal year 2025...

(03:30:33)

...they wanted to know why there are delays and whether providers have been informed of why there is a delay. Do you inform the providers when there is a delay and what do you say to them for...

(03:30:42)

...payments? Usually we inform them that there is a delay, but currently there has not been any substantial delay in payments. I think what they are referencing is that some may be saying they have not received additional funding. If that is the case, I ask that they contact our help desk and we can look into it. But to my knowledge, all implementations for prior summers for the summer program have been included and released to providers. So we can always talk...

(03:31:03)

...offline and let you know who the provider is. What strategies are being implemented to pay providers faster in fiscal year 2026?

(03:31:13)

What is the...

(03:31:14)

...timeline to get funding out the door right away for...

(03:31:17)

...providers? Currently most of our providers, when we get contracts registered, we do a 50% advance to help with cash flow. After that, essentially payments are based on provider invoice submission. In full transparency, we have not had as many invoice submissions and so that has impacted the providers' ability to maintain cash flow. But currently we have less than 1% of invoices over 30 days, so we know that there is a pretty fast turnaround for submissions. But again, if someone is having a specific issue, I encourage you — please reach out and we will look into it. Right now about 1% of our invoices are over 30 days, and I think when I came in and looked there were about 40 and I said work on them, so I know that they are already working on them right now and we are making progress.

(03:32:02)

Wonderful to hear. And if a provider is having trouble accessing the system, do you provide technical support for that provider? Yes, we have a help desk and a lot of our staff are doing phone calls all the time, and we work closely with MOCS on our payments. The team has weekly calls with MOCS to troubleshoot any issues that are having technically, and if providers are having issues, we always raise those concerns to them during those meetings. And again, we kind of need providers to be able to help test. So we do respond to any increase. How many students applied for Summer Rising today, and what provisions are you putting in place for students with special needs?

(03:32:39)

I am going to defer to our youth services team. Yes, thank you.

(03:32:44)

So this past year we received over 150,000 applications, so really excited about that. In regard to providing supports for youth with disabilities, we have been working with the DIAL team in New York City public schools to ensure that we have accommodation plans for every single child that is required to receive those services, and coordinating with school leadership and the CBOs as well to ensure that all those supports are in place for all those services throughout the program period. And a student who needs a one-to-one paraprofessional in Summer Rising will be provided one, and you will accommodate what is on the IEP, correct? Yes, very much so.

(03:33:26)

Well, thank you so much to the esteemed and impressive co-chairs of this hearing. Really appreciate your great leadership, and congratulations again, Commissioner. I really enjoyed sitting down with you some weeks ago and checking in on some of the COMPASS concerns that we have been hearing from our communities. I just think it is a great thing to have somebody with such deep expertise in youth development leading the agency, and we know there is a really strong bench supporting you. I look forward to working with you and your team.

I continue to be concerned about the COMPASS process. I fully appreciate that whenever we put out a new... I mean, part of the reason we have not put this out for 10 years is because there are winners and losers, and it is an incredibly bumpy process to go through. So the last administration handed you this, you know, hot potato, I guess I will call it for the purposes of being diplomatic. But as I have shared with you, we have, just to give one example, a provider that serves the Hasidic community in Williamsburg that has been an excellent provider for many, many years. They had hundreds of seats, they now have dozens, and they were the one provider that served that community and they scored really well.

(03:34:50)

I know you are not going to speak to an individual provider, but I am going to just give you the specific context for my district to make this real. I think it would help me to understand how one provider could score excellently at one location and above the threshold, but not at a different location when it is the same team providing the same excellent services across the board.

(03:35:17)

So within each competition there is a reading, and the evaluating team could be different across the board, right? So it is all based on how the provider has demonstrated that they can provide these services. And the other part is that depending on... you are saying objective, but is that not inherently subjective, right? Like, that is the...

(03:35:38)

...precise definition of a subjective process. It is different readers, and some readers are determining that this organization is excellent, and two blocks away where they have a different site, they are determining they are not. That is... I mean, sorry to interrupt you, but... No, no, it is fine. But I would also just add that it really depends on what other providers competed in that competition, right? If the competition was extremely competitive, totally. That is where you are going to see the disparity. And I can appreciate that at a given location some other organization applied and is even more excellent than the group that has been there for 30 years, and they get selected because they did even better. What I struggle to understand is how one organization can be reviewed as excellent at this location, but at these other locations in the neighborhood where they have been doing an excellent job for 30 years and always scored well in all of their contracts and all of their performance reviews, how they could be found to have such a different score based on who is reading it. That is what really pains me and is paining my community.

(03:36:41)

I appreciate what you are saying and I do think this is very nuanced. What I would say is I think there is an assumption in some of the questions, right? That they were good in one section and good in another section. The truth is that they could have done really well, but there was greater competition in one, and there were more providers that were invited or that came to that proposal. So if you have 10 in one section and you have five in another, and you rank number seven and there are six slots... So I want to just offer that nuance, but I do not want to take away from what you spoke about earlier. It is not like they did poorly, right, if we give that example, and then better in another one. It is really that they might have done really well in both, but there was greater competition.

(03:37:26)

I appreciate it. From our previous conversation, Commissioner, you had explained that there was a threshold level, and if organizations scored above it then you could try to figure out a path to work with them because they scored well enough. And if they scored below that threshold level, then your hands are kind of tied because they did not... you know, whether you call it objective, subjective, whatever word we want to use, you have a process and it was determined. That is what I am speaking to in my question, is that at some locations they did not score above that. I am just using this as an example, but there are other providers. I was on a tour this morning with a City agency assistant commissioner who wanted me to ask questions about their school, so everyone in Manhattan Youth... Virginia, still...

(03:38:04)

...here, but I...

(03:38:07)

Everybody is concerned about, I think, a similar thing. I am just using this as an example, that this organization scores above the threshold here, but a dozen across the street, it is confusing. So can I ask one more question? Are you going to kill me? Yeah, I cannot stick around too, but it is okay. I will text you the question. It is about charter schools getting selected for COMPASS, and that is what I am concerned about, but I will save that for the chair. Chair Stevens will ask it in a much more effective way.

(03:38:37)

Okay, CM Selvena Brooks-Powers, followed by CM Brewer. Thank you, Chairs, and hello, Commissioner, and to the team.

(03:38:46)

The increase of $14.8 million of City funding in Fiscal Year 27 to expand services for the Crisis Management System program is welcome news. My community has seen a surge in gun violence in the last few months, including in the neighboring district where the Deputy Speaker represents, with the tragic shooting of a 15-year-old here in Southeast Queens. How will this new funding allocation help reduce gun violence, particularly among our youth? What groups will see additional funding thanks to this increase? And how will the transition to the Office of Community Safety impact programming and the City's administration of these programs? Because we know when it shifted from MOCJ it was a whole dynamic there.

And then also for my providers, they are often going above and beyond, going beyond the small territory they are responsible for, and the funding they have right now is absolutely not sufficient. And the last question I will leave you with, I can repeat whatever you need me to: Summer Youth Employment meets a critical gap for youth to seek gainful employment and stay busy during the summer months, but we have heard that youth need similar employment opportunities throughout the academic school year. What is the agency doing to meet this need?

(03:40:11)

I am going to start. Thank you for that question, Council Member. I am going to start with the transition from DYCD to the Office of Community Safety, and then I will pass it over to my colleague Darrell. The first thing I want to say is that I am really excited about Deputy Mayor Rita Francois and her commitment to really seeing this program through and to making it a priority for the whole City. So the transition is going to take place in two phases. The first is the programmatic and strategic transition, which has already occurred, so it is already reporting to the new Commissioner and to the Deputy Mayor, and that has been seamless and it has been happening in tandem with the support of my team. The operational aspects of it, the contracts and some of the operations, are going to be transitioned over the next year. What I can say is that because we had the experience of transitioning from ORCA, we do this in ways that really keep programming intact and do not disrupt services. So we are all committed to doing that and to continuing to partner with the Deputy Mayor as well as the new Commissioner. And then Darrell, you can speak specifically to the other questions.

(03:41:48)

Council Member, it is great to see you. You too. So we are working closely with the Office of Community Safety on the additional investment of $14.8 million for the Office of Neighborhood Safety. We are working on details now on both how that is going to be either amended or procured and which groups it is going to go to, but it will support the place-based work, the precision work that that team is doing on the ground, so supporting the Crisis Management System, supporting the wrap services, and supporting the hospital program as well.

(03:42:24)

And I just want to put a plug in for Hamels and expansion to Hamels, because right now I am using discretionary funding, which is fine, but they have not been designated an official site. So we have King of Kings, which is stretching pretty much most of the peninsula, and then...

(03:42:39)

...the supplemental funding I give to Queens World Priesthood is like a stop-gap. So we need to expand those, especially as the summertime comes. And then the question I typed...

(03:42:54)

Thank you for that question. I am really excited about it because we agree. We have our Work, Learn and Grow program, which was created due to advocacy from the Council many years ago. That program serves 7,000 young people who are able to extend their experiences through the school year, and we have found that the impact of that program is really exponential on top of what they get through it. To engage them throughout the school year, we are able to offer college credits. A lot of the young people who go through Work, Learn and Grow have received college credit, over 20,000 of them in the past five years. And we have another thousand people in our Learn and Earn program, which is also a full-year program. So I would say we definitely appreciate your advocacy. There is tremendous interest from young people for Work, Learn and Grow, and so it is definitely a place that as an agency we are looking to continue investing in. My very first on-the-books job was the Summer Youth Employment Program, and then I also worked through the school year. It was not called what it is called now back then, but it definitely was helpful to get money in my own pocket. So I advocate for that, and I know our amazing Chair Stevens does as well. Thank you.

(03:44:16)

Thank you. CM Won, followed by CM Wills.

(03:44:17)

Thank you very much. I appreciate the call yesterday where we discussed the after-school programs. I sent a letter, I assume you got it, and we hope that that can be changed. Is it true that we could do subcontracting if nothing else works?

(03:44:37)

The contract does allow for 30%.

(03:44:39)

Subcontracting, 30%. Okay, that is not everything, but okay.

(03:44:42)

Also, just so you know, the principals do not have a contact for the other provider. They do not know how to reach them.

(03:44:51)

I obviously know, so I made the contact, but they do not have a contact. So they contacted you to get a contact. So I hope that can be changed. It is really causing a lot of challenges. Also, PS 145 is not happy. They want LEAP. I assume you know that. They also contacted me. Everybody contacts me.

(03:45:11)

And so they too are upset. So you have got a lot of upset people.

(03:45:16)

On contracting, we have wonderful staff. We were constantly working, really, with a lot of agencies in Manhattan, not just in my district. And the issue constantly is... I want to know, what is the benchmark? So what metrics do you use to evaluate whether...

(03:45:30)

...the contracting process has improved, and what do those metrics compare to previous years? And also, do you keep track of how many get escalated to the Mayor's Office of Nonprofit Services, which is what we do? We call them and then work with them to try to get an address. Is that something you keep track of? So we do work very closely with the Mayor's Office of Contract Services. We meet with them weekly. We have our own tracking and monitoring system where we are able to track where the contract is within the life cycle, that is outside of PASSPort. So we are able to pull data from our own internal systems as well as from PASSPort on where things are in the contracting process. So how do you measure that it is working better? We also have weekly meetings. We have contracting weeklies. We have a program operations team that meets with us to ensure that we are meeting our regular goals and targets. This is all implemented as part of the backlog initiative that was put in place two or three years ago. So we are actively monitoring and also working on improving our lifecycle for registration.

(03:46:50)

Okay, and then I guess there is a three-year contract. The three-year contract process went into effect. We are hearing that people do not find it is more... I thought it would really be much better, but they do not feel that it is as productive, even more so than it was in the past. Do you know how many providers chose not to apply or expressed confusion about the...

(03:47:13)

...new model? I do not have those numbers. Can...

(03:47:14)

...you get them to us? Yeah, we will have to also work with the Mayor's Office of Contract Services, because although there is a three-year contract term, it still has to go through the clearance process as well as the annual application that providers have to file with the Council. Could they feel like there is not enough communication so that they understand the process? Just so you know, I am getting this because we get everything, people contacting us. Thank you.

(03:47:41)

Thank you. CM Wong, followed by CM Wills.

(03:47:43)

Okay, thank you. My question, my first question, regards the attendance for Summer Rising. Okay, so we have over 150,000 applications that were submitted from March 3 to 27, but my experience with Summer Rising is that quite often some kids do not show up, and meanwhile there are other kids on the waiting list who are expecting a phone call but never get the call. So my question is, who does the outreach? Is it the school's job? Because when I call a school I get the runaround. Thank you.

(03:48:24)

Thank you for that question. I think it is important to know that this is a collaborative program model between New York City public schools and ensuring that there are supports and services for all young people. Also, summer is a very different model in itself, right? It is not a requirement to show up every single day. We have families that utilize space and weeks and days differently than you would with after school, which is a year-round component. Another thing is that the wait list is also managed with other components, such as ensuring that we are prioritizing youth that are special needs students and students in temporary housing, so families that will be able to have the opportunity to have those seats that they probably would have never had before.

(03:49:08)

And it is an extremely popular model, so we are going to see robust wait lists in certain areas, and then you know from one year to the next...

(03:49:16)

Every year we do focus on looking at specific locations and sites where we can put up more programs. And actually this year, we opened up more programs that kind of...

(03:49:25)

...lightened the load on wait lists at specific schools. This past year we opened up 40 new elementary programs. Let me note that the demand has increased, but our families...

(03:49:35)

...on the waiting lists, are they being contacted and told, okay, we have an opening, please come? Because my impression is that they do not get these phone calls.

(03:49:43)

I am glad you asked that question. As my colleague was mentioning, every year we listen to feedback and we make improvements. We had roughly the same amount of applications this year as last year, but we made significantly more offers, thousands more offers at this time in comparison to the same time last year. We also have thousands more of those offers accepted. So we are above by the thousands the numbers that we had last year. The wait list has actually gotten smaller because of those efforts. So as the Commissioner said in her testimony, looking at the attendance patterns and enrollment patterns as you mentioned, we have been able to get more young people placed into the program than we ever have before.

(03:50:24)

Being able to anticipate some of those trends, and I think we will see changes to the experience you had last summer.

(03:50:29)

Oh, quite back to my problem, my question. If kids do not show up, say after the first week, should the next person move up? Does that happen?

(03:50:43)

Reaches out. So both the school and have access to the same waitlist. So either the school or will be doing some engagement as the list moves. So if they are not receiving a call, unfortunately that means you. Okay? A quick question — quick: city or state? The $246 million, is that primarily city funds or state? It is primarily city funding with a small allocation of funding from the state.

(03:51:17)

Because I have historically seen state funding, or am I wrong here? The scale of the state funding is very small in comparison to the amount of city tax levy that we have funding the program. I see. Okay, I see it is so successful, I think you should increase the size of it. And I have not seen that happening, so please look into that.

(03:51:43)

Thank you. Okay. CM Wilson, followed by Banks. Thank you, Chairs. I would also like to add my voice with that of my colleagues Maloney and Epps regarding Manhattan Youth. I have received an overwhelming correspondence to my office — over 400 parents, students and teachers concerned about the change. You know, they received positive audits and built decades-long relationships with the school communities and parent communities. They have been told that the new programs are going to look to incorporate the same staff and programs that existed. So my question is: if we are looking to keep what was built by Manhattan Youth, why switch providers? Because procurement processes allow for competition, which is necessary for the ecosystem of New York City. So while, again, I wanted to say that I appreciate the advocacy and my heart goes out to the children, youth and families of those communities, I also want to say that I have confidence that the new provider will be able to meet the needs of the communities as well.

(03:52:54)

The Council in my district also put out a resolution asking for them to be reinstated, and you know, given that response from the parents and the school board, would there be any consideration to reinstating Manhattan Youth? What I would say is that the school procurement process was different than the center-based process because the school procurement process allowed for continuity of the slots, the number of seats in a building. So what is being asked of us is essentially: would we give the contract to another provider that won it through the competition, unless we found something egregious in the process? And believe me, I am reading a lot of these close calls to make sure. But it is really the continuity of the slots and not the provider.

I also want to ask about the selection. I want to acknowledge that Hudson Guild is here with us today, which is a provider in Council District 3, centered in Chelsea, right next to very important developments and families that they serve. They were recipients of one of these cuts, and this leaves a huge gap in my district for after-school programming, with the provider on the northern edge — you know, that is really not going to work for parents and the community and for the families, especially those in the neighborhood that really rely on this. So how are we going to deal with that gap and how is Hudson Guild going to make sure that they have the continued resources they need to serve Manhattan and my Council district?

(03:54:31)

Yeah, I would say that we are in the process of thinking about continuity of services and stability of the ecosystem for center-based awards, and we are hopeful, as I mentioned earlier, to share where we land after June 6. Can I ask you more questions?

(03:54:53)

Okay. The funds fund students. What are the challenges faced in understanding whether those programs are reaching the students who need them the most and whether they are working, and how can the New Visions portal potentially help address those challenges? I want to understand more which programs you are talking about. I mean, on the one hand, all of our programs are designed to help young people to reach their goals and to thrive. I am not sure which particular program you are talking about, but...

(03:55:41)

Let me — I can answer about a portion of that, and I think Valerie, if you can chime in as well. I think one of the things that New Visions offers through the portal is access to data that community-based organizations would ordinarily not have access to right now.

(03:55:59)

Currently all of our contracts are designed to check enrollment and participation, but with the support of a New Visions for Public Schools portal, we are able to look at how that correlates to academic gains.

(03:56:18)

I oversee our workforce programs, which are primarily young people between the ages of 14 and 24, and we have been in conversations with the New Visions team about ways we can leverage their tool, because we are always looking at ways to demonstrate the specific impacts, especially of the Summer Youth Employment Program and Work, Learn, Grow, which I talked about a little earlier.

So we have been looking at things we already do, but we have been looking at expanding — like, for a school, can they see a young person's participation in the Summer Youth Employment Program so that they can take that into consideration as they are developing what a high school experience is going to look like for that young person? And then in return, can we look at how that young person did throughout the program now that we have that data in that portal and can see comprehensively how their experience was in a public school? So I am really proud that over the last many years we have been building that partnership with public schools, and we are now in conversation with New Visions about how we can leverage their tools.

(03:57:15)

And I just want to add that that is super critical in terms of allowing providers to use data to inform their practice. So we are hopeful to continue to be working with them and expand our work with New Visions in the coming years. Thank you. Great. Council Member.

(03:57:32)

Thank you, Chair. Commissioner and your team, one of the obviously major topics of discussion and contention has been the COMPASS program. One of the major concerns arising following the most recent COMPASS process involves the concentration of contracts in a smaller number of large organizations, reportedly overseeing north of 80 schools or sites under the COMPASS program. What is the agency's rationale for allowing one provider to manage such a large portfolio

(03:58:15)

of school-based contracts? So at the time of award selection, we really did take that into consideration. The provider that you are referencing did submit a lot of proposals across the entire procurement and were not selected for everything that they proposed for, and they do make up only 10% of all the awards that were made. We did not award them in multiple competitions just to ensure that we were reaching other providers. That is a...

(03:58:42)

That is a large concentration of contracts for one organization. They are an existing provider, and when we were making awards we wanted to ensure that we were making them thoughtfully and not over-growing the system, and we really did make an effort to ensure that we were reaching other providers within the different competitions.

(03:59:06)

So will that particular provider... actually, they received contracts in the main areas where they have no track record, as well as community relations. So how do you rationalize that?

(03:59:21)

Yeah, within their response they demonstrated to be the highest proposer within those competitions.

(03:59:27)

Okay, but I think... I think your point is well taken, and I want to also just say there are 52 new

(03:59:34)

providers as a result of that. So in prior iterations we had higher concentrations of what you are speaking of, right? And this has really opened up the aperture and created an ecosystem that is more balanced, that takes into account small, medium and large organizations.

(03:59:53)

For many of the smaller community-based organizations feel that they are being shut out of the opportunities within the COMPASS ecosystem despite years of service and strong relationships within their communities. What opportunities currently exist for these small nonprofits to grow within COMPASS and the broader ecosystem and compete for additional sites or contracts over time?

(04:00:28)

Including programs such as Saturday Night Lights and other active initiatives — what has been done to support those groups or give them opportunities? As the Commissioner mentioned, we have 52 new providers as a result of this COMPASS, right? And in terms of small organizations with less than a hundred thousand dollars in revenue, we do have a whole host of capacity-building services that helped those providers along the way as they entered into a COMPASS portfolio. In terms of new procurement, at this time we do not have anything for them to apply to, but they do have the opportunity to serve as subcontractors, which helps them get into these COMPASS programs and start building their ability to...

(04:01:16)

I have one — there is one organization that has been in a school for close to 10 years or so, a long, long track record in that community. They have been surviving off discretionary monies that we have given them and then other monies that they have raised. They competed for a COMPASS award, you know, they submitted, and they actually got approval — the principal supported them, the consideration was given — but they did not get the contract. And that to me means something, because having a relationship with the community, having a relationship with students means a lot.

I know the Commissioner had mentioned earlier — I think it was the Commissioner — the need to support those new organizations that are coming in and figure out ways that the community can instruct them or give them ideas and things that they want to see. That relationship is important, and when that chemistry is broken up, it can do damage to the community. I do not want you to be looking at, you know, numbers and score cards, but those relationships mean a lot. I do not want our community to be negatively impacted because of a score chart that really does not take into account the human side of the impact of those relationships.

So I know this is ongoing and I know a lot of these organizations have put in the appeals, and we are hoping that strong consideration is given to those organizations. Thank you. And can I just ask one more question, Madam Chair, very quickly? You can indulge. This is the last one, I promise. Those are the questions. Thank you for your indulgence.

(04:03:06)

When it comes to contract processing and staff reimbursement, this has been a major issue with a lot of the discretionary applications for a lot of small organizations. What is being done? My office — I think every Council office — has to act as a medium between and those organizations, but there are many times when they want to... you should just directly call organizations if there are issues that occur or documents are missing, and sometimes there is a major lapse in communications. What we want to do is see how we can strengthen that.

(04:03:45)

Where it is directly being more proactive and reaching out to those organizations, rather than trusting my office. We could be dealing with a whole host of other issues instead of having to be this medium or this go-between between the agency and nonprofits. So if we can improve that, it will go a long way. Thank you.

(04:04:02)

Thank you. And I am sure the Commissioner will take that, because it adds to the million-item list of things to do. I am just going to do a quick lightning round on some things, because I know we do have to wrap up very quickly. My first question is just around... Val, there you go. I am just thinking about as we prepare for the summer and going into the summer and thinking about the issue we had last summer with the debit card and things like that. I just want to get a clear understanding of how are we moving forward to ensure that that does not take place again and ensuring that, you know,

(04:04:33)

young people are getting paid in a timely manner and that things are happening succinctly. I can assure you that the team is doing everything within our control to prevent it from happening again. I mean, I can talk about this for a very long time because it has been our focus since the day it happened last year. But at a high level, we are doing everything from engaging young people to training our providers. Providers have been convened to make sure they are focused on educating their young people on the risks of participating in fraud, and we are working with the banks, the Law Department, the payroll processor and all of those folks to understand what they are doing to prevent it from happening again. Thank you.

(04:05:15)

So much. I know we have been COMPASS-crazy, but I will call you so we can have a deeper briefing to go over how do we prevent it and what it looks like moving forward. Really quickly — this might be over here, so get ready. This is adult literacy. I just have some questions around that. I know who works on what. The New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy has responded to the threat and supports a $20 million proposal for the Mayor's administration to create a new funding stream for immigrant adult literacy students called Education for Integration and Equality. Are those conversations ongoing to add this funding stream in the adopted budget? Have you guys started having those conversations?

(04:06:07)

I am sorry, could you restate the last part of... I was asking, you know, the coalition has been asking about this $20 million proposal for additional funding for immigrant adult literacy students. Have you guys started to have those conversations, and will they already be underway around this?

(04:06:23)

So there has not been a pointed conversation with OMB at this time. As you are aware, the administration had to deal with a significant budget crisis, but we are having internal conversations and talking with them about the nature of the proposal. The Adult Literacy Forward initiative is currently funded by the Council, which was created in partnership with the expertise of providers. It focuses on meeting the community needs with an innovative and holistic approach to adult literacy. Is the City open to adopting this as a baseline for the adult literacy program? We are...

(04:06:57)

happy to continue to support the Council's pilot. As you will recall, there was a prior iteration before Adult Literacy Forward, and for our part we believe that we learned from that model as well as the pilot that we did. That is why we increased the price per participant under the current literacy model. So we currently like and abide by the model that we have, and we will be happy to continue to receive support from the Council as they have in prior years to expand the number of slots made available under the model.

(04:07:26)

The next question I have is just around the Fathers Initiative. What is the current budget for the

(04:07:31)

Fathers Initiative? Bridget?

(04:07:35)

I will defer to Inna to answer that question.

(04:07:37)

And who are the providers that received awards and in what boroughs and districts? I just do not

(04:07:42)

have all that detail. Okay, sorry. But for the budget, I can tell you that the budget for Fatherhood at FY27 — sorry, it is okay. In terms of the providers, there are 14 providers operating 17 contracts: six are in the Bronx, four in Brooklyn, three in Manhattan, three in Queens and two in Staten Island. We can follow up with you later after the

(04:08:10)

show. Do not worry, you are going to follow up a whole lot. I still have a bunch of questions I could not get through, and I am trying to be really quick. They told me I had two minutes and 15 seconds, so I have one more question. Did you... it was about these

(04:08:22)

problems. Oh, here goes. Sorry. Okay, so my next question is just around: what is the actual spending for the Omni Cards? The budget is at $11 million for the Omni Cards, and how many providers have received the cards?

(04:08:38)

Almost sorry. I should have had you. We...

(04:08:39)

were really trying not to do the mic shuffling. It did not work out the way... wait, can you repeat that? If you are asking about what was the actual spending for FY26, budgeted at $11 million for the Omni Cards — how many providers have received those cards and has the agency received any reports from providers on the distribution of those cards?

(04:08:59)

I was going to ask Valerie to speak more to the distribution and providers and recipients, but I can tell you that last year we spent approximately $4 million towards the Omni cards. That funding went to about 80,000 cards. Participants need multiple cards to get through the summer, so it was for about 40,000 participants that we purchased cards for, and they were distributed to 90 providers. We have very tight policies around the providers' responsibility of tracking which participants get the cards, how many cards are distributed, where they store them, and they report all of that back to us on a regular basis. We then use that information to take into account the need for each following program cycle.

(04:09:42)

Okay, so we are short on time and I do not want to go over anymore, but we still have a ton of questions. We will be sending them over to you. We want to make sure that we know we are going into negotiations, but please do not let that hold up giving us these questions because we really want to get through it. We will be sending them over as soon as possible, and I know there were even colleagues who have questions, so we will be sending those over. Please make sure that we are working in tandem. Think of getting this done and not letting negotiations get in the way of that. So thank you for being here today and I will pass it back over to the chair.

(04:10:20)

Oh, okay. I mean, you basically said it all very efficiently, so thank you so much. I just want to thank you all again for being such great partners. Thank you so much.

(04:12:46)

Quiet down, please. We are getting ready to begin with our next panel. Quiet down, please. Quiet in the chambers. Please take your seats. We are getting ready to begin. Just a reminder: no one approach the dais during this hearing. There are no food or beverages allowed in this room. Please find your seats. Okay, everyone, please find their seats. We are getting ready to begin. Please find your seat and quiet down, please. Quiet in the chambers. Just a reminder: no one approach the dais. No food or beverages are allowed in this room. Great. Thank you.

(04:18:32)

All right, it is good to see familiar faces. Okay, so good afternoon and welcome to today's third hearing on the Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget. I am Council Member Linda Lee. I am glad to be joined today — oh, I am sorry — I am glad to be joined today by my colleague Chair Elsie Encarnación, Chair of the Committee on Immigration. We have also been joined by our Deputy Speaker, CM Williams, CM Wong and CM Avilés.

So welcome to a familiar face, Commissioner Fisa Ali, and your team. Thank you all for joining us to answer our questions. On May 12, 2026, the administration released the Executive Financial Plan for Fiscal Years 2026 to 2030, with a proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget. The Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs' proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget of $781,962 represents 0.0063% — and I feel like that is important to note — with such a sizable immigrant population in our City, of the administration's proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget in the executive plan. This remains unchanged from the originally budgeted amount in the Fiscal Year 2027 preliminary plan.

As of April 26, MOIA had 31 fewer — or three fewer, I am sorry — than their Fiscal Year 2026 budgeted headcount. In the Council's preliminary budget response, we called on the Mayor to ensure the critical and essential services we provide to our immigrant population be upheld and that we safeguard programs that may be at risk with any possible federal funding cuts. My questions are largely going to focus on a number of the services around community funding, the consolidation of all immigrant services into a single source, contract payment delays — which is one of our favorite topics — prioritizing access to mental health and health services, the legal support hotline, the City preparing for the 2030 Census, and also MOIA preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. I now want to turn it over to my co-chair for this hearing, Chair Encarnación, for her opening statement. Thank you.

(04:20:54)

Good afternoon to Commissioner Ali and her team. Thank you all for joining us. Before we get started, I want to take a quick moment to thank the entire...

(04:21:02)

Council Finance Division and committee staff for their efforts in preparing for today's hearings and all of the hearings alongside the Finance Chair. I am sending her all of my reserved energy to continue on through this budget process. I also want to start off by condemning the horrific shooting that occurred at the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18 and stand in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters to say hate and violence against our vibrant immigrant communities will never be tolerated. We offer our condolences to the families of the victims whose lives were taken.

Our immigrant communities continue to be under attack. Last week, we saw an uptick in arrests by ICE, and recently the news publication The City reported that 800 New Yorkers were arrested by ICE between October 2025 and March 2026, and they were not even the intended targets of immigration officers. The federal administration has threatened to increase the so-called collateral arrests and sanction cities like New York.

Last year, the Council fought long and hard to secure a historic level of over $50 million for immigration legal services, doubling the City's investment to safeguard immigrant communities. The Council values the partnership and the task force meetings it has formed since last year with MOIA, the Office of Civil Justice and Project Open Arms in prioritizing funding and resources for immigrant neighbors. For Fiscal Year 2027, the Council is urging the restoration of last year's budget amount and an additional $30 million to further protect and enhance our sanctuary city's immigration legal services in this time of great need.

(04:22:48)

I will be repeating that number over and over again, so you do not have to write it down — no worries. Commissioner, you played a critical role in securing that funding last year and we are asking you to continue your advocacy within the administration.

(04:23:05)

We look forward to an open and honest conversation at today's hearing and I will now turn it back over to the chair.

(04:23:12)

Okay, great. So just before we start, just a couple of housekeeping rules. As a reminder, for this year's Executive Budget...

(04:23:19)

We have a shorter time. We are doing all of the public testimony on one day, on Wednesday, June 10, beginning at 9:30 a.m. So please make sure to sign up for June 10, Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. We will try to make it as fun and exciting all day as possible, so please come join us that day. Also, because we are pressed for time — because we have to be out of the space and we only have the translators for a certain number of hours — if members could keep their questions brief and if you could keep the responses as brief as possible, so we can get through everything, that would be great.

(04:23:57)

Great. And if we can keep the openings to 10 minutes — if it goes over, it is...

(04:24:27)

Great, thank you so much. Good afternoon and thank you to Chair Encarnación and members of the Committee on Immigration, as well as Chair Lee, Deputy Speaker Dr. Nantasha Williams and members of the Committee on Finance for this opportunity to testify today. My name is Faisa Ali and I am the Commissioner for the New York City Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, or MOIA. I am joined today by my colleagues Lorraine Abucerro, Deputy Commissioner of Programs and Policy, as well as Jaznia Sanchez, Acting Chief of Staff and Deputy Commissioner of Administration and Strategic Initiatives.

As the daughter of immigrants, I understand deeply the role that local government must play in ensuring communities are treated with fairness, dignity and respect. Across the country, aggressive ICE enforcement operations have sown fear and uncertainty in immigrant communities, and in this moment New York City must be clear: we remain committed to protecting all New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status. At a time when immigrant families are increasingly being met with disdain, contempt and hostility, local government must be a source of stability, clarity and protection. That requires investment, operational capacity and sustained support to meet our responsibility to immigrant New Yorkers.

Today, I will provide a brief update on MOIA and highlight six key areas of our work: immigration legal services, the immigration legal support hotline, the Haitian Response Initiative, the Rapid Response Collaborative, language justice and English language learning. I watched immigrant New Yorkers arrive for routine immigration proceedings only to encounter an atmosphere of intimidation. Hallways were filled with families lawfully seeking status while enforcement agents moved through the building in masks. It was deeply unsettling and a stark reminder of what is at stake for the communities that we all serve.

At MOIA's preliminary budget hearing, I outlined the challenges immigrant communities are facing under the federal detention and deportation campaigns. ICE's recent presence at the Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn drew community protests and a highly visible NYPD response. Consistent with Executive Order 13's directive to continuously review policies and protocols, NYPD, in partnership with the Interagency Response Committee, will assess whether there are any updates to policy and procedure to be made in light of that incident. Pursuant to Executive Order 13, agencies have completed their initial audit of policies and protocols with support from the Interagency Response Committee on interactions with local immigration enforcement and is updating its training guidelines and materials accordingly. MOIA remains an active participant in the ongoing work of the committee.

This is a moment when immigrant New Yorkers need reassurance that their local government will stand with them and protect them. Mayor Mamdani was elected in part because New Yorkers recognize the growing instability and anxiety many immigrant families face about their place in our society. It is MOIA's responsibility to help restore trust, reinforce that commitment and ensure that there is continued access to schools, health care, housing and City services for all New Yorkers.

In the interest of time, I am going to skip around in my testimony. You do have my full statement as well. With a Fiscal Year 2027 budget of approximately $34.2 million, MOIA maintains more than 70 contracts with nonprofit organizations serving immigrant communities across the five boroughs. We have already communicated funding levels to all contracted providers so that they can plan accordingly for the next fiscal year. Over the past few weeks — it feels like it has been several months already at MOIA — but over the past few weeks I have met directly with our providers to better understand how the City can be a stronger partner. They are meeting this moment with urgency, compassion and a deep community trust, doing critical work on the front lines. Now more than ever, the City must provide stability in both funding and vision so providers can continue delivering urgently needed services to immigrant New Yorkers.

At the same time, MOIA is continuing to build a team capable of advancing Mayor Mamdani's bold agenda. Ten new positions at MOIA are currently open and we expect to move forward with hiring in the coming weeks. I appreciate the Council's continued attention to MOIA's staffing levels and look forward to sharing additional updates soon.

Over the past year, MOIA has strengthened its legal service infrastructure during a period of dramatically increased need. MOIA's immigration legal programs include legal support centers, the immigration legal support hotline, the legal technical mentorship program and the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative. Together, these initiatives expand access to trusted immigration legal support at a time when the demand continues to grow. Our immigration legal service network includes 29 providers serving communities across the five boroughs.

Last summer, MOIA launched the Immigration Legal Support Centers, supported by more than $18 million in investments over three years, to strengthen community-based organizations providing culturally and linguistically responsive immigration legal assistance. Since the program's launch in July 2025, more than 12,000 comprehensive legal screenings have been conducted, helping immigrants address a wide range of legal needs. These investments are critical not only to expand services but to strengthen the long-term capacity of the organizations immigrant New Yorkers rely on the most.

Another critical resource for immigrant New Yorkers is MOIA's immigration legal support hotline, operated by Catholic Charities, which helps New Yorkers connect to comprehensive immigration legal screenings and support. So far this year, the hotline has received more than 19,800 calls. In Fiscal Year 2026, MOIA increased funding to expand the hotline's accessibility and responsiveness as callers face increasingly urgent and complex immigration challenges. This year, we partnered with Catholic Charities to host a family preparedness event at a food bank, responding to concerns from parents and caregivers about family separation, in collaboration with the New York State Office of New Americans, the Mexican Consulate and the New York Legal Assistance Group. Fifty-six volunteers fielded 225 calls. As part of this expansion, the hotline increased staffing capacity, including hiring additional counselors and staff members specifically designated to respond to time-sensitive rapid response needs. The hours of operation were also extended beyond the previous Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule, so that callers have more opportunities to reach the hotline.

(04:31:56)

Support outside of a standard work hour day, the hotline also launched WhatsApp communications, expanded multilingual reporting from 4 to 10 languages and added three new interactive voice response language prompts.

Moving on to the Haitian Response Initiative. MOYA coordinates HRI, a program designed to support both newly arrived and long-standing Haitian residents. The initiative funds seven Haitian-led community based organizations to provide case management and social services, while Catholic Charities delivers immigration legal services and capacity building trainings. Established in FY22, HRI was baselined last year at nearly $1.7 million. HRI partners have also organized legal clinics across the City, helping hundreds of Haitian New Yorkers access legal assistance related to deportation protections, legal remedies and work authorization. Catholic Charities regularly conducts train-the-trainer workshops to equip community organizations with real time issues independently.

This work remains especially urgent as we know, amid growing instability in Haiti and a pending Supreme Court decision that will determine the future of TPS. FY26 alone has completed six legal clinics, with an additional asylum application review clinic scheduled today, May 28, 2026, at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

I will skip now to talk a little bit about the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative. MOYA has significantly expanded our Rapid Response Legal Collaborative, which provides legal assistance to immigrant New Yorkers who are detained or at imminent risk of detention or deportation. To meet the growing demand, MOYA increased our investment in rapid response legal efforts by $3 million this fiscal year.

MOYA also coordinates rapid response efforts in schools to ensure that immigrant families receive timely information and support when immigration enforcement activity occurs in or near their communities. It includes connecting schools, families and community partners to legal resources, know your rights information and direct services referrals. These are centralized through Project Open Arms, a dedicated team within New York City Public Schools that coordinates across public schools, including charter schools, District 75 and District 79 schools as well, to support immigrant families and help ensure access to a full range of services.

I also wanted to provide an update on MOYA's language access work, an area that impacts nearly every aspect of City government. MOYA oversees, monitors and provides technical assistance to more than 46 City agencies in implementing language access services. Language justice is not simply a compliance obligation. It is a core equity and public trust issue. New Yorkers cannot fully access critical services or exercise their rights or meaningfully engage with City government if language remains a barrier to information, to care or to participation. This work impacts New Yorkers with limited English proficiency and is essential to ensuring equitable access to City services.

On April 17, MOYA convened all of the City's language access coordinators for a historic citywide meeting and launched working groups focused on strengthening relationships with language service providers, multilingual strategic communication and engagement, bilingual talent and language access training as well as language access in data and evaluation. In addition, MOYA has built an in-house language services team that provides translation and interpretation support to mayoral offices and City Hall. Thus far in FY26, the team has delivered translation and interpretation services to 37 mayoral offices and agencies. The team has also provided on-site language support at migrant centers and played a critical role in rapidly translating updated shelter protocols for recent arrivals.

On community engagement: finally, I wanted to share that MOYA's community engagement work helps immigrant New Yorkers access services, understand their rights and stay connected to trusted information during a time of high fear and uncertainty. Through our immigrant rights workshops, MOYA staff deliver presentations that connect community organizations and their members to free, high quality immigration legal services and know your rights resources. In FY26, the program delivered over 300 presentations, reaching over 7,000 people citywide, continuing our critical work reaching diverse communities where they are.

MOYA also continues to strengthen relationships with trusted ethnic and community media outlets that serve immigrant New Yorkers in multiple languages. In the past year, MOYA has led 10 community and ethnic media roundtables to share critical information through hyperlocal newspapers and television stations that immigrant communities rely on for timely and accurate information. So far during my tenure, we have convened several such roundtables, with additional sessions scheduled for this summer.

In conclusion, MOYA was created to ensure that immigrant New Yorkers can fully participate in the civic, economic and cultural life of this City, and that mission is especially important and critical during periods of rapid policy change and growing uncertainty for immigrant communities. Meeting this moment requires strong coordination across agencies, partnership with community based organizations and continued investment in the systems that help immigrant New Yorkers access services, understand their rights and remain connected to their neighborhoods and opportunities. As the needs facing immigrant communities continue to evolve, MOYA will remain focused on building trust, strengthening that coordination and ensuring New York City remains a place where immigrant families can live with dignity, safety and opportunity.

Finally, I want to thank the City's dedicated public servants, many of whom are in this room and make these hearings run, and our community partners for their continued support in responding every day to the needs of both recently arrived and long-standing immigrant New Yorkers. Immigrant New Yorkers are not separate from the story of this City. They are central to it. They are workers, parents, students, business owners, neighbors and caregivers who sustain the City every day. I look forward to working with the Council to ensure that our policies, investments and institutions reflect that reality while continuing to strengthen the communities that are, in fact, the backbone of our City. Thank you.

(04:39:20)

Thank you, Commissioner. I just want to say thank you as well, because even back in the day when you were in the Council, when I was at CAAAV, you were instrumental in helping a lot of our immigrant communities and nonprofit organizations be that bridge to us accessing folks in government. So I think it is a very crucial role that you played and still play, even more so now in this role. So thank you.

Okay, so I will go through my questions quickly because I know we have others that need to ask questions. Since MOYA is a mayoral office, technically it is not a full-fledged City agency. What specific challenges and limitations does this structure present in terms of funding, operational capacity and policy implementation? Because I know you have to go across a lot of different City agencies. I think it is a really important conversation that should be had, and it just...

(04:40:16)

...deserves a more nuanced answer rather than a binary answer of like, should MOYA be an agency or not. Right now, MOYA's structure as an office does create certain limitations because we are, like you said, fundamentally a coordinating office rather than a standalone operational agency, and much of our work does require sustained partnership across City

(04:40:40)

government. But at the same time, I think that there are some real strengths to the current structure that we should take into consideration. Being housed within City Hall, for example, gives MOYA direct proximity to executive decision making on issues related to immigrants and immigrant inclusion. It really allows us to also elevate our concerns as a citywide priority rather than being siloed into a standalone agency. But I say all this to say that I think it is really important for me, and I am glad you raised the question, the issue of input and engagement with advocates. I think this is a conversation that needs to be had more broadly with other stakeholders to fully understand

(04:41:28)

what the impact would be, in fact, if we were to transition into an agency or not. And are there regular meetings or task force groups or conversations? I am assuming the answer is yes, but if you could speak to that a little bit, because between MOYA and the agencies you touch, how has that been in terms of...

(04:41:53)

...the last few weeks? Well, I mean, there is a long-standing task force that MOYA is responsible for, and it brings to the table all 46 City agencies for the very purpose of making sure that we are sharing updates and information that can potentially impact immigrant New Yorkers. Those meetings happen quarterly. But I will go a step further. Tapping into my organizing background, it is really important for me as the leader of this office to also engage commissioners at some of the leading agencies where immigrant New Yorkers seek services and make sure that we are building those relationships across commissioners as well. So I have been focused on having those meetings, having those conversations and making sure that we are elevating those issues even outside of the interagency task force meetings.

(04:42:50)

Okay. And then moving on to community support. I know that there was an analysis done by Stop AAPI Hate and it found that ICE arrests have gone up seven times in the Asian community, and there have been over 1,400 arrests of individuals within New York, compared to 205 arrests of Asian immigrants during a similar period. The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund released a report highlighting systemic gaps in language access, outreach, funding structure and institutional partnerships. So how has your office, or will your office, increase access to legal services specifically for the community, and what are some challenges you have had connecting this population to legal services, which I am sure a lot of...

(04:43:42)

...has to do with language and other things. But...

(04:43:44)

Yeah, I think first it is

(04:43:46)

really important to highlight that MOYA meets the needs of immigrant communities through sustained engagement with stakeholders, advocates and different organizations, and that includes ongoing meetings with advocates and community organizations. We have close partnerships with serving organizations and many of them receive funding and run our legal support centers or our immigrant rights workshops.

I think that one of the biggest challenges, to answer your question more directly, is language access. Earlier this year, MOYA met with AALDEF after they released that report, and I think one of the findings that really stood out and reflects what we see in our own work is that nearly six in ten New Yorkers who speak an Asian language have limited English proficiency. While many of the legal services hotlines right now primarily operate in English and Spanish, for many immigrants the legal system can seem inaccessible. But language is only part of the challenge. I think that these communities are incredibly diverse as well, with different immigration histories and cultural contexts and levels of familiarity, frankly, with the systems.

So typically we would tend to lean on a one-size-fits-all approach to outreach, but in this instance it just is not something that would work. There are real gaps when it comes to culturally and linguistically competent legal services, particularly for some of the less common languages that are spoken. I think that is primarily a reason why MOYA has focused heavily on our partnerships, especially when we are doing our multilingual know your rights work. We have relied heavily on our ethnic media engagement. Community media is where a lot of the Asian communities seek trusted information, and so it has been really important for us to forge those relationships with ethnic media and to get the information out.

(04:45:55)

And I think this is across all communities in general, and something we have heard in our roundtable conversations, where there really is such a shortage of culturally competent attorneys that are available. So what are some ways that, and you sort of alluded to this with the partnership aspect, but what are some ways that local community based organizations can partner with you to bridge this gap?

(04:46:17)

We know there are areas where I think additional culturally and linguistically responsive legal capacity would make a real meaningful difference, especially for Asian communities. I think meeting those needs requires sustained investment in community-led legal infrastructure. One specific way that MOYA is already working on this is really through capacity building initiatives. I mentioned in my testimony the legal technical mentorship program that is administered by ARK. Making sure that our immigrant-led serving organizations have access to that capacity building tool is really critical.

(04:47:04)

Okay, and then moving to the legal support hotline. I know that you were in FY26 and I know the Council also supported this with an additional $500,000 in FY26 to further expand the hotline, I think, and outreach to the Asian and African communities. So I just wanted to get a sense of how you were able to partner with ethnic media or local community based groups to do that outreach for the hotline specifically.

(04:47:41)

I will share a little bit about the Council support as well. We appreciate the additional investment in FY26 to help bring more awareness to the hotline and specifically do outreach to these particular communities. Right now, MOYA is currently finalizing a targeted multilingual know your rights media campaign that is supported through this additional funding. We anticipate launching that in mid-summer. The campaign is being designed specifically to reach some of the more hard-to-reach New York communities, specifically in our Asian and African communities, through our ethnic media platforms. Our outreach will be expanded to include radio, print and digital media and also other platforms that more of these communities utilize, like YouTube and Facebook. The campaign includes a number of languages as part of the outreach, including Amharic, Tibetan, Korean and Bengali, and we can provide the Council with a full list.

(04:48:52)

Okay, great. And then how many of the total 14,700 callers were effectively connected to legal services providers, and how many of them actually received legal support, if you have that?

(04:49:07)

To clarify on the numbers from FY25 to FY26, the hotline received 19,000 calls, specifically 19,830. When a caller calls the hotline, we do not collect PII, personal identifying information. We do direct them to legal support centers. Overall, the legal support centers have served

(04:49:31)

over 12,000 people.

(04:49:35)

Okay. So but that does not just include legal services, but maybe referring them to different community organizations for other types of support? Or is this specifically just for legal services?

(04:49:46)

The hotline itself provides referrals primarily to our legal support centers for legal services. That is sort of the reason why it was created, but it also provides connections to other agencies and things to that extent.

(04:50:02)

Okay, great. And then let me just get back to contracts and payment delays. Moving on a little bit, we know that the legal services groups are dealing with an unprecedented attack on immigrant rights, and one of the biggest issues that providers expressed during our roundtable was the extreme delays in getting paid by the City. One provider explained that the City owes them $15 million and they have now spent thousands of dollars on interest payments from private loans just to make payroll. This is a common theme that we hear amongst our nonprofit providers. So I ask how MOYA can, if you can, advocate for this administration to dedicate more funding to processing the contracts and talking to OMB, ensuring that providers have timely access to invoicing.

(04:50:56)

Reimbursements. If you would like, I can start in, then I will go to my colleague if she has anything more to add. I mean, this is an area that you all know I care very deeply about. I did work during my time at the Council. MOYA strongly supports continued investment in contract processing capacity and reforms to improve payment timelines for our providers. We recognize that a lot of our immigrant-serving organizations are operating under significant financial pressure. I think you know it is important for me to just kind of elevate that last session, the Council did enact major procurement reforms, including laws establishing advanced payments and quarterly invoicing and stronger accountability, and those were reforms that were really an important step forward. But implementation across the agencies is something that is critical. We are continuing to partner with our agencies and talking to MOYA and providers to identify any operational bottlenecks and find ways to come together. How do we improve that consistency and transparency?

I would just add that we have a close partnership with both MOYA and the Mayor's Office of Nonprofit Services, who are a great resource for all nonprofits, especially folks that are new to the invoicing or contracting process here in the City. So we at least want to make sure that is related to us. We definitely work with those providers to point them in the right direction.

(04:52:36)

I think you answered my question, Commissioner, already about some of the ones that we hear most about from the agencies, and so whatever you all can do to help push those contracts through would be...

(04:52:51)

Immensely helpful. Okay, and moving on to health and mental health. I know that aside from the traditional mental health and health services, I know that more specifically there has been a lot of trauma around the federal immigration detention that has been happening across the City. So do you support immigrants post-detention with their mental health needs or other services, and what does that look like?

MOYA has been working really closely with agency partners to really understand better the kinds of support and mental health support that we can provide to immigrants following detention. This includes coordination with organizations such as the Envision Freedom Fund, which is a bail and bond support nonprofit organization, to strengthen connections between community-based organizations and the relevant agencies. MOYA also — I am proud to say — is in the preliminary stages of research to assess the mental health impacts of immigration post-detention, and to identify where the gaps in services and support are that are needed. We will continue to engage our partners in that process.

(04:54:18)

And will there be... I mean, given that we are looking at federal cuts that are obviously going to hurt the refugee and asylum seeker services, have you been having conversations with the administration, or do you know if there is any additional funding for immigration services in the executive plan that goes towards specifically funding wraparound services for this population?

(04:54:42)

The administration continues to evaluate, you know, community needs across legal services, case management and other stabilization support. At MOYA, we strongly recognize the importance of holistic and trauma-informed approaches, particularly for vulnerable populations. So while there may not be additional funding in the executive plan for wraparound immigration services, we do want to take a moment to highlight again the work of the Haitian Response Initiative, because they have done incredible work in this area. I think we have specific data, but the Haitian Response Initiative has had about 610 intakes so far this fiscal year. They have completed a number of trainings as well. So there is an example of folks within MOYA's network where they have offered and do offer this trauma-informed care.

(04:55:38)

Two things really quickly. I just want to uplift that during our roundtable discussions with a lot of the providers, there are definitely ways to retain immigration attorneys, and if there is anything you all can do on your side to really emphasize to the administration that we need extra funds to make sure that we are able to retain the attorneys with higher salaries and pay, that would be great. And then, of course, the purpose of funds — making sure that the funding can be flexible, because there are a lot of different types of services that they need to provide. So those are two things I just wanted to highlight from our roundtable conversations. I am going to pause there, and I have a couple of questions, but let me move on to my co-chair, CM Encarnación.

(04:56:25)

Hello again. So I am going to jump right in because we are pressed for time, but I wanted to talk about MOYA's budget and your headcount. You know, it is always challenging to try to conduct oversight because the programs are spread throughout multiple agencies, as was already discussed. I know that you highlighted some strengths and some challenges that we have, and I am calling for an independent agency. I am going to continue to call for that because I really feel that there are some major wins that we can get there, but I appreciate the need for communication around that.

In your testimony you mentioned 10 new positions at MOYA that are currently open. Under which agencies are those 10 new positions housed, and does that include the three vacant positions that we spoke about during the preliminary budget?

(04:57:27)

Or is it in addition to those three?

(04:57:32)

Yes, that does include those three that we spoke about in the preliminary budget. These vacancies are spread through the Mayor's Office, ACS and SBS. What was the first one? Before ACS... okay, the Mayor's Office. Okay, got it. And this is all still with the same baseline budget of $781,960? Overall, they are spread throughout, in different offices. At the Mayor's Office, we have five lines that are currently housed there, and the three vacancies that we spoke about are within the $780,000 budget specifically afforded to MOYA itself, but we do have other lines that are...

(04:58:43)

Housed under other agencies, while the employees do sit within our office to carry out MOYA's work. But they are essentially, you know, payrolled under other agencies. This is where it gets confusing. This is where I am not really understanding, so we will get into that because I am trying to understand — so then, as far as directives and mission, who tells them what they should be doing on a day-to-day basis? Is that coming from a different agency? Is it coming from your office? If it is coming from your office, then it makes sense that they are your staff. If it is coming from SBS or DCAS, then they are their staff.

(04:59:29)

Yeah, sure. You raise a very great question and I apologize if we are adding to the confusion. The staff that are currently at MOYA, even if their budget comes from a different agency, they are executing the work and the mission of MOYA. They are physically in MOYA's offices. I see them, I interact with them. Their core responsibilities are to implement our programs and our policies. So the total budget across the agencies, including the Mayor's Office, is about $5.3 million for staffing that implements our programs and our work.

(05:00:16)

That is helpful. I just wonder why it has not just been called MOYA's budget in that way, because then I could see growth there and I could see the importance behind the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs when we are talking about millions of dollars for a budget versus barely a million dollars for the office. But we will move on.

So under MOYA, which programs are and which are not being refunded? Most immediately for fiscal year 2027, we are not cutting any programs. Especially with the added baseline funding, our focus has been to extend contracts to avoid a break in services. We are still in the process of determining whether to re-procure programs in the future. Once we make that decision and move forward — if we do move forward with that decision — we will definitely ensure that community information is made public with plenty of time for folks to be able to participate as part of that procurement process. Can you talk about some of the metrics that you are going to use to evaluate those programs? Briefly, what are you looking for? How do you see success in extending those programs?

(05:01:59)

I will try to answer the question. I think that for the programs that we currently have, those are conversations that we will have. As the Commissioner has been mentioning, we have been actively meeting with all of our providers to hear the good, the bad and the ugly, and those conversations will continue in regards to what is working and what is not. What we have prided ourselves on — and I have heard this from our partners as well — is that we have tried to maintain our programs and make some of them very nimble so providers can respond in real time. In regards to the evaluations, it is an array of things: a combination of how many folks have been served, the types of folks that have been served, languages spoken, things to that extent. But it varies. I think the numbers are 11 right now — different initiatives that we have. It is also important to note that we are open to having conversations in regards to anything that you might be hearing from providers yourself, or things that you are learning on the ground, in regards to what we should be thinking about as well.

(05:03:05)

Are they currently in a contract cycle? Most of these are... I can start. I do not know if you want me to walk you through the different programs that we have. For the legal support centers, they were part of a procurement that happened last year and this is their first year of a three-year contract, so that is one bucket. We have Haitian Response Initiative partners that are in a renewal cycle now and are starting again with the same contracted partners. We have our immigrant rights hotline as well, which will continue with Catholic Charities. The Rapid Response Legal Collaborative — as the Commissioner mentioned, there was an enhancement there, but that contract is also moving forward. Our English language support centers as well — those contracts continue. I think I got all of them. The only one I think that you can think of within the cycle would be our legal support centers, which are locked into a three-year contract.

(05:04:06)

Perfect. Okay. Speaking of immigration legal services, we are very excited to see roughly $33 million comprised of funding added in the preliminary budget for legal support centers and for the expansion of immigrant legal services baseline starting in fiscal year 2027. But there was no additional funding added in the executive plan, so I wanted to know what exactly will this additional funding added in the preliminary budget be used for? For example, which existing programs will be expanded? Will there be new programs?

(05:04:48)

Yeah, the additional funding is going to allow us to continue the current programming while also expanding key support initiatives that we know immigrant New Yorkers are depending on. As part of the funding that was baselined, we know that there is still a growing demand for immigration defense services. The City increased baseline funding by $3 million. Our understanding is that, as we have engaged more with partners and organizations, maintaining that support and growing that support is important. With the baseline funding, I think having the continuity of service has been the biggest plus here. The other thing I want to uplift, especially when it comes to our Rapid Response Legal Collaborative work, is that because of the fast-changing federal policies...

(05:05:44)

And the changes in law as well, it forces the immigration attorneys to have to sort of chase all of those changes and be nimble. We are really proud that we were able to baseline some of the support, get additional resources in fiscal year 2026, to make sure that they have what they need to actually be nimble in that work.

(05:06:04)

So it is an expansion. It is not creating new programs. Will new programs be created?

(05:06:11)

We are absolutely looking forward to having those...

(05:06:14)

Conversations in the foreseeable future about that. But I think the biggest important thing for me has been — we have mentioned meeting with all of our providers. It was like a week-long marathon of meetings with hundreds of providers, specifically to understand not just what the needs are, but whether the programs that we are currently administering are having an impact in the communities and how we are measuring that. So those conversations about future programming are important for us to have. It just requires a little bit more community engagement and stakeholder input.

(05:06:48)

Yeah, and so what specific immigration cases or clients is the $33 million anticipated to cover? Sorry, I did not catch that — you said the $33 million?

(05:07:03)

Yes. We are making a significant investment in deportation defense. MOYA is directing a portion of that to go to our legal support centers and to support New Yorkers who are facing deportation cases. I think that level of investment really shows the urgency. My colleague just passed a note that we do want to uplift that there is additional resources that will be going to our Habeas Project, and we can provide details on the breakdown of...

(05:07:37)

That funding.

(05:07:38)

That would be very helpful.

(05:07:39)

Thank you for that. And do you know if any of this new money will be allocated directly to vendors? All of it. Perfect.

(05:07:53)

And have you thought about — and I am sure you have thought about this, so that part is rhetorical — but how are you thinking about and planning for potential federal clawbacks of legal service funding or restrictions on who can be...

(05:08:08)

Served? Yeah, it is one of the things that keeps you up at night. But I think it is really important to highlight that our legal services are protected from direct federal clawbacks. However, we are actively tracking what the trickle-down effects from federal funding cuts and restrictions on whom our organizations and providers can serve might be. We remain, as I said, in close communication with our agency partners regarding federal policy changes and any threats to accessing services. Specifically, we have been talking to our partners and agencies around the mixed-status rule change, and of course staying in close communication with our providers, who flag emerging issues that they see on the ground regularly.

(05:09:04)

Do you know if there would be budget reserves for those kinds of emergency situations, or something that, you know, could happen overnight with this federal administration? Are there any kinds of reserves specifically for MOYA?

(05:09:18)

Yeah, that is something that I would have to circle back with you on. I am unsure. Okay.

(05:09:27)

Can you talk a little bit about some of the advocacy you have done with the Office of New Americans and state leaders to advocate for some of the services and the funding for legal services specifically, or anywhere you have done some of that advocacy?

(05:09:43)

This is a priority that we are actively working to address. I mentioned earlier that most recently MOYA coordinated with JONA on our Family Preparedness Phone Bank, and we are going to continue to build on that partnership to really identify and respond to whatever additional needs arise. I think for us the priority is to make sure that we are preventing any sort of gaps in services that arise, and we are looking forward to continuing that partnership with JONA. Thank you for that.

(05:10:18)

And the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative — can you talk a little bit about that? Can you tell me how many people have been served through that work for fiscal year 2026 thus far? We are just going to get the numbers.

(05:10:35)

We came with numbers just in...

(05:10:38)

Case. I love that.

(05:10:43)

Through this year to date, I can tell you that on some of the key work we have done, there have been 383 students supported in quarters two and three of fiscal year 2026. The collaborative screened about 90 individuals under the expanded scope and provided legal services to 50 of them. I am going to circle back on the other bucket because there are two buckets of work that I just do not have in front of me. The one that I walked you through is connected to the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative in...

(05:11:18)

Schools. Yeah, the numbers seem pretty low, and maybe I am just skewing it. Can you talk about what you have heard as some of the biggest challenges in supporting our students at that level?

(05:11:27)

Yeah, I think one of the biggest challenges right now is the turnout for virtual and those in-person events, and we are working really closely with our partners to look into how do we turn out for some of those future events. What does outreach look like? How can we better ensure that individuals are receiving access to the information that they need?

(05:11:50)

Yeah, we have struggled with that with the "Know Your Rights" as well, so that rings very true. And I am going to get into the City's sanctuary policies across the agencies as I go, and what happened there, and then I am going to allow my colleagues to ask some questions. As many of you may not know, on February 6 the Mayor issued Executive Order 13 to strengthen the City's sanctuary protections, and the report for this Executive Order audit and its findings was published online just recently on May 22. I want to thank the administration for giving the Council a briefing on this before it was put online. It was extremely helpful to hear about it before actually reading it. But I had some questions. So who in the administration authored the report, and what was your role throughout the process before the findings came out?

(05:12:47)

Yeah.

(05:12:48)

The report was prepared by the Interagency Response Committee, which, as you mentioned, was created by Executive Order 13. It is chaired by the consultation from MOYA, our Chief Counsel's Office and the Special Adviser for Strategic Coordination, and that is who prepared the report. We meet, and have met throughout this process in the lead-up to the release of the audit, quite regularly to discuss how we are going to roll out this information. I was pleased to see that we had such great participation from our partners in the Council for the briefing as well.

(05:13:27)

It was great. And then moving forward, will MOYA be kind of like the lead of those conversations and the ongoing audits, for lack of a better word here?

(05:13:39)

Yeah, MOYA is a member of the committee. Our role in that process...

(05:13:48)

Okay. And in that report, the order reports and talks about significant gaps in City agency reporting on interactions with federal immigration authorities. Can you describe in a little bit of detail what those significant gaps were?

(05:14:05)

The audit revealed that many interactions between City agencies and federal immigration authorities were not reported at all, either because agencies were not effectively tracking those interactions, because incidents surfaced maybe after a relevant report had already been published, or because the existing guidance did not require reporting interactions such as subpoenas and warrants and other instances where federal agents forcefully entered City property. To directly address these gaps, the Mayor has updated and additional guidance will be issued. In this guidance, reporting requirements have been strengthened and clarified, including by expanding the types of interactions that are subject to that reporting. Agencies are now directed to be over-inclusive in what they report to MOYA.

(05:15:06)

And did you see any gaps from your own data analysis that maybe were not in the official audit or that you have put in a report?

(05:15:21)

I think until now, the reports that were issued by MOYA categorized "other instances" as any types of interaction between City agencies and federal immigration agencies that were not otherwise subject to reporting. So that, as I mentioned earlier, was something that we had also identified as a gap.

(05:15:43)

And one of the recommendations submitted by the NYPD is to establish a protocol requiring that the Communications Division notify Operations of any 911 calls related to the presence of federal immigration authorities or immigration matters, and the recommendation says that a patrol executive will be sent to the scene. What is a patrol executive?

(05:16:07)

That is a great question. That is information that we can share after we have more discussion with the NYPD and other partners.

(05:16:14)

But do you know if it will be uniformed officers? Do you know that it is going to be a separate person?

(05:16:22)

The wording is interesting...

(05:16:22)

Yeah, that is something I will have to get back to you on.

(05:16:25)

Okay. So that is something to follow up on for that patrol executive. And then I know that according to Executive Order 13, the agencies had to...

(05:16:40)

...make their policies and protocols regarding interactions with ICE available on their websites. Do you know if they have done so? If all of them have done so now that the Mayor has received the audit and adopted the recommendations for changes to the policies and protocols?

(05:16:59)

Agencies are beginning to implement those changes and will complete that process in the coming months. We are going to continue in our role as leadership to work with the agencies as they undertake this process, which also includes a public engagement component. The Executive Order, in terms of a specific timeline, requires agencies to promptly publish their policies online, and that is something that MOYA is working to ensure that the agencies in fact do.

(05:17:35)

There is no specific timeline then? No deadline, but "promptly."

(05:17:41)

Okay, yeah. And then who monitors the compliance? As you said, it is MOYA. Okay, thank you. So I am going to take a brief break so that some of my colleagues can ask some questions. I have CM Linda Lee.

(05:17:54)

Actually, before that, I just had a really quick clarifying question on the question that the chair asked. Because while I know there are pros and cons to not issuing out new contracts for our providers, my main concern, and correct me if I am wrong, is that it also does not allow for new rate increases, right? So I am just wondering if there is something baked in or a process where cost-of-living adjustments or the rates per case and those types of things will be increased or looked at. For that, we are going to have to circle back with you. We are going to have to consult with our contract agency to get more details on that.

(05:18:35)

Okay, that would be great. Because if there is a way where we could address that issue, even if there is no new contract, I think that would be great, because I know that that could be a way to increase some of the funds that they are getting. So okay, we have CM Joseph, followed by Brewer.

(05:18:54)

Wonderful. Thank you, Chairs. Good to see you always, Commissioner. Just a couple of follow-up questions. I know you said you provided programming and a number of people served: 61,426 thus far.

(05:19:10)

That is correct. Will there be an expansion of the initiative? Is that something you are looking at? Currently the providers remain the same at the same funding level.

(05:19:21)

Okay. So I have another question. Are you considering maybe thinking about partnering with Council Member offices to provide those services in their offices?

(05:19:33)

That is something that was actually raised when we met with our partners on how do we reach more deeply into the community, so it is part of an ongoing conversation.

(05:19:41)

I think we should consider that. I know. How are you supporting asylum seekers? I noticed that they have a fee they have to pay by May 29, 2026. How are you getting that word out to the communities?

(05:19:57)

Well, one, to credit the Council, and also some of the work that we do not say we do not get enough praise for. Because of the partnership that we had last year during the budget negotiations, we were able to allocate funding for fees, including some of the filing fees that you are mentioning right now, which I think is a win overall. We have been working with our providers to ensure that they are aware that that is available to them, and we have been pretty successful in spending some of that funding down.

(05:20:29)

On how can our communities, or for example my office or nonprofits, get in touch with you to know that these fees are available for members? Because I think today was the deadline for some of them to apply for those fees for filing.

(05:20:46)

We are always available. After this hearing I will send you an email, Council Member, and we are happy to make the connections with their legal service providers.

(05:20:53)

I would love that. Thank you. Thank you, Chairs.

(05:20:57)

Thank you, CM Brewer.

(05:20:58)

Well, thank you. First of all, Commissioner, thank you for showing up at Open Arms District Three. They very much appreciated that. Number two, I do know Ruth Messenger is very involved with people who are here seeking asylum, and she has managed, thanks to money that you and previous Speaker Adrienne Adams allocated to the Jewish hospital, to have a teaching program for home health aides. Really successful. So my question is, are you doing that elsewhere? In other words, it is my experience, because I have folks who are seeking asylum in my district, that the job situation is what they are looking for. Obviously people are delivering, but they would like something more secure. Unfortunately we are all getting older and home health aides are desperately needed. So my question is, are there other such programs? Will money be allocated? Is it something you are looking toward?

(05:21:51)

Thank you, Council Member. I actually had a very good and lengthy discussion with Ruth specifically about the success of this program, because it was a pilot, and talked a little bit about ways to expand that into other job opportunities as well. So it is part of an ongoing conversation that we are hoping to continue with Ruth on that specific teaching hospital, but also to scale up and support it.

(05:22:24)

Okay. And is there a sense of... I have no sense. I mean, I wish that every single person who came here seeking asylum was able to stay. We need them in the schools, we need them all. That is not the case with the person in Washington. So my question is, do we have some sense of how many folks here are seeking asylum and who are obviously not in shelter? Not everybody is able to be found. You cannot find the people in my district, I bet. So my question is, do we have any sense of the numbers? How many of them could use programs that Ruth is trying to establish?

(05:23:03)

I do not have that number handy, but we will get it and we can circle back.

(05:23:06)

Okay, because I think that would be helpful to give some sense of where we are going in terms of those kinds of programs. Some young people I know just got jobs as security officers, very exciting, big deal, better than delivering, safer, et cetera, from their perspective, more steady. Second question is, everybody has to learn English if you want a good job. Some of them are learning it from YouTube, which seems to be a way, but the adult literacy question: can you bring us up to date on cuts and where you are looking?

(05:23:39)

Obviously the federal government has been very unfortunately cutting, and I think this is as important as all the other topics that we have been talking about today. Yeah, I can start. I do not have information regarding overall cuts, but we are happy to say that the MOYA English Language Learning Support Centers have added and extended and baselined funding for our English Language Support Centers at $500K per library system. We do have what we call "We Speak," which is a way for folks who might not be ready to join an adult literacy class, might be a bit too shy to speak out or speak openly and learn the language. It encourages people to communicate amongst each other but also learn about New York City civic engagement life and what other offices and agencies are doing around the City, so it is a bit of a multifaceted way of integrating new New Yorkers into our City.

(05:24:38)

Okay, so the reason I ask is it would be helpful, because I know you bring information and agencies together, to have a sense of where we are with English language learning in general. Because it seems to me that if there are huge waiting lists, which there always have been, then that would be...

(05:24:59)

...something that the Council and the Mayor should be looking at. It is one way that everybody can get jobs. So I would love to know, again, it exists in different agencies, libraries, DFTA, and so on. Is that something that you can work on?

(05:25:15)

Yeah, I mean, you kind of hit the nail on the head with both of your questions. English learning is the pathway for civic participation, as well as, as I mentioned, economic mobility and just long-term stability for immigrant communities in our City. Through our English Language Learning and Support Centers, we know they are designed in a way to strengthen language skills but really connect immigrant New Yorkers to larger services. We see this as an important program of value that we administer at MOYA, and we would love to continue those conversations with the Council on how to provide additional support for adult literacy.

(05:25:57)

Okay, thank you very much. Thank you, CM Avilés.

(05:26:03)

Thank you. Thank you, Chairs, and thank you all for being here. I have a couple of questions. In terms of the immigration legal support hotline, if I recall, it sounds like the number of calls you have received has seen a good number of improvements to the hotline. Do you have a sense of what the increase is in usage from the prior fiscal year?

(05:26:38)

Yeah, I am about to get these numbers, I know, because they are watching. So I think we have talked a little bit about this in the past, but there was actually a decrease in some of the calls during the last administration, and I think it was connected also to sort of the federal environment and things to that extent. But that is just overall. I know that now we have seen an increase in calls in other languages, Haitian Creole being one that is very different, and that change really began this year. But I will get you a number because I know that you might be interested in that.

(05:27:12)

No, I think, you know, our perpetual struggle is to make sure that these hotlines are as effective as possible, and I want to recognize that there have been investments and work to improve those things. So I am glad to hear that there are more languages coming in. That is a good sign. I think I was also heartened to hear about the 12,000 of the 19,000 being...

(05:27:42)

...particularly referrals for legal support. That kind of leads me to my next question in terms of the legal support partners. Obviously they have their contracts with certain outcomes, and the improvement in the hotline will potentially mean more volume for the legal support centers who are bound by specific contracts and service limits. Is there a consideration to adjust support to the legal centers as that volume increases in referrals? Because I guess what I am getting at here is that I feel like the volume of referrals probably coming to the legal support centers has increased from every direction and the contracts are stagnant and not increasing with the same...

(05:28:41)

...level. Obviously it is not a one-to-one. We would love that. But do you have a sense of how that is kind of meeting out at the end of the day? Yeah, I can. I also just want to clarify that referrals are made to the legal support centers, the Rapid Response Collaborative, as well as we were able to also provide connections to ICARE as well. So there is a bit more support with that. On the legal support center side, as you know, besides the three-year contracts, there are other providers as well who have an annual year contract, and as the Commissioner mentioned, the funding has been renewed. What we have done internally is we have created a capacity tracker as a centralized tool to support the hotline referrals and the legal support centers. So we are not just sending people without consulting with the legal support centers. Weekly, we send out an ask for them to provide us with a real-time snapshot of what their capacity looks like. That really helps our hotline counselors as well to tell them which legal support center to refer to, so it is not even that we say we have to take a hundred people. We check in to see what their capacity is that week and then we inform our hotline counselors in real time, so they have that as...

(05:30:03)

...well. And part of our ongoing work with the hotline, because we also recognize that we have been doing a ton of outreach and are about to roll out more outreach with this hotline number, what does that mean for capacity? I think part of the improvements that we have with Catholic Charities and some of our legal service providers is understanding better how we manage the flow of information. How should legal service providers be receiving those calls? I think there have been improvements being made to the coordination. To also address the capacity concern, our intention is not to flood the legal service providers with all calls, but to screen them so the appropriate calls are being sent to the appropriate organizations.

(05:30:49)

One thing to add, Council Member: the other note to make, just data-wise, is that although we have received fewer calls, the call time and duration of the call has increased. So from FY25, when the average was about four minutes, in FY26 it is about seven, which speaks to just the complexity of the calls that we are getting. I wanted to add that as well. No, that is helpful, and...

(05:31:14)

I think I am heartened to hear about the capacity tracker because it is a concern. I think where we can be more targeted and precise in our understanding of where the gaps are in the field, then I think we will be able to kind of build on that, right? So I am heartened to hear that. If I may, one quick...

(05:31:40)

I guess we can talk some more about that. I think we still have a whole... after years with a complex system, right? As we see every day, more and more changes are being made, which brings more complexity to the legal field. So I think there is just going to be an ongoing issue to make sure that we check in and be very precise with how we are supporting the building of the capacity to find lawyers.

In terms of adult literacy, I am sorry. I think some of these questions are probably for... I would like to know if MOYA is advocating for the new proposal around the $20 million called the Education for Integration and Equity Program, and that important allocation. I would just like to know what those conversations have been like. We have been in touch with them and how received a proposal that has been put out for the $20 million. I think it is folks in the space who are here now and we have been in touch. Conversations are ongoing. I do not have anything new to share, but happy to. We will be listening into the City hearing as well. You know, the program is very important to MOYA and connected to the language justice work that we are doing generally, but that is what I have to share right now.

(05:33:15)

No, I think we missed it. It was right before this one. But I think what is important to note here is obviously there is a challenge that came out in 2024. We are going to continue to ask critical questions around looking at that for what we knew were the consequences. We are going to be... and in fact, it played out that we continue to invest in adult literacy services. So even with the expansion it is still woefully underfunded and a critical service, and I think we see that field is also under attack by the federal government. So what I would really like to see is some proactive planning around understanding some of that money being swept away and our City being prepared to step into that gap. So thank you. Thank you.

(05:34:10)

Thank you. Okay, really quick question about the 2030 Census because, as we know, it is going to come up a lot faster than we realize. And you know, gearing up for that and knowing how important this is, I just wanted to know what MOYA has done in the past few years to prepare for the upcoming Census and then how are you planning to collaborate with the new Office of Census once it is established, and sort of what role MOYA will play.

(05:34:38)

Yeah. Where it is really clear... unfortunately, planning for the previous cycle predates my time and most of our team's, but it is really clear to us that ensuring a full and accurate count of immigrant New Yorkers requires long-term sustained groundwork and not just outreach in the year itself of the Census. So over the past several years, as you know, MOYA has worked around expanding language access and strengthening community partnerships, investing in multilingual public education and ethnic media engagement that we believe has helped build the infrastructure that is essential for reaching historically undercounted communities. Those same systems are critical for the Census outreach as well. Looking forward, we are looking forward to playing an active role in supporting the Census efforts by working closely with our community-based organizations and sister agencies.

(05:35:39)

Thank you. Okay, we are going to do some rapid questions and responses. We have until 4 o'clock and the window for translators and we cannot have that. So for family preparedness and family separation, during our roundtables some of our organizations know that they are supporting community members preparing for possible family separation. I know that MOYA has a flyer posted online. It is currently available online in eight languages. Is there... are there plans to expand the number of languages that it is available in?

(05:36:17)

Yes. So right now I think it is also available and it is in the top 10. We are always open to feedback as well. If there are additional languages that you might encounter in your neighborhood... and if I may, Chair, because I just got that other number, I just wanted to make the note that the data that I provided was until the end of... so there is more work that happened on that side as well. With the rapid response collaborative, one of the main contracts, there have been about 137 screenings. I will just note that although those numbers seem low, those are very comprehensive, complex cases that require very dedicated and experienced attorneys. I just wanted to say that because they are very traumatic cases, and although they seem low they are actually pretty significant in retrospect. But thank you for letting me know. I appreciate that.

(05:37:20)

It was really about making sure and understanding that people knew about the services and knew how to get connected and that they were availing themselves when they needed support. So other than the flyer and things like that, what other resources can people look to at MOYA to address family...

(05:37:42)

Separation. I can take this, Commissioner. So part of the outreach campaign, which we do with our outreach team, that is one bucket. The Commissioner mentioned this at the top, but we also created a MOYA legal hotline back in, I think, April 2021 when we received about 227 calls. We understand that this is an issue that the community really cares about and that was sort of the way that we provided that outreach. We worked with ethnic media at the time to spread the word and awareness. That is another bucket.

We also have the rapid response in schools in which families are provided information on standby guardianship and their options, as well as our legal support centers, which provided at least 14 guardianship clinics serving a total of 364 people. The last one that I will mention is that our legal technical mentor, the Immigrant Justice Corps, also delivered a five-part training series on special immigration juvenile status. Although not directly on family separation, it is also adjacent to the issue, so I wanted to uplift that work as well.

(05:39:00)

Do you coordinate with ACS at all? Yes, we do and we talk to them frequently. I know that there are a lot of changing issues that happen, so as the Commissioner mentioned at the top, we have through our interagency efforts connected with them as well on any federal changes and things to that extent. Okay, I want to get into language access. As you know, we have some of the strongest language access laws in...

(05:39:26)

...the country. And what we are seeing, obviously, it requires agencies to appoint language access coordinators and to translate. But in 2023, there was an evaluation by the City's language access secret shopper program, and it said that more than half of the agencies evaluated were in violation of Local Law 30. Since then, the Council has been... in fiscal years 23 through 26, the Council began investing in the creation of the language service worker cooperatives as one of the community interpreter banks. So can you talk to me a little bit about how MOYA can increase collaboration and coordination with the Council-funded initiatives, the bank and the language service worker cooperatives?

We have had conversations with the Council-funded organizations, both the community interpreter bank organizations and the community language workers. On the community interpreter banks specifically, MOYA organized a virtual convening where the bank shared information about the services that are being offered. Thirty-three different agencies were in fact present. Our engagement really does not end there. MOYA has also included information about third-party language resources, including information about the language justice collaborative and other nonprofits, in our monthly language access newsletter and agency language access partners.

(05:41:02)

And how do you measure compliance across City agencies when it comes to those kinds of gaps that you are seeing? Yeah, you know, MOYA's...

(05:41:09)

...commitment to advancing language justice is really a core principle of how we do our work. Language access is essential to ensuring that immigrant New Yorkers can fully participate in civic life, in accessing critical services and engaging with agencies. You know, the City's responsibility goes, as I had said earlier, beyond compliance. This is really for us about building systems that are responsive and inclusive. MOYA coordinates across City agencies through a combination of oversight and technical assistance that we offer. Specifically with other agencies, we monitor and provide technical assistance to all of the Local Law 30 agencies and convene them on a regular basis as I mentioned in my testimony. Let me just say this...

(05:42:03)

We did do our large convening of language access coordinators across agencies to not just underscore the importance of language access, but make sure that there is an opportunity for agencies to share some of their best practices. And then there is a law on it, right? Compliance is important, I think, in that sense because the reasoning behind putting that law forward was that we need to start closing those gaps between agencies. I just want to pinpoint that because I think that is where you are getting at with making sure that there is a good relationship and collaboration there. But in terms of making sure that there is compliance, I want to just understand how...

(05:42:53)

...we measure that, and how we fill those gaps and hold them accountable to making sure that they are providing those services. I think part of it is also having an ongoing communication with these agencies. After that convening, Deputy Mayor Sue and I actually issued a memo to all the Local Law 30 agencies just reiterating not just compliance. I think that we need to have a larger conversation about how do we achieve language justice and we are embedding language access really as a core government function. So to your point, it is absolutely the law, but we can go deeper than the spirit of the law if we really want to ensure equitable access for immigrant New Yorkers.

(05:43:43)

Agreed. I know.

(05:43:44)

On immigrant worker protection, I know you just mentioned the Deputy Mayor. Sorry, Sue. There were a lot of discussions, especially in some of our roundtables, around having concerns about workers who live in the City but work outside of the City and having those protections apply to them. So does the administration plan to connect with local jurisdictions to talk about how do we coordinate to further protect them, and how do we do that knowing that they are not necessarily in every city like...

(05:44:18)

...ours? Absolutely. I mean, these are real concerns that affect people's willingness to move safely for employment and opportunity. We are open to coordinating with workers across the country. Do you want to share about the recent roundtable?

(05:44:34)

Yeah, we are taking this international. We actually met with transnational worker advocates with Deputy Mayor Su, where advocates came from Latin America to talk about some of the issues that they have been having. Another touch point we have had most recently has been with workers in connection with the Chief Climate Officer to talk about the impacts of heat and climate on workers as well. So there have been new touch points that we have made on the worker-specific issues that you flagged.

(05:45:05)

I love that. Thank you so much for that. I think that is great. And you know, it is that kind of innovation that we hoped for when we are looking at how do we really support people in a real way. As you know, we held a joint hearing with the Housing Committee to talk about some of the housing issues that we were seeing and the intersection of immigration and housing. Do you know if any of the increased funding for expansion of legal services in the executive plan will be involved in anti-harassment outreach and collaboration?

We do not have that information. But following that hearing we have been working with them more on some of the gaps that you laid out and further strengthening the coordination that we have on the ground. So thank you for hosting that because it was a very timely hearing. Yeah, I really want to make sure that we are keeping people housed. I mean, it is one of the only ways that we can really make sure that... trying to make sure I get through. I have to do more things really quickly. The one I really want to talk about is supporting our LGBTQ immigrants. You know, this is a subset of a subset that we cannot forget about and we have to uplift some of the questions there. So can you please provide an update on your collaboration with Director Taylor Brown of the new Office of LGBT Affairs as it relates to how they meet the needs of our immigrant New Yorkers?

(05:46:46)

I think you said it best that it is government's responsibility to support the most vulnerable, and sometimes we have communities that are far more vulnerable than that. So I appreciate that question. You know, MOYA has been meeting regularly with Director Taylor Brown of the Mayor's Office of LGBT+ Affairs to discuss next steps in implementing specifically Local Law 73, which was passed by the Council last year, in conjunction with the Mayor's Office of Equity and the Mayor's Office of LGBT Affairs. Through that local law, there is a comprehensive assessment being conducted of the services that are currently available to LGBTQ+ communities, specifically transgender and gender non-conforming, non-binary and intersex immigrants. The findings of this assessment will directly inform a phased implementation plan really designed to address and identify any of the service gaps across the City.

(05:47:49)

And just in the same vein as the last question, I am hoping that some of that translates into actual dollars to support those programs, outreach and things like that. So I know that you may not know...

(05:48:00)

...similarly to the last one, if it is there yet. But if we can continue advocacy for that. And then lastly, the Mayor's Office of Civic Engagement was newly created this year. It received baseline funding starting in fiscal year 2027. Can you talk a little bit about your partnership with them and how you use that office to help support some of the programming that you have?

(05:48:24)

Yeah, I am happy to say that I just spoke to them again yesterday, so we are very much in close communication and in lockstep in regards to sharing information regarding immigrants as well as supporting them with some forward-facing information, coordination and outreach efforts that we have made. I know that we have partnered with them on a couple of things already and that partnership will continue. We are also in the same building, so we see each other on the elevators as well. But we are working very closely with them and across teams, not just one but the whole office as a whole. I want to be in that elevator. Come back in two...

(05:49:05)

...time to stake out the elevators. We will be in communication. There is a lot more. Eleven pages of questions, obviously. So you know, I...

(05:49:18)

...know. But you know it is extremely complex. As you know there are many layers, many subdivisions and answers that I really wanted to get in terms of the executive budget. It is difficult to go through and make sure that we are properly supporting each and every aspect of it. I am going to continue to fight for as much as I can on my end and I hope that you are fighting for our immigrant neighbors. I know you are and I am actually really, really impressed with some of the stuff that I have seen so far and some of the answers to the questions. Thank you for being so prepared. I am going to give it over now to my co-chair.

(05:49:53)

I had to say thank you to the Chair for being a fighter and whatever questions I am happy...

(05:49:59)

...to have a follow-up conversation with you, just so you can get the answers.

(05:50:02)

All right, thank you. Okay, thank you. Actually, since we have like two minutes, one final question that is more fun about the World Cup that is happening this year. Just out of curiosity, because we have so many great small businesses and immigrant-owned parts of our City, especially Queens. I mean, I think the Queens Council members fight over who has better food in it. I was just curious to know, I know that the Mayor's Office is launching the New York City Neighborhood Passport, and so are you working with them at all to encourage folks to explore the different neighborhoods in the City and get out there and explore it?

(05:50:44)

I am glad to end on a fun note. Yeah, the Neighborhood Passport is a citywide program that launches on June 11 and the idea is to encourage New Yorkers to explore the five boroughs and many of the immigrant neighborhoods that make this City so great. Participants are collecting artist-designed stamps from hundreds of community organizations and cultural institutions and at public events from dance performances and film screenings. It is really a great opportunity for...

(05:51:14)

the community to get involved and explore our great City.

(05:51:19)

Great, and if you want recommendations from all of us in terms of which restaurants are the best in our area, let us know. We will add it to a list and be sending that, okay.

(05:51:29)

Yeah, I think with that we are done for the day, so thank you so much, Commissioner and everyone else for being here. Oh, just remind them about public...

(05:51:36)

Hearings. Oh yeah, so just want to flag again: public hearing Wednesday, June 10. Make sure everyone signs up. So thank you so much everyone, and that concludes our third day of...