Q&A
Impact of shelter moves on families using Promise NYC childcare vouchers
2:10:49
·
165 sec
Council Member Alexa Avilés questions administration officials about the impact of shelter moves on families using Promise NYC childcare vouchers. The officials explain their efforts to keep families close to their current shelters when reapplying and discuss the challenges of balancing childcare needs with the goal of moving families out of temporary shelter.
- Officials aim to keep families close to their original shelter when reapplying
- Case management focuses on helping families move on from temporary shelter
- Concerns raised about undermining efforts to provide childcare services by moving families
Alexa Avilés
2:10:49
Thank you.
2:10:49
I I wanna, go back to, childcare issues, and in particular, obviously, the folks who are utilizing, programs like Promise NYC vouchers are exempt from this policy.
2:11:05
Can you walk us through the impacts of exempting those families that are attempting to use, vouchers for childcare who are getting bounced around the city in the system?
Molly Schaeffer
2:11:24
So we really do try to keep people as close as possible to their current shelter when they reapply, and we're gonna continue doing that regardless of this policy shift, and we continue to make changes to our policies.
Alexa Avilés
2:11:40
Are you keeping track of those families that you are noticing to, evict from facility who are using Promise NYC vouchers for childcare?
Molly Schaeffer
2:11:52
We've been working with Promise NYC to get more people, connected to the services, and case managers obviously are working with each family that we have, but not on a central level.
Alexa Avilés
2:12:05
Okay.
2:12:06
But there is hi.
2:12:10
But there but there is awareness, perfect timing.
2:12:16
Babies are amazing.
2:12:17
There there is awareness that, this it suffers folks will suffer the same challenges, right, of like stabilization and some kind of care, just a different age group, and and moving around a city.
2:12:32
There's still that same problem.
2:12:35
Are we just, I just wanna be sure that you are keeping track, and we are helping to facilitate people to use these services and then evicting them somewhere far.
2:12:45
Like, it it undermines everything we're doing.
2:12:47
So I just wanna understand how are you making sure that you are not undermining your own work.
Molly Schaeffer
2:12:53
No.
2:12:53
And I appreciate the question.
2:12:55
As I mentioned, it's still our intention to try to get everyone as close as possible to, their original, shelter.
2:13:04
But I think the the bigger point here is that we're trying to help everyone move on from temporary shelter.
2:13:10
No one wants to raise their kid in a temporary shelter.
2:13:13
There and so it is the work of case management to get people as many resources as possible to so that they can move on, and part of that is our legal services.
2:13:22
Part of that is connecting people to childcare, and part of that is, making sure that they are that people are saving money, people are kind of making a plan for them and then their families to move on.
