The latest GovGrader is out!

New York City Hall

New York City Hall Zach Williams

The nonprofit Friends of Karen raised more than $185,000 at a March 28 event in Smithtown. The proceeds will benefit a family support program for children diagnosed with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, according to an April 10 press release.

 

New York City has closed down a child care program in Brooklyn in response to a measles outbreak. The United Talmudical Academy at 75 Ross Street in Williamsburg failed to provide vaccination records to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, according to an April 15 press release. At least 329 cases of measles have been confirmed in what has now been declared a city health emergency.

“This outbreak will continue to worsen and the case count will grow if child care programs and schools do not follow our direction,” said Commissioner Oxiris Barbot. “It’s crucial in this outbreak that child care programs and schools maintain up-to-date and accurate immunization and attendance records. It’s the only way we can make sure schools are properly keeping unvaccinated students and staff out of child care centers to hasten the end of this outbreak.”

 

VOCAL-NY still isn’t feeling New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s approach to combating homelessness. At issue: How many units the city should set aside for people struggling with homelessness, as one recent tweet illustrates. The nonprofit is hardly alone in making the demand.

 

The Human Services Council has released its latest GovGrader. Nonprofit survey respondents report that New York City got worse and the state a little better in their respective treatment of nonprofit contractors, according to the council’s Spring 2019 reports. The report includes a department-by-department breakdown of government agencies’ performance on criteria, including responsiveness, proficiency, information management, and overall experience for nonprofits.

Michelle Jackson, the council’s deputy executive director, plans to give the city a piece of the nonprofit sector’s mind today, according to testimony she will give at a meeting of the New York City Council on Contracts. “The consistent delays in government procurement, late payments, unattainable programmatic goals, and lack of collaboration with providers on program design and budget have a detrimental effect on the nonprofits and the communities that they serve,” her testimony reads. “These issues create additional administrative and financial burdens, which affect the operational and financial sustainability of the human services sector.”