REMARKS
Council Member Diana I. Ayala opens oversight hearing on families with children in New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelters
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Council Member Diana I. Ayala, who is also the Deputy Speaker of the New York City Council and the Chair of the General Welfare Committee, opens an oversight hearing on families with children in DHS shelters.
- She introduces five bills aimed at improving the process and policies for families seeking shelter placements.
- Intro 123 would stop DHS from requiring the presence of all family members at shelter placement intake.
- Intro 124 would require DHS to prove process navigator services to families at intake shelters.
- Intro 440 would require DHS to ensure that every shelter have eligibility specialists to help with public assistance benefits.
- Intro 453 would require DHS to establish additional intake centers of families outside of the Bronx
- Intro 46 would require DHS to report on the feasibility of partnering with Community Based Organizations for intake
Diana I. Ayala
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Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone.
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And welcome to today's hearing.
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My name is Diana Ayala, and I am the deputy speaker of the New York City Council and the Chair of the General Welfare Committee.
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Today, we are holding an oversight hearing on families with children and DHS shelters.
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We will also be hearing 5 bills.
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The first, intro 123, which I have sponsored, would preclude DHS from requiring that every member of the family be present at the path intake center when the family seeks placement at a shelter Currently, DHS requires the children under the age of twenty one be present with their adult family members at Path.
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The facility that processes shelter applications There is no good reason for this policy, which makes the shelter ex application process unduly burdensome for families.
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The second bill Control 124, which I also sponsored, would require DHS to provide process navigator services every family with children at an intake shelter.
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Site, this process navigator would provide assistance to shelter applicants in helping them to understand the procedures, meetings, interviews, and documents necessary to complete the shelter application process and to answer any questions.
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The next bill intro 440, sponsored by council member of the S Stevens, would require DHS to ensure that eligibility specialists are available at every shelter to assist residents with determining eligibility for public assistance benefits.
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Control453 sponsored by council member Sandra Ng would require DHS to establish additional intake centers for families with children and girls other than the Bronx.
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Finally, intro 46 see also sponsored by council member Ah, would require DHS to report on the feasibility of partnering with community based organizations to accept and process applications for shelter intake for families and children.
