Community Voices Heard

CVH Gets Press Coverage About "Missing the Mark" Report Release

Submitted by talia on Fri, 2008-11-14 17:39. Community Voices Heard's new report, Missing the Mark, about NYC's failing Back to Work welfare-to-work job readiness and job search program got quite a bit of press coverage.  The Daily News mentioned the report in an article on problematic city employment programs.  Radio pieces were done by WNYC, WBAI, WFUV and WWRL.  The Gotham Gazette listed the report in their Eye-Opener.  And, we're expecting more coverage to come.  Attached is some of the coverage for those interested in reading it.

Attachment	Size
2008.11.13 Daily News - Work agencies, city employment program lie down on job - reports.pdf	181.23 KB
2008.11.13 WNYC - Advocates for Poor New Yorkers Say Welfare to Work...Doesn't.pdf	31.23 KB
2008.11.14 Gotham Gazette Today's Report - Back to Work.pdf	61.23 KB

CVH Report Finds $160 Million Welfare-to-Work Contracts Failing Clients, Contracted Vendors and Taxpayers

Submitted by michelle on Thu, 2008-11-13 11:14.

New York, NY - According to a report released by Community Voices Heard this morning at a packed public briefing, the $53 million a year New York City allocated for a program to prepare and place welfare recipients in jobs and get them off of welfare is failing to serve its purpose and meet its goals.  Research points to an extremely weak program with a number of shortcomings: poor job placement, weak job retention, high rates of recidivism, limited access to education and training, punitive sanction policies, and many people falling through the cracks without receiving needed services.

Attachment	Size
Press Release - BTW Report - FINAL.pdf	73.97 KB
Missing the Mark Presentation - FINAL.pdf	282.85 KB
STORY CONTACTS FOR REPORTERS.pdf	28.93 KB
Alisa Pizarro Testimony.pdf	19.45 KB
Janet Rivera Testimony.pdf	20.11 KB
Anita Walton Testimony.pdf	20.17 KB

Missing the Mark: A Report on NYC’s Back to Work Program & Its Effectiveness In Meeting Employment Goals for Welfare Recipients

Submitted by michelle on Thu, 2008-11-13 11:05.

This report, released in November 2008 as a follow-up study to The Revolving Door (2005), explores HRA’s Back to Work (BTW) Program, focusing on how it compares to the Employment Services and Placement (ESP) Program and what impact the program changes have and on clients and vendors.  The BTW Program was designed to serve both applicants and recipients of public assistance – providing assessment, case management, and job development services.  Contracts for the BTW Program were signed in July 2005 and NYC allocated $159.6 million over three years to implement the BTW Program and serve approximately 12,800 individuals per month.  The research draws from short conversations with 954 BTW participants at sites across the city, 50 focus group participants, 152 phone survey respondents, in-depth interviews with 10 organizations that serves as BTW contractors or subcontractors, and HRA contracts, policy manuals, training materials, site visit summaries, and Vendor Stat Reports.

Attachment	Size
Missing the Mark - Final Report.pdf	2.34 MB
Missing the Mark - Executive Summary.pdf	2.16 MB

Research Report to Be Released Evaluating $160 Million in Welfare-to-Work Contracts

Submitted by sondra on Mon, 2008-11-10 16:23. Community Voices Heard (CVH) will release its new report Missing the Mark: An Examination of NYC's Back to Work Program and Its Effectiveness in Meeting Employment Goals for Welfare Recipients on Thursday, November 13th at 10am.  This report and briefing will highlight the restuls of a research project that explored the effectiveness of current job readiness and job placement programs contracted by the City of New York's Human Resources Administration (HRA) to move people from welfare to work.  The Back to Work Program began in 2006 as the replacement program for the former Employment Services and Placement (ESP) Program unpon which an earlier report, The Revolving Door, was based.  This new report evaluates the system's performance in meeting its objectives, discusses barriers and problems vendors encounter in providing services, and offers recommendations to improve the services the system provides.  The findings are based on discussions with 954 welfare recipients in the program, in-depth focus groups and phone surveys with over 200 of those participants, one-on-one interviews with the program vendors, and an examination of HRA reports and statistics.  Please see attached Press Advisory for information on the public briefing scheduled for the morning of the release.

Attachment	Size
Press Advisory - BTW Report Release.pdf	62.03 KB

Impact Unknown: The CEO's Poverty Fighting Efforts

Submitted by sondra on Wed, 2008-11-05 17:15. After a recent individual meeting with the Director of Mayor Bloomberg's Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), Veronica White, CVH members went to attend and participate in a City Council sponsored oversight hearing on the CEO.  CVH members have often been the only community group working to keep the Mayor's anti-poverty initiative hub accountable to low-income New Yorkers.  While all are happy that the city is trying to address some of the critical issues of poverty in NYC, little in terms of concrete results and evaluation have yet to be reported about their attempts and whether or not pilot initiatives can ever be moved to scale down the road remains a question.  Also of concern is the fact that many low-income people, including welfare recipients and the long-term unemployed, are left out of the initiatives.  CVH members testified at the hearing and the attached article by City Limits mentions our presence.

Attachment	Size
2008-11-3 City Limits - Impact Unknown - The CEO's Poverty Fighting Efforts.pdf	131.93 KB

Shenia Rudolf on The Brian Leher Show

Submitted by dominique on Wed, 2008-10-15 15:47. As part of Brian Lehrer's 30 issues in 30 days. CVH leader Shenia Rudolf appeared on the Brian Lehrer show to discuss issues facing low-income Americans and how a lot of these issues are ignored in mainstream politics.   Click here to listen to Shenia's appearance.

Putting New Yorkers to Work in an Economic Downturn

Submitted by sondra on Sat, 2008-09-27 15:47. Community Voices Heard has been working with the Community Service Society of New York to draft a concept paper outlining a statewide program for paid Transitional Jobs for former felons and public assistance recipients.  Attached here is the concept paper for this innovative initiative as well as a Return on Investment Study completed by the Fiscal Policy Institute that demonstrates how money spent now will definitely pay off later.  While the program has a direct cost of $80 million to provide for an annual 4,000 subsidized transitional job slots, the net cost is only $49 million, and within three years the statewide initiative could pay for itself.  For public assistance recipients, an initial $17 million investment in the TJ initiative results in state/ local cost savings of $60 million dollars.  For formerly incarcerated individuals, an initial $32 million investment results in state/ local cost savings of $96 million.

Attachment	Size
TRANSITIONAL JOBS RETURN ON INVESTMENT STUDY.pdf	133.51 KB
NYS TJ Proposal - FINAL.pdf	189.47 KB

CVH Members Meet With Commissioner David Hansell

Submitted by dominique on Wed, 2008-09-17 13:04.

CVH members from all four chapters across the state met with Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner David Hansell on Thursday, September 11th in Yonkers. Members shared their stories with Commissioner Hansell. Some of the topics of discussion at this meeting were Career Pathways and Transitional Job Programs.

Members talked about the need to raise the welfare grant and to reform the sanctioning process as well as improvements that could be made with Transitional Benefits. 

Attachment	Size
CVH Draft Agenda.doc	81 KB
Ketny Jean-Francois Testimony.doc	26.5 KB
denise tesimony sept 11-1.doc	26 KB
Jonathan Sawyer Testimony.doc	28 KB
Brenda Beal Testimony.doc	28 KB
Sandra Killet testimony.doc	28 KB
Harold Gardner testimony - revised.doc	29.5 KB
Korrenthea Catts Testimony.doc	31 KB
Johanssis Peralta Long Version.doc	28 KB

City Limits Article: Comptroller Releases Audit on WeCARE Program and CVH Continues to Fight for Monitoring of HRA's Contracts

Submitted by alexa on Wed, 2008-09-10 13:33.

An audit released recently by the office of NYC Comptroller, William Thompson, supports the findings of Community Voices Heard's 2007 report "Failure to Comply: The Disconnect between Design and Implementation in HRA's WeCARE program." Similar CVH's research findings, the Comptroller's audit found that the WeCARE program is not being adequately monitored, public money is not being effectively spent and disabled clients are not getting the services that they need.

Since "Failure to Comply" was released in March, 2007, Community Voices Heard members have been fighting to improve the oversight and transparency of HRA's programs, including WeCARE. Specifically, CVH members testified at a City Council General Welfare Committee hearing and met with the Comptroller's office to provide information and insight into the program. As outlined in this City Limits article, CVH members continue to fight to improve the WeCARE program as well as to improve accountability in all HRA programs and services.

CVH is currently finishing a report on the HRA Back to Work program, HRA's other large welfare to work program. The report is due to be released in late October.

Attachment	Size
2008-09-09 City Limits WeCARE Comptrollers Audit.pdf	36.04 KB

CVH's Wins Against Giuliani Recalled

Submitted by michelle on Tue, 2008-09-09 15:58.

CVH ally John Raskin, Director of Organizing for Housing Conservation Coordinators, recently called into WNYC Radio's Brian Lehrer Show, to  discuss the remarks made by former NYC Mayor Giuliani (as well as Sarah Palin) at the Republican National Convention that belittled community organizing.  Raskin, in responding to Giuliani's mocking of community organizing, cited the work of Community Voices Heard's members in going against Giuliani's policy of unpaid workfare and winning paid Transitional Jobs for people transitioning off of public assistance.  Listen  to the show, with Raskin's comments starting at approximately six minutes into the broadcast, below.

 

NYS Career Pathways Initiative - Concept Paper

Submitted by sondra on Fri, 2008-08-29 12:09. In 2008. Community Voices Heard worked with other partner groups across the state to develop the attached Concept Paper for a Career Pathways Initiative. Career Pathways provide a series of steps for individuals to gain additional skills and credentials in order to advance their careers and work prospects. The Concept Paper calls for the state to invest in this successful model and to target programs to prepare individuals for ultimate placement in and advancement within high-growth sectors. Through our efforts, the NYS FY09 budget allocated $5 million to pilot such an initiative, co-managed by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and the Department of Labor (DOL). The RFP was released on August 9th and programs are to be up and running by January 1, 2009. The original Concept Paper is attached here and the official RFP can be found on the OTDA website at: http://www.otda.state.ny.us/main/cgo/RFP/career.htm.

Attachment	Size
Final Career Pathways Proposal.doc	98 KB

CVH Members Speak out on Poverty Statistics

Submitted by dominique on Wed, 2008-08-27 19:16. As the poverty statistics were released on the morning of Tuesday August 26th CVH members gathered in our offices to speak with members of the media about the poverty statistics as well as living in poverty in America. While the overall statistics showed that there was last poverty in America and in the State of New York then there was the year before, the statistics also showed that The Bronx and Brooklyn still had alarmingly high percentages of people living below the poverty line. The statistics also showed that there was a huge gap between rich and poor in New York. 

Attachment	Size
Poverty Stat Article Eldiaro 082708.pdf	161.23 KB
27-08-2008 Hoy Cover Story Poverty Stats.pdf	411.93 KB

Beyond the Statistics: Poor New Yorkers to Speak Out on Poverty in New York

Submitted by dominique on Tue, 2008-08-26 17:00. Poor New Yorkers will be gathering tomorrow 8/26/08 to read and react to the statistics on income poverty and health insurance as they are released by the US Census Bureau. As the experts make their statements people who live in poverty everyday will make their voices heard in this discussion. 

Attachment	Size
Press Advisory - Poverty Stats.doc	231 KB

CVH Members Speak Out about Poverty Stats

Submitted by dominique on Tue, 2008-08-26 16:54. As the U.S. Census Bureau released it's report on Poverty and Health Insurance in America. As the Statistics came out CVH Members gathered at the office and gave their reaction to the Press.

Attachment	Size
Press Release - Poverty Stats.doc	245.5 KB

Town Hall Meetings Hear Poverty-Fighting Demands

Submitted by sondra on Tue, 2008-08-05 15:34.

CVH Leaders Brenda Beal, William Cerf, and Randolph Robinson had their issues aired once more in this article in the City Limits Weekly on the last of the state Economic Security Cabinet hearings held in Harlem. Brenda Beal spoke about the inhumanity of people having to live in poverty in such a rich state; William Cref spoke about the need for REAL job training and job search assistance rather than simply a hand-off of a list of websites for people to search under; and Randolph Robinson spoke of the challenges of finding work as a former felon. CVH members were some of the only low-income individuals to testify directly. They now eagerly await word of the Security Cabinet's next steps and whether or not their own priorities will be included in the plans to come.

Attachment	Size
2008-08-04 Town Hall Meetings Hear Poverty-Fighting Demands - City Limits Weekly.pdf	111.93 KB

CVH members and Welfare Recipients Set Up the Linda Gibbs "Soup Line" at City Hall

Submitted by anita on Wed, 2008-07-30 17:47.

At noon today, July 30, 2008, members of Community Voices Heard (CVH), a grassroots organization of low-income families, organized a soup line in front of New York City Hall.  Members of the organization stated that they wanted to highlight the precarious situation of many low-income families in the present economic downturn.  CVH members handed out cups of soup from tables that they were calling the “Linda Gibbs’ Soup Line”.  Linda Gibbs, the New York City Deputy Mayor for Health & Human Services, was called upon by CVH members to offer more opportunities to public assistance recipients to obtain career-path employment with real salaries as opposed to the unpaid workfare system.  Tayamah Gounden, a member of CVH and current welfare recipient said that “The WEP program makes me feel worst than being a slave because I want a real job.”  She was referring to the unpaid workfare program known as the Work Experience Program (WEP) in which over 10,000 welfare recipients participate in New York City.

 

CVH members chanted and waved four-foot spoons adorned with pictures of Linda Gibbs to try to catch the attention of the Deputy Mayor, whose office is in City Hall.  

“Mia Bell, leader at CVH said, “we need real jobs; Deputy Mayor Gibbs needs to stop playing with our lives and families.”

-see more- 

 

Attachment	Size
Press Release Gibbs Action 2008-07-08 2.doc	715.5 KB

City's Poor Look Different Through New Assessment

Submitted by sondra on Mon, 2008-07-21 00:00.

Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs unveiled a new poverty measure created by New York City's Center for Economic Opportunity in an effort to evaluate poverty more accurately than the measure created 40 years ago that is currently used. The new measure which better incorporates rising housing costs as well as the impact of government supports, moved the City's official poverty rate from 18.9 percent of the city's population to 23 percent. Even more startling, the share of the population living below 150 percent of poverty leaps from 27.8 percent to 44.3 percent. CVH Board Member and Welfare/ Workforce Campaign Leader Ketny Jean-Francois is quoted in the following City Limits article on the topic, "It's great that the CEO invested in creating a new poverty measure; now let's see them invest in some REAL programs to combat the poverty!" Click on the attachments to learn more about the measure and hear more about what Ketny and others have to say about the new measure.

Attachment	Size
2008-07-21 City's Poor Look Different Through New Assessment - City Limits Weekly.pdf	131.93 KB
ceo_poverty_measure.pdf	153.64 KB

CVH Testifies at the first oversight hearing of the New York City Council’s Committee on Community Development

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2008-06-24 13:30.

4 Community Voices Heard Members gave testimony at the first oversight hearing of the New York City Council’s Committee on Community Development. Members testified on the problem of poverty in NYC, gave recommendations on waht the Committee should focus on in the next year and a half in order to effectively address the City's poverty problem. We were covered in the black start news. Below are copies of the 4 testimonies as well as the press coverage. The original article can be found here.

Attachment	Size
2008.06.27 Power To The Pockets - Black Star News.pdf	66.05 KB
Anita Walton Testimony.doc	29.5 KB
Karen Ayee Testimony.doc	29 KB
Stephen Bradley Testimony.doc	29 KB
Yvonne Shields Testimony.doc	29.5 KB

HRA Comissioner Robert Doar Meets with CVH

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2008-06-16 17:15.

CVH had their on going six month meeting with Commissioner Robert Doar of Human Resources Administration (HRA) on June 11th. CVH was please that the Comissioner actually listened and agreed to do something to push the expansion of the Job Training Program (JTP). CVH members asked one questions 5 times through chants loudly and clearly, "The Work Experience Program (WEP) exploits welfare recipients as unpaid workers. We believe this is unacceptable. Commisioner Doar, will you eliminate the over 13,000 WEP positions and replace them with JTP positions?" We felt our voices were heard by Commissioner Doar with the help of the District Council 37 representatives.

Below we have attached the testimonies of Anita Walton, Janine Douglas, Ketny Jean-Francois, and Melvinia Mcgill who are all CVH members with personal experience in HRA programs. We have also attached the statement read by Lillian Roberts, the Executive Director of District Council 37.

The New York Metro wrote an article about Robert Doar's meeting with CVH. The article quotes CVH board member Ketny Jean-Francois on her experience with the Work Experience Program (WEP). The original article is located on the Metro's website here.

Attachment	Size
2008.06.16 Work experience not much of one, thanks - NY Metro.pdf	261.23 KB
Anita Walton.doc	27 KB
Janine's Testimony on JTP.doc	26.5 KB
Ketny's Testimony.doc	28 KB
Melvinia Mcgill Testimony.doc	27 KB
Statement of Lillian Roberts re Expansion of JTP Program.doc	25 KB

"Work experience not much of one, thanks: Welfare recipients beg bureaucrat for better jobs" - NY Metro

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2008-06-16 13:23.

Here is an article about Community Voices Heard meeting with Robert Doar last week. The article quotes CVH board member Ketny Jean-Francois on her experience with the Work Experience Program (WEP). The original article is located on the Metro's website here.

Attachment	Size
2008.06.16 Work experience not much of one, thanks - NY Metro.pdf	261.23 KB

CVH members will meet with Human Resources Administration ( HRA) Commissioner Robert Doar in June 2008.

Submitted by anita on Thu, 2008-05-15 17:43.

CVH Members will meet with Commissioner Doar about the current Work Experience Program (WEP). Our main issue with WEP is that it needs to be fixed!!!

 

Plan to attend the meeting. See attached flier for more details. Email anita@cvhaction.org for more information.

Attachment	Size
Doar Outreach Flyer.pdf	108.84 KB

"Target of Opportunities" - City Limits Investigates

Submitted by mike on Thu, 2008-04-24 12:27.

This is selected pages from the Spring issue of City Limits Investigates. The full issue can be purchased from City Limits here. City Limits is a non-profit magazine that focuses on policy. This issue is about poverty policies and Community Voices Heard and its members are quoted throughout the issue.

Attachment	Size
2008.04 City Limits INVESTIGATES.pdf	1.11 MB

"As the Economy Worsens: Helping People Find Jobs" - Gotham Gazette

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2008-04-22 10:33.

This is an article that appeared into today's Gotham Gazette. The article is about how the economic slump has affected the workforce. The article speaks about welfare programs and whether or not they are effective at helping to move people into the workforce. Community Voices Heard board member and leader in the Welfare/Workforce Campaign Ketny Jean-Francois is quoted in this article. The article is attached below or can be found on the Gotham Gazette's website.

Attachment	Size
2008.04.22 Gotham Gazette_ As the Economy Worsens_ Helping People Find Jobs.pdf	75.76 KB

$2.5M in TANF for Career Pathways in final State Budget!

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2008-04-14 16:50.

Community Voices Heard leaders Michelle Cannady and Mia Bell along with other members on the Building the Workforce Campaign are pleased that Commissioner David Hansell of the Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance in New York State included 2.5 million dollars of the State TANF budget in his final executive budget for Career Pathways for Education and Training programs. Michelle Cannady and Mia Bell met with Commissioner Hansell on numerous occasions and gave testimony at the State Budget Hearings. We are pleased to have been a part of the process along with other organizations including the Hunger Action Network, Workforce Alliance, Federation for Protestant Welfare Agencies, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Fiscal Policy Institute, Community Services Society and many more.

"Exit Stage Left" - New York Metro

Submitted by mike on Wed, 2008-01-30 12:16.

This is an article in today's New York Metro about Republican Presidential Candidate and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and how he lost the Florida primary last night. As a result of his loss in Florida, he will be most likely quitting the race for the White House. The article focuses on all of the negative things Giuliani did while he was Mayor of New York including a quote about the WEP program from Community Voices Heard Board Member, Yvonne Shields.

Attachment	Size
2008.01.30 Exit Stage Left - Metro.pdf	661.23 KB

"Help the poor, not only the pols" - Daily News

Submitted by mike on Sun, 2008-01-27 12:33.

This article is an editorial by Errol Louis regarding New York State Governor Spitzer considering to raise the pay of the state Legislature, which is currently $79,500 a year. The article quotes CVH Members Ann Michelle Valdez, a Brooklyn Public Housing Resident, and Harold Gardner, a CVH member from our Poughkeepsie chapter. Our members helped to point out that those receiving public assistance have not seen an increase in the welfare cash grant since 1990 and if the Governor is considering giving an increase for the pols he should also consider giving an increase in benefits for the poor.

Attachment	Size
2008.01.27 Help the poor, not only the pols.pdf	321.23 KB

Anita Graham on BBC News

Submitted by mike on Thu, 2008-01-10 17:42.

Recently reporters from the BBC came to New York to find out about WEP and how it works here. They were interested in WEP because there is talks of instituting a similar system in Britain and they wanted to find out what people here thought about the program. They interviewed Anita Graham, the Welfare / Workforce Organizer at Community Voices Heard you can check out this link for the video.

You can also read the article and see other videos the BBC made relating to what is going on in Britain on the BBC website. Click this link for the BBC website.

Legal Aid Society Holds WeCARE Workshop for HRA Clients

Submitted by anita on Tue, 2008-01-08 19:55.

The Legal Aid Society will be hosting a workshop for clients in the HRA We Care program on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 111 Livingston Street, 7th Floor, Brooklyn NY.

(The workshop is in the same building as the welfare fair hearings at 14 Boerum Place)

Community Voices Heard members & staff will be in attendance. If you would like to confirm your attendance please email anita@cvhaction.org or alexa@cvhaction.org.

(see flyer attached)

Attachment	Size
We Care Workshop Flyer 1.15.08.pdf	83.96 KB

CVH Members are Campaigning to Win More Paid Transitional Jobs!!!

Submitted by mike on Wed, 2007-12-12 14:11.

WHEN: TUESDAY, DEC. 18TH
WHERE: CVH OFFICE 170 E. 116th St
TIME: 9:00 AM

COME OUT & DEMAND A MEETING WITH THE COMMISSIONERS!
WE WANT REAL JOBS!!

Transitional Jobs are better than unpaid WEP assignments because you earn a real wage, can put the job on your resume, receive 1 day paid job search, and have power to make decisions over your life and have money to spend on bills, clothing, household responsibilities & activities for yourself & your family!!

Transitional jobs can last from 6 months to 1 year!!

For more information contact Anita at (212) 860-6001 x 114 or email her at anita@cvhaction.org and check out the PDF version of the flyer below.

Attachment	Size
Outreach Flyer.pdf	102.28 KB

"NYC to Lead Country in Remaking Poverty Gauge" - City Limits

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2007-11-19 12:52.

This article is from City Limits and is about the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) changing the poverty line for NYC. New York is an expensive city and the poverty lines that make sense for other parts of the country may not make sense for people in our city. Community Voices Heard Leader Marilyn Bezear and Community Voices Heard Board Member Sandra Killet are both quoted in this article.

Attachment	Size
2007-11-19 NYC to Lead Country in Remaking Poverty Gauge - City Limits.pdf	846.88 KB

"Welfare Groups Chided -- And Rehired by City" City Limits Weekly Article

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2007-10-30 11:13.

This article appeared on http://www.citylimits.org. It is about the WeCARE program and talks about the report put out by Community Voices Heard. You can read the article by downloading the PDF below and you can read the CVH report on our website at this link.

Attachment	Size
2007-10-29 Welfare Groups Chided and Rehired by City City Limits.pdf	30.93 KB

"Criticism for Welfare Program" WNYC

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2007-10-23 17:15.

Here is a report from WNYC New York Public Radio about the recent City Council Hearing about Welfare and the WeCARE program. They quoted Community Voices Heard member Tyletha Samuels talking about how the program failed to exempt her from work for long enough to recover from her knee surgery.

Attachment	Size
2007-10-23 Criticism for Welfare Program WNYC.pdf	29.1 KB

"Deficiencias en Programa de Ayuda Laboral" ~ El Diario

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2007-10-23 13:12.

This is an article about the WeCARE hearings. They quote Community Voices Heard member Ann Valdez as well as discuss problems with the WeCARE program that we uncovered in our report, "Failure to Comply: The Disconnect Between Design and Implementation in HRA's WeCARE Program". The article is from El Diario and is in Spanish.

Attachment	Size
2007-10-23 Deficiencias en programa de ayuda laboral El Diario .pdf	50.71 KB

"Audit Blasts City Welfare Program for Most Needy" - Daily News Article About WeCARE

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2007-10-22 11:12.

This article is about the WeCARE program and how it does not work. It mentions the report that we put out about the WeCARE program and they quote Ann Valdez, a Community Voices Heard leader, as well as Alexa Kasdan, the CVH Polilcy & Research Associate.

You can download the attached article as a PDF and you can view the report referenced in this article on our site at http://cvh.mayfirst.org/node/145

Attachment	Size
2007-10-22 Audit blasts city welfare program for most needy Daily News.pdf	251.23 KB

HRA Commissioner Robert Doar Visits Community Voices Heard to Meet with CVH Members

Submitted by alexa on Mon, 2007-09-24 18:40.

On September 18^th, 2007, Human Resources Administration (HRA) Commissioner Robert Doar came to the Community Voices Heard (CVH) office for his second visit as HRA Commissioner to meet with members of the CVH Building the Workforce Campaign. 50 Public Assistance recipients that are also members of CVH attended the meeting.

CVH leaders Ann Valdez, Sindy Rivera and Brenda Beal facilitated the meeting, while leaders Maimuma DesVignes, Karen Ayee and Donna Johnson gave testimony about their experiences as clients of HRA. CVH leaders gave testimony about the problems with the unpaid Work Experience Program (WEP), the lack of education and training available to welfare recipients, the need for paid transitional jobs, the need for improved monitoring and oversight of HRA programs and the need for improved access to New York City’s Commission for Economic Opportunity programs for welfare recipients. While CVH members thanked Commissioner Doar for expanding the paid transitional jobs program by adding new positions in the NYC Department of Sanitation (a win for CVH!), CVH members also asked the commissioner to make several commitments to build upon this expansion. These included adding $33.6 million dollars in new money to the HRA budget to expand the paid transitional jobs program into multiple city agencies and to co-host a convening with CVH that invites the Commissioners of multiple city agencies to discuss the benefits of paid transitional jobs. Finally, CVH members asked the commissioner to spend a day walking in the shoes of a low-income person.

While the commissioner did not commit to take action on any of the above, he acknowledged the importance of transitional jobs and let CVH members know that he is aware that this is a priority for CVH. In turn, CVH members were sure to let the Commissioner know that they will continue to work hard to push the expansion of transitional jobs programs and to ensure that HRA knows the priorities of the real experts about welfare, the PA recipients themselves! The Commissioner last visited CVH on February 28^th, 2007 and agreed to return every six months to meet with CVH members.

Attachment	Size
Ann Valdez Testimony HRA and CEO.doc	25 KB
Karen Ayee Testimony Final.doc	22.5 KB
Maimuna DesVignes Testimony Final.doc	25 KB
Donna Johnson Testimony on WEP.doc	22.5 KB
Final Agenda Doar 9.18.07.doc	39.5 KB

HRA Comissioner Robert Doar Will Be At CVH Office September 18th

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2007-09-11 16:20.

On Tuesday September 18th HRA Commissioner Robert Doar will be meeting with Community Voices Heard from 5pm till 7:30pm. This is the second meeting, it is the follow up to a meeting we had with Robert Doar six months ago. Although this meeting has a structured agenda around the creation of more transitional jobs, education and training, and HRA WeCARE programs we will be having people fill out questionaire forms and do testimonies to give to Commissioner Doar. We would like to invite people who are transitioning through the HRA system to be in attendance.

CVH Members Testify at State Assembly Hearing on the Welfare Grant

Submitted by jenny on Sat, 2007-09-08 19:07.

On Thursday, September 6th in NYC and Friday, September 7th in White Plains, CVH members were testifying at hearings held by members of the New York State Assembly about the "adequacy of the public assistance grant." CVH was asked to give real-life testimony about how the dangerously low level of the grant -it has not been raised in 17 years!- affects our lives.

The hearings were spearheaded by Assemblyman Keith Wright, who is the Chair of the Social Services Committee, to gather information and expertise to explain whether or not the grant should be raised. The people testifying included social service providers, advocates, religious leaders, and of course public assistance recipients, and were overwhelmingly in support of raising the cash assistance grant.

At the hearing in New York City, CVH leader Ann Valdez testified by explaining how she attempts to budget her cash assistance grant to cover her needs, but it is never quite enough.

In White Plains, CVH members Denise Bonitto from Yonkers and Harold Gardner from Poughkeepsie gave testimony. They each have unique stories, yet all asked the question: if the cost of living keeps rising, why not the welfare grant?

Attachment	Size
Ann Valdez Testimony.doc	107.5 KB
Denise Bonitto Testimony.doc	108 KB
Harold Gardner testimony.doc	108.5 KB

Pilot Program Fights Poverty With Cash Incentives

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2007-08-28 14:07.

Sandra Killett, Co-Chair of CVH is in this WNYC radio piece. She was spoken to as a recipient of the Cash Incentives program, but while personally she is pleased to get additional resources into her household, politically and organizationally she challenges its very design and purpose. Below is the segment from WNYC with Sandra as well as the full text.

Attachment	Size
2007-08-27 WNYC Sandra Killet Talks About Conditional Cash Transfer.doc	26.5 KB

Paid Transitional Jobs Expansion Initiative: Establishing JTP Positions in Multiple City Agencies

Submitted by mike on Thu, 2007-05-10 03:06.

The Paid Transitional Jobs Expansion Initiative would build on the success of the existing Parks Opportunity Program (POP). It would invest $33.6 million dollars in the HRA budget in order to increase the number of positions available, expand into new agencies, lengthen the program to a full-year, improve access to education and training options, and develop career ladder pathways within city agencies.

Attachment	Size
JTP Expansion 2007.doc	49.5 KB
TransitionalJobsCostEstimate8.49.xls	33.5 KB
JTP Expansion-Doar.ppt	296.5 KB

Failure to Comply: The Disconnect Between Design and Implementation in HRA's WeCARE Program

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2007-03-19 15:20.

In early 2005, the NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) implemented the Wellness, Comprehensive Assessment, Rehabilitation and Employment (WeCARE) Program to determine which public assistance recipients and applicants have multiple and complex barriers to employment and provide them with specialized services that were not available under HRA’s previous support and training programs. Based on discussions from June 2005 through August 2006 with over 700 welfare recipients in WeCARE, as well as in-depth focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and phone surveys with 100 of those participants, this report is a study of how the WeCARE program is supposed to work and whether or not it is providing the support and specialized services it is designed to deliver to public assistance recipients with disabilities. The report lays out the policies put in place by New York City to serve public assistance recipients with disabilities, relays findings based on participants’ first-hand experiences with the program and offers recommendations for systemic and service delivery improvements.

Attachment	Size
WeCareReportFinal.pdf	603.79 KB
Failure to Comply.ppt	1.16 MB

4 Articles About the CVH WeCARE Report

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2007-03-05 17:03.

4 articles that speak about the report we published exposing issues with the WeCARE program. You can read the full report in the reports section of our website or you can read what the media has to say about our report here.

Attachment	Size
3-5-07 NY Times WeCARE.pdf	142.63 KB
3-15-07 Daily News WeCARE Report.pdf	141.23 KB
3-5-07 Village Voice WeCARE.pdf	81.93 KB
3-8-07 City Limits WeCARE .pdf	91.93 KB

Research Report “Failure to Comply” Finds Implementation Flaws in $200 Million City Program

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2007-03-05 13:35.

According to the report we released this morning, the approximately $66.6 million per year that the Human Resources Administration (HRA) allocated to a program to serve an annual 45,600 public assistance recipients with barriers to employment, is neither addressing their barriers nor helping them move towards self-sufficiency. New York City Council Member Bill de Blasio, Chair of the General Welfare Committee introduced the report at today’s press conference. He said, "This is about accountability. WeCARE is intended to help people with complex or multiple disabilities reach their maximum level of self-sufficiency."

Attachment	Size
2007-03-05 Press Release WeCARE Report.doc	33.5 KB

HRA Back to Work Support and Accountability Initiative: Technical Assistance/Training, Monitoring/Assessment, and Evaluation

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2007-01-23 06:31.

The City Council Welfare and Contracts Committees should jointly oversee the HRA Back to Work Support and Accountability Initiative as the two Council Committees with interest in the HRA Back to Work contracts. Funds would initially be transferred to an intermediary organization to manage the initiative. Three separate Requests for Proposals (RFPs) could next be drafted, one for each different part of the initiative, and then distributed.

Attachment	Size
Back to Work Accountability 2007.doc	36.5 KB

"Criticism and Praise Offered for Departing Welfare Chief" - NY Times

Submitted by mike on Fri, 2006-12-29 16:03.

Verna Eggleston the Commissioner of the Human Resources Administration (HRA) is resigning in order to work for the Bloomberg Family Foundation. CVH Board Co-Chair Sandra Killet is quoted in the article. Although we were optimistic when Verna Eggleston took over as Commisioner from Jason Turner, essential changes in the City's workfare program were not made during her time at HRA.

Attachment	Size
12-29-06 NY Times Eggleston.pdf	161.23 KB

"Bloomberg Plans New Office to Help New York's Poor" - NY Times

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2006-12-19 15:45.

Mayor Bloomberg plans on creating a new center to deal with poverty in New York City. This will be called the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) and Bloomberg plans on using private funds to finance the center's more experimental programs. There will be an emphasis on rewarding "good behavior" and promoting self-sufficiency. CVH Member Gloria Walker is quoted about her views of the Mayor's new commission.

Attachment	Size
12-19-06 NY Times CEO.pdf	122.63 KB

4 Articles About Bloomberg's Commission for Economic Opportunity

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2006-09-19 17:53.

These are 4 articles about Mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-poverty commission, the Commission for Economic Opportunity (CEO). The articles talk about how the CEO plans on putting emphasis on dealing with 3 very specific groups: young children, young adults, and the working poor.

Attachment	Size
9-18-06 Metro NY Day In the Life.pdf	181.23 KB
9-19-06 Daily News CEO.pdf	91.93 KB
9-19-06 NY Times CEO.pdf	131.93 KB
9-25-06 Gotham Gazette CEO.pdf	868.93 KB

2 articles about CVH's reaction to the lastest Federal Census Bureau's statistics poverty statistic release

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2006-09-19 15:15.

CVH held a press conference at Columbus Circle on the same day that the Federal Census Bureau released its annual poverty statistics in order to highlight issues with the Mayor's Commission for Economic Opportunity the main commission that deals with poverty in New York City. After the press conference CVH members entered the Time Warner building demanding to speak with Richard Parsons, the CEO of Time Warner, and a Co-Chair of the Commission for Economic Opportunity. Both articles include quotes from CVH members.

Attachment	Size
9-7-06 Amsterdam News CEO .pdf	101.23 KB
9-19-06 Bronx Times CEO.pdf	191.23 KB

Low-Income New Yorkers React to the Release of Plan by Mayor’s Commission for Economic Opportunity

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2006-09-18 13:39.

At 12:00 today, the Mayor’s Commission for Economic Opportunity released its plan on how to reduce poverty in New York City. The Commission, which was established in March 2006, was to release its plan by Labor Day 2006. Following the release of the plan, members of Community Voices Heard responded to the content and future steps of this final plan. Members of the group are calling on Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs to create a strong plan to monitor and evaluate the Commission’s work and to include low-income New Yorkers in the monitoring process.

Attachment	Size
2006-09-18 Press Release CEO Recs Release.doc	32 KB
2006-09-18 Press Release - Quotes on Release Date (CEO).doc	21 KB

CVH's Recommendations to the Commission for Economic Opportunity

Submitted by mike on Wed, 2006-09-13 18:33.

This document is Community Voices Heard's recommendations to the Commission for Economic Opportunity (CEO). We created this because we would like to see New York City become # 1 in the nation for creating good, living wage jobs for its residents and providing people with the necessary preparation (education & training, paid job experience, etc.) to access these jobs. We believe that our recommendations will bring us closer to that goal.

Attachment	Size
CVH's Recommendations.doc	29.5 KB

2 Articles About the Mayor's Commission for Economic Opportunity

Submitted by mike on Wed, 2006-08-30 18:19.

These are two articles about Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Commission for Economic Opportunity (CEO). This Commission was formed by the Mayor in January and is supposed to be researching and developing plans to combat poverty in New York City. The mayor insisted that the Commission focus on plans that have proven to work and to narrow the scope of their work to children, young adults, and the working poor.

Attachment	Size
8-26-06 NY Times CEO.pdf	173.33 KB
8-30-06 NY Sun CEO.pdf	141.93 KB

On Day Census Bureau Releases Annual Poverty Statistics, Low-Income New Yorkers Call on Mayor Bloomberg’s CEO to offer solutions

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2006-08-29 13:43.

At 12:30pm today, shortly after the Census Bureau released its annual poverty statistics, 50 unemployed and low-income New Yorkers, members of Community Voices Heard (CVH), held a press conference to testify about personal experiences living in poverty and to offer recommendations to Mayor Bloomberg’s Commission for Economic Opportunity. On this same day, one year ago, Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast, exposing the economic and racial divide in the United States. The group gathered today, weeks before the Mayor’s Commission is due to release its final plan for poverty reduction, to call attention to the poverty crisis in New York City and demand that the Commission create a bold and concrete plan.

Attachment	Size
2006-08-29 Press Release Census CEO Action Final.doc	30.5 KB

"Mayor Eyes 'Starbucks One-Stop' As a New Approach to Poverty" - The Sun

Submitted by mike on Thu, 2006-08-10 18:05.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg heard recommendations for a variety of new plans to deal with poverty from his Commission for Economic Opportunity (CEO). Although nothing has been decided upon yet one proposal included a "Starbucks One-Stop" where individuals could get help with everything from legal work to Food Stamps. CVH Member Ketny Jean-Francois is quoted.

Attachment	Size
8-10-06 NY Sun CEO.pdf	261.93 KB

"Fighting Poverty and a Decade of Welfare Reform" - Gotham Gazette

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2006-06-19 17:47.

This article compares and contrasts Mayor Michael Bloomberg's approach to Welfare Reform and anti-poverty initiatives and those of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. CVH is referenced as an organization that is studying New York City's anti-poverty initiatives to figure out whether or not they are effective.

Attachment	Size
6-19-06 Gotham Gazette.pdf	354.03 KB

"Low-Income New Yorkers Play Dead to Protest Welfare Cuts" - Legislative Gazette

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2006-04-03 17:40. Members of CVH preformed a skit in Albany where Governer George E. Pataki was the grim reaper and his cuts in services caused the death of those who rely on welfare to survive. CVH Board Member Yvonne Shields is quoted.

Attachment	Size
4-3-06 Legislative Gazette Welfare.pdf	141.23 KB

Parks Opportunity Program (POP) External Monitoring Report

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2006-03-21 12:00.

This report shares results from Community Voices Heard’s ongoing monitoring of the Parks Opportunity Program (POP), the largest paid transitional jobs program in New York City. The research documents the experiences of Job Training Participants (JTPs) who participated in POP in FY04 and FY05. It builds upon CVH’s earlier research of FY01 and FY02 POP participants, looking concretely into changes in the program (collapsing of the varied entry-level job titles into one distinct “training participant” category, union status elimination, wage reduction, welfare case maintenance, etc.) and how these have impacted program participants. The report is based on ongoing discussions with 1,320 JTP workers, 130 field surveys, 4 focus groups, and 9 extensive individual interviews.

Attachment	Size
JTPMonitoringReport.doc	142 KB
JTP Quick Facts FY04-FY05.doc	79.5 KB
JTP Quick Facts FY06-FY07.doc	131 KB

Putting People First!

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2006-03-07 08:14.

Putting People First! would designate a $75 million budget line item for a citywide initiative to provide a total of 2,500 participant slots across two programs:

(1) Emergency Employment and Job Experience through an Expansion of Paid Transitional Jobs Programs, and

(2) Career-ladder Training Program Coupled with Paid Internships Targeted at High-Wage Growth Industries.

The $75 million is intended to build upon promising city initiatives and would include intensive case management, job placement, and retention services. A variety of City host agencies could potentially administer the paid transitional jobs program with oversight from either the Human Resources Administration (HRA) or the Department of Small Business Services (SBS). SBS is also put forth as a potential administering agency for the career-ladder training initiative program.

Attachment	Size
Job Proposal.doc	96.5 KB

The Revolving Door: Research Findings on NYC's Employment Services and Placement System and Its Effectiveness In Moving People

Submitted by mike on Wed, 2005-07-20 13:15.

This report documents the results of a comprehensive examination of the Employment Services and Placement (ESP) System, a key program developed and administered by the Human Resources Administration (HRA) to further its work-first approach. The renewal contracts, established by the start of 2003, allocated up to $130 million for program services over three years – estimating that the program would service almost 80,000 people in that time period. At each ESP site, a combination of job readiness, job skills training, and job search assistance is offered to prepare individuals for and connect them to jobs; services are then provided to help participants retain jobs. Combining 600 client surveys, 19 provider interviews, and 2004 monthly performance data tracked by HRA, the research looks at whether or not job readiness and job placement programs accomplish what they set out to, what stands in their way, and how they might be improved to better serve the needs of the clients, the providers and the system at large.

Attachment	Size
The Revolving Door - Full Report.pdf	1.01 MB
The Revolving Door - Executive Summary.pdf	446.35 KB
Table A Page 118.pdf	38.15 KB
Table B Page 119.pdf	43.9 KB
Revolving Door Presentation.ppt	202 KB

Wages Work! An Examination of New York City’s Parks Opportunity Program (POP) and Its Participants

Submitted by mike on Wed, 2004-03-03 01:01.

The Parks Opportunity Program (POP) is the largest public sector paid transitional jobs program in the country. When initiated in March of 2001, the POP Program, along with other Transitional Jobs Programs in New York City, represented a significant shift away from forcing welfare recipients to perform unpaid workfare assignments (known as WEP) toward paying people a wage for working in city agencies on a transitional basis. This report uncovered the experiences of a random sample of 100 of the first 3,500 program participants through intensive one-on-one interviews, comparing participants’ experiences in both POP and WEP. Participant responses, in addition to findings from other transitional jobs research, welfare to work studies, and documents generated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and Human Resources Administration, tell an important story about the value of paid transitional jobs over WEP and the policy and programmatic challenges yet to be addressed.

Attachment	Size
titlepagecolor.pdf	721.39 KB
Wages Work Layout.pdf	486.55 KB
Wages Work! FINAL.ppt	207.5 KB

"Tale of Two Cities - Report: New York Leads Nation in Income Inequality" - Metro

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2003-01-27 16:51.

The gap between the rich and poor in New York City is enormous. This article discusses this fact and goes into how Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants the Human Resources Administration (HRA) to improve its services. Sondra Youdelman (CVH's Policy & Research Director) is quoted in this article about the report CVH recently released.

Attachment	Size
1-27-06 Metro NY Poverty.pdf	111.23 KB

Time Limits or Time Bomb? Assessing New York City Welfare as the Five-Year Time Limits Approach

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2001-08-20 13:19.

In December of 2001, over 76,000 New York State families receiving public assistance were set to reach their five-year time limits on federal public assistance. Of these, over 40,000 were based in New York City. An additional, 26,232 New York City families were to reach their time limits by September 2002. From October 2000 to March 2001, Community Voices Heard administered a survey to 595 individuals at over 30 welfare centers around the City, in an effort to evaluate the services and information they were receiving in advance of the time limits. This report documents the findings from this research, including a look at confusion among clients of the system as to what the time limits actually mean, challenges of accessing vital programs and supports, inefficient application processes and unjust sanction practices, and benefit loss that drives families deeper into poverty.

Attachment	Size
Time Limits Report 8.23.doc	144 KB
Time Limits - Exec. Sum..doc	35 KB

WEP: Work Experience Program…New York City’s Public Sector Sweat Shop Economy

Submitted by mike on Sat, 2000-01-01 01:01.

In the summer of 1999, at the peak of NYC’s unpaid workfare program, Community Voices Heard initiated a research project to determine what workfare workers were doing at their Work Experience Program (WEP) assignments in New York City. Members were increasingly reporting being forced to do more detailed work and perform significant work responsibilities at their work sites. Between June 1999 and February 2000, CVH members, staff and interns interviewed 649 WEP workers at 131 worksites in Manhattan and the Bronx. Descriptions of entry-level union job titles were used as the basis for the questionnaire and as a point of comparison between job tasks. This report demonstrates that workfare is displacing paid union entry level employees with a second tier of unpaid workfare workers who are doing a substantial portion, if not the entire workload, of formerly paid entry-level employees working in New York City’s public agencies. The survey results also show that the incentives for the city to use workfare labor instead of unionized workers making a decent salary is such that workfare workers are unlikely ever to get real wages for the jobs they do, as long as WEP remains in place.

Attachment	Size
WEP Report Exec. Summary.doc	46.5 KB
WEP Work Experience Program.pdf	3.13 MB
WEP Report Executive Summary (Spanish).pdf	486.83 KB

Welfare to Work: Is it Working? The Failure of Current Welfare-to-Work Strategies To Move The Hardest To Employ Into Jobs

Submitted by mike on Fri, 1999-01-01 01:01.

In the summer of 1998, Community Voices Heard surveyed 483 people on welfare at workfare worksites, welfare centers and social service agencies in Northern Manhattan and throughout the city. Contrary to stereotypes, survey results demonstrated that people on welfare want to work, have worked in the past, and are actively searching for work. This report evaluates welfare-to-work strategies (workfare, job creation and job search assistance), looks at how welfare recipients look for and find work, and analyzes barriers to employment among welfare recipients. The study concluded that people on welfare remain unemployed because of a lack of jobs, personal barriers to employment and the failure of New York City’s welfare to work programs to adequately serve “hard-to-employ” welfare participants. The results from the survey make a case for community job creation. Unlike workfare, bona-fide jobs are voluntary (employers and employees match interests), pay a cash income (and qualify individuals for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit) and ensure all labor rights such as sick leave, prevailing wage, a grievance procedure and the right to join a union.

Attachment	Size
Public Job Creation Report.doc	570 KB
Welfare to Work Report Executive Summary (Spanish).pdf	416.13 KB