March 17, 2010 · www.gothamgazette.com

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Children Reports:

Life Expectancy Hits Record
Life expectancy for New Yorkers born in 2007 has increased to an average of 79.4 years, the longest average life expectancy ever recorded, according to a new report by the Health Department. 2010-01-27

Skipping Breakfast
Although the Bloomberg administration has instituted a universal breakfast program in city schools, more than two thirds of low-income students fail to take advantage of it, according to a national study by Food Research and Action Center. This contrasts with Newark, Columbus and Boston where more than 50 percent of low-income students get breakfast. (For an analysis of New York's performance, go to the New York Coalition Against Hunger.)  2009-12-09

Reforming New York's Juvenile Justice System
A new report by the Center of New York City Affairs finds that the state's juvenile justice system is in desperate need of reform. The report finds that half of the children housed in New York's juvenile correctional facilities suffer from mental illness, yet there is not one psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse on staff at the state Office of Children and Family Services which runs the facilities.  2009-10-26

Lead Poisonings Drop
The number of children with lead poisoning last year dropped 19 percent from the previous year, according to an annual report by the Health Department. The number of poisonings has dropped 92 percent since 1995. 2009-10-21

After School Programs
The Campaign for Educational Equity at Columbia University released a new report dissecting participation and success of after school programs. Economically disadvantaged and minority youth are less likely to participate in such programs, according to the report. But the study added that increasing their participation cannot alone narrow the achievement gap. 2009-10-14

Poverty in New York
More than 1.5 million New Yorkers -- and 25 percent of all city children -- lived in poverty last year, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data by the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. The total is down slightly from 2007, but represents a rise of 126,458 people from the year 2002. The coalition cautioned that the numbers do not reflect the full force of the economic downturn and do not include many homeless people who the Census Bureau did not count. 2009-09-30

Childhood Poisonings
Accidental poisoning is the third leading cause of hospitalization for injury among children ages one to four, according to a city health department report. “Unintentional Poisoning in New York City Children" tracked the approximately 4,000 calls a year the city's Poison Control Center receives reporting poisonings of children under age 15 that require a visit with a health care professional. It found 75 percent of these calls involve children younger than five and that medications accounted for almost half the poisonings. 2009-08-18

Fitness, Academic Performance Linked
While the adverse effects of obesity are well known, a new report by the city education and health departments has found what it says is "a strong association between fitness and academic success." To make this connection, the report found that heavier students do not do as well on the city Fitnessgram assessments as thinner students. It then determined that students who do better on the Fitnessgrams also do better on tests of academic performance. 2009-07-27

Air Pollution May Lower IQ
Exposure to a certain type of air pollution can lower a child's IQ, according to research conducted in Manhattan and the Bronx by the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health. A study of children of Dominican and black women who did not smoke found children exposed to environmental pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons had IQs abut four points lower than similar children who did not have high level of exposure to the pollution. The pollutant in question comes from burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco. For a summary of the report, go to the Mailman School of Public Health. 2009-07-21

Creating Safe High Schools
An analysis of six high schools serving "at-risk" students shows that metal detectors, aggressive policing and harsh disciplinary policies are not needed to create a safe learning environment, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University and Make the Road New York. 2009-07-09

Child Deaths
The fatality rate for New York City children is one third lower than the national average, according to a report by the city health department. Between 2001 and 2007, 15 children aged 1 through 12 died for every 100,000 children in the city, according to the city's Child Fatality Health Team, compared with a rate of 20 children per 100,00 for the nation as a whole. The department attributes the difference to the comparatively low incidence of motor vehicle related deaths and injuries in the city. The report also cited major discrepancies between races in the frequency of fatal injuries, the leading cause of death for children, with black youngster having a sharply higher death rate from injuries than those in the groups. 2009-07-08

Schools' Emergency Preparedness
City schools fall short of state requirements for emergency preparedness, according to this new report by the public advocate's office. According to this survey of union chapter leaders, 71 percent of schools had no early dismissal drill and half had no school-wide staff training for emergencies. 2009-06-26

Improving Alternative Detention
The Youth Justice Board, a group of city teens, has issued 10 proposals for how the city could approve its alternative detention programs for young people charged with crimes. The group, which was organized by the Center for Court Innovation and spent a year studying the issue, recommends creating temporary shelters for teens who cannot go back home after their arrests, screening programs participants for possible mental health problems, and better links between the schools and the alternative programs. 2009-06-05

Immigrant Parents and Education
Despite city efforts to reach out to immigrant parents, many still feel excluded from the public schools, according to a new report by Advocates for Children. Some 60 percent of city students are immigrants or the children of immigrants, but the report said, these families "face significant obstacles to participating in their children's education." The group offers recommendations for increasing involvement. For more on immigrants in the city schools, see the March issue of Gotham Gazette's Citizen. 2009-03-23

Homeless Youth
FIfty percent of homeless youth studied for this report by the Covenant House reported violence at home. One-in-five reported being beaten with an object. 2009-03-12

Clinical Trials Done in Good Faith
A new report from the Vera Institute of Justice confirms that the city acted in good faith throughout a program, which allowed children in foster care who had been diagnosed with HIV and AIDS to participate in clinical drug trials. The study did find that the city did not follow some of its own procedures during the trials and did not fill out the proper paperwork. The study was commissioned by the city after accusations arose that the children were participating without parental consent and that the drugs were known to cause death. 2009-01-28

New York's Juvenile Justice System
This report comes from the Vera Institute and assesses the juvenile justice system statewide from '04 through '06: The number of juvenile delinquency cases referred to court remained unchanged at 66 percent; Juvenile delinquents placed in state or county custody decreased by 8 percent; Black youth account for 60 percent of those placed in custody but only account for 19 percent of youth in state; Court petitions for juveniles in the justice system for non-criminal behavior - such as truancy, incorrigibility, or running away - dropped 41 percent; The state's Division of Criminal Justice Services raised concerns about the reliability of juvenile arrest data for the period covered, so the report does not include it. 2009-01-22

Keeping Kids Out of Gangs
The Police Department has reported an 11 percent increase in gang related crime since 2005. To help stem this rise, Public Advocate Besty Gotbaum held roundtable discussions in all five boroughs and came away with such recommendations as increasing alternatives to detention for youth and the creation of a public/private fund to preserve and expand youth programs. 2008-12-31

Children's Health Survey
According to a new survey by the Commission on the Public's Health System, 93 percent of the city's children have health care and 80 percent are able to get regular check-ups. But families that don't speak English faced challenges. Nearly one-third of such families could not find a doctor that spoke their language and the same amount were not provided translators. In Staten Island, 63 percent of non-English speaking families had no translator. 2008-12-18

Hungry Children
More than 20 percent of New York City children relied on food from soup kitchens and food pantries in 2007, up 48 percent from 2004, according to "Child Hunger," a new report from the Food Bank for New York City. The report faults federal food and other poverty programs for not adequately addressing the need and says the situation is likely to become worse as a result of the current economic crisis. 2008-10-08

Healthier School Buses
The Environmental Defense Fund proposes a $30 million retrofit program for the city's school buses over three years. The program would upgrade the bus fleet's diesel engines so that 90 percent of their pollution would be eliminated. Pollution is five times higher inside buses than it is outside, according to the report. 2008-10-03

Teens and Foster Care
Although the city has been successful at increasing the number of younger teens placed in foster homes, more older kids were placed in congregate care last year than each of the the previous two years, according to a new report by the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School and the Center for an Urban Future. Of those sent to foster boarding homes, the report found that only 11 percent were placed in their own neighborhood, the lowest percentage since the late '90s. 2008-07-18

False Child Abuse Allegations
Sixty-seven percent of domestic violence professionals say they have had at least one case where an abuser repeatedly filed false reports of child abuse against a survivor, according to a report by the Public Advocate. The professionals report that 10 percent of their cases on average involve false allegations, and 95 said an abuser has never been prosecuted for it in any of the cases they handled. 2008-07-17

Out of School, Out of Work
Approximately 163,000 New Yorkers ages 16 to 24 are out of school and are not in the labor force, according to a recent report by the Community Service Society. Another 47,000 are looking for work but unable to find it. However, the report, "Out of Focus," found that the city has only 12,000 slots to provide education or employment for these so-called "disconnected youth." 2008-07-14

Teen Suicide Attempts Down
According to the Department of Health, 8 percent of teens attempted suicide in 2007, which is a decline from 10 percent in 2005. Incidents had repeatedly increased between 1995 and 2005. Cases were reported by adolescents in the New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a self administered, anonymous questionnaire. In 2005, suicide attempts were about 25 percent higher in the city than nationally. National data for 2007 has yet to be released. 2008-06-06

Child Care Audit
Past audits by the state comptroller found some children being cared for by day care providers that are legally exempt from licensing requirements were put in unsafe and unhealthy environments. As a result, the state began requiring the use of enrollment agencies, doing criminal background checks on providers, and performing annual spot checks. But New York City has been the exception to this increased oversight. A new audit by the comptroller found 2 registered sex offenders among the city's 35,276 legally exempt providers. Out of 50 homes visited, no one was home at nine, three providers refused entry to auditors, and two did not even live at the home they enrolled under. Ninety-four percent of the 36 homes auditors gained access to failed to meet at least one health and safety requirement. An enrollment agency is planned to begin operating in the Bronx this month. 2008-05-30

Children's Safety
According to the Citizens' Committee for Children annual report - called Keeping Track of New York City's Children - Staten Island and Queens are the safest places for kids, while Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx pose the highest risks. The starkest data in the report is the asthma hospitalization rate for children in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx, which is significantly higher than anywhere else in the city, with the exception of Bushwick, Brooklyn. The report uses over 400 indicators to assess the well being of the city's nearly 2 million kids. 2008-05-22

Keeping Troubled Kids at Home
In 2002, the city created the Family Assistance Program to help families with troubled children and keep the kids out of the foster care system. The first survey conducted of families served by the program shows improved mental health, more cohesive family relations and decreased stress within three months of intervention. The survey was conducted by the Vera Institute for Justice. 2008-02-29

After School Program Evaluation
A recently implemented after school initiative has been meeting its goals, according to a second year evaluation released last week by the Department of Youth and Community Development. Among its reported achievements, the Out-of-School Time initiative: served a third more school-age children in its second year; 80 percent of parents were satisfied with the programs; and 85 percent of children enrolled were high-needs students. 2008-02-28

Pushed Out of School
The organization Advocates for Children surveyed 145 students who were kicked out of New York City Schools. They found that the majority of students were told to leave school for reasons that are not legally justified, more than a third never met with a high school guidance counselor, and almost half did not know they had a legal right to remain in school until age 21. One hundred and twenty-six of the 145 students surveyed said they want to continue their education and go to college. 2008-02-26

Lead Poisoning and Immigrants
Immigrant children are five times more likely than other New York City children to suffer from lead poisoning, according to a report by the city health department. Because children who have arrived in this country recently are the most likely to be affected, the health department thinks the children may have been exposed to lead in their countries of origin, where the toxic metal might be less tightly regulated. Exposure to lead is linked to learning and behavioral problems in young children. 2008-01-07

Teenagers and Violence
Teens in New York in 2005 were less likely to be involved in school fights than they were in 2003 but more likely to be victims of violence while on a date, according to data released by the city health department. The report, Teen Safety in New York City, found that, after peaking in 2003, the percentage of teenagers involved in school fights declined to 14 percent by 2005. But at the same, the proportion of students reporting physical violence on dates increased from 6.5 percent in 1999 to 10 percent in 2005. The number of reports by teens of forced sex has also increased. 2007-12-05

Teenagers and Contraceptives
Sexually active teenagers in New York City are more likely to use condoms than teenagers in the country as a whole, but less likely to use birth control pills. A new report by the health department finds that only 4 percent of sexually active teens use dual protection (condoms and another method), compared to 8 percent nationwide. In 2005, the year covered by the report, the New York City pregnancy rate for girls aged 15 to 19 was 94 per 1,000. Nationally, the rate was 76 per 1,000 in 2002, the most recent year for which U.S. statistics are available. 2007-08-30

Student Test Scores Not Improved by Housing Vouchers
A federal lottery system that provides vouchers for families to move out of low income neighborhoods provides no educational benefits for the children in the those families, a new report says. The study, published in Education Next, a journal of the Hoover Institution, showed that students' test scores did not improve as a result of the move, nor did their attitude and behavior towards school. Test scores actually declined in New York, it said. But one of the researchers stressed that this is not a reason to abandon the voucher system. He cited decreases in obesity and depression as positive gains from the moves. 2007-08-17

NYC Second to Last in Big City School Breakfast Participation
Despite the significant progress that New York City public schools achieved by making school breakfast available universally to all students regardless of family income, New York has the second lowest participation rate out of 23 large American cities, according to a new study by the Food Research Action Center (FRAC). The study credits New York with great progress, but suggests ways to improve. 2007-08-09

Growing Up in New York 2007 Update
This report from the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy compiles critical data needed to assess New York's progress in helping children, starting with pre-natal care and ending with post-secondary education. The report updates findings in seven areas - education, birth-to-five, health, mental health, economic security, child welfare and youth. 2007-07-31

Supporting Needy Families
According to a report from the Center for Urban Justice and the Center for New York City Affairs, the city has seen an increase in abuse and neglect reports within its family support system and a 53 percent surge in children placed in foster care from 2005 to 2006. While the report recognizes city funding has increased by more than $70 million annually to family support programs, it also points to the rising need for such programs – a development that leaves many nonprofits and agencies operating “at or above their city-funded capacity.” To ensure proper care and an accessible support system, the report recommends providing aftercare services for children leaving foster care and implementing performance measures for agencies the city is providing funding to, among other suggestions. 2007-07-26

Department of Youth and Community Development Losing Sight of Beacon Centers
An audit by Comptroller William Thompson finds that the Department of Youth and Community Development has not maintained adequate oversight and monitoring of Beacon Program contractors to ensure they are providing services and activities to achieve program goals. Beacons are school-based community centers where young people can go when school is not in session. They are operated by community-based organizations and are expected to provide a combination of services and activities consistent with their respective neighborhood needs and interests. 2007-07-03

City Fails to Inform Parents of Opportunities for Children with Disabilities
The Department of Education fails to provide parents of children with disabilities information on special education services or respond to their concerns about their children’s transportation, according to a new survey of parents with children in District 75 by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and the Citywide Council on Special Education. The report, based on the responses of 2,026 parents of students with moderate to severe disabilities. 2007-06-22

Cuts for Summer Youth Jobs Program
New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program will serve approximately 9,000 fewer young people this summer than in 1999, according to a report from the Center for an Urban Future. The report shows that while the Bloomberg administration and the City Council have significantly increased city funding for the program in recent years, steep cutbacks in federal support and a higher state minimum wage has caused the number of participants to shrink by 21 percent. 2007-06-19

New York City Childhood Fatality Report
This report from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene takes a five-year retrospective look at intentional and unintentional injury deaths among city children, with a particular focus on the single largest contributor: motor vehicle related deaths. Although child motor vehicle-related deaths in the city are lower than the national average and have declined during the past decade, rates are still disconcertingly high and each death is preventable. Most motor vehicle-related deaths were among child pedestrians struck by moving vehicles; nearly 60 children were fatally struck on local streets in the past 5 years, many of whom were playing in or near streets, especially during warm weather evening hours. 2007-06-15

Mistakes Made by Administration for Children
The Administration for Children’s Services was struggling to perform basic child protective functions, such as conducting timely and thorough investigations, during the year leading up to the tragic death of Nixzmary Brown, according to a report by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. The analysis found that while the number of child fatalities investigated by ACS in 2005 remained similar to the previous year, the number of ACS mistakes spiked by more than 44 percent. 2007-06-12

Access to Prenatal Care
Women face significant barriers when trying to access basic prenatal care from Health and Hospitals Corporation facilities, according to a new report from Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. The report, Hurdles to a Healthy Baby, finds that two-thirds of HHC facilities do not offer weekend or evening appointments and more than 70 percent of facilities require women to make in-person visits before ever meeting with a physician. 2007-06-01

Hiring a Nanny
More than half of the agencies in the city that help city families find nannies – people to deliver childcare in the family home – are breaking some city or state law, according to a City Council report. Of 37 agencies surveyed by the council for its report “How Well Do You Know Your Nanny Agency,” 11 were operating without a license and eight charged improper fees to the families, the nanny or both. 2007-05-14

City Unresponsive to Parents of Children with Disabilities
The city is failing to provide basic information to parents of special education students and ignoring phone calls asking for help, according to a report from Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. The report, entitled "Waiting for Help," shows that the Committees on Special Education and the Department of Education failed to respond to more than half of nearly 400 requests for assistance by Public Advocate investigators. 2007-04-06

Children With Special Needs
A report by The Center for New York City Affairs and Center for an Urban Future shows that children with disabilities are sometimes placed in foster care because authorities fail to provide services that would make it possible for them to remain with their families. Other young people with disabilities have aged out of foster care only to languish in nursing homes or other institutions. 2007-02-28

Youth Unemployment
Despite “the lowest unemployment rate in recent memory,” only slightly more than one-third of 16 to 24 year old city residents were holding a job in 2006, down from 44 percent in 2000, according to "Unemployment and Joblessness in New York City, 2006: Recovery Bypasses Youth", a report by the Community Service Society. By contrast, there has been a dramatic rise in jobholding among New Yorkers over the age of 55. The report makes several recommendations, including an earned income tax credit for youth, an increase in “apprentice opportunities,” and a one-time fund to give to employers “who agree to establish recruitment and training programs” to “out of school youth” and others most in need. 2007-02-27

Out-of-School Time
The city's Department of Youth and Community Development assesses its Out of School Time effort, which provides funding for after school programs, in this report. The department awarded $44 million to 528 after-school programs last year. This report looks at these programs, the demographic profile of those served by them, and the "social development outcomes" of the youth involved. 2007-02-15

Helping Troubled Teens
Over the past several years, the New York City government has instituted programs aimed at helping troubled teens and their families. While some young people have benefited, the city’s efforts have failed to reach many others, according to this report, “There’s No Such Place,” by the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School. As evidence, the report notes that the number of teenagers under age 16 arrested and the number of foster care placements due to juvenile delinquency have increased sharply. The report includes information on the current programs, some of it compiled from interviews with teens and parents, as well as recommendations. 2007-01-17

School Funding Court Ruling
The ruling by the Court of Appeals, New York State’s highest court, in the thirteen-year litigation known as the Campaign For Fiscal Equity v. The State of New York. Writing for the majority, Judge Eugene Pigott Jr. sums up: “In this third appeal by plaintiffs Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc. et al, we address the cost of providing children in New York City’s public schools with a sound basic education. The State estimated this cost to include a minimum of $1.93 billion, in 2004 dollars, in additional annual operating funds. We conclude that this estimate was a reasonable one and that the courts should defer to this estimate, appropriately updated.” Included is the dissent by Chief Judge Judith Kaye, who concludes “our trust was misplaced” in state officials “who still have failed to fund the New York City public schools adequately” and their failure is precisely the reason why deference is not owed to them. “For more than 200 years…it has been the province and duty of the judicial branch to enforce compliance with constitutional norms, including (when necessary) as against the other branches of government. Defendants’ continued failure to cure the violation properly obligated the courts to determine the extent of noncompliance and to direct a remedy.” 2006-11-21

Uninsured Children
The Number of Uninsured Children rose for the first time in a decade between 2004 and 2005, according to this report by the Children's Defense Fund. It details the problem and offers a solution. 2006-11-16

Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club
The New York City Department of Investigation details in this report the story of the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx, which, led by then-executive director Charles Rosen, stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the public, and improperly lent $875,000 to what became Air America, among other improprieties, frauds and crimes. See also article on Rosen in the New York Times, Bronx Odyssey: From Rebel to Executive to Felon 2006-10-10

The Poverty Report
This report by the Mayor’s Commission for Economic Opportunity, officially entitled "Increasing Opportunity and Reducing Poverty In New York City," includes a “snapshot” of poverty in the city – over 1.5 million New Yorkers (“almost three times the entire population of Boston”) live below the poverty line; many of the poor are children; many poor adults are employed, etc. – and a set of recommendations focused on three groups: young adults 16 to 24, children under six, and the working poor. 2006-09-19

Summer Jobs
Changes in federal funding have created uncertainty in the city’s summer jobs program, according to a new report by the Independent Budget Office. In the years since 2000, the number of summer jobs has declined by almost 18 percent. Over the same period, the federal government’s share of funding for the program has decreased markedly with the city and state accounting for a larger share. 2006-07-05

Pollution and Child Development
Prenatal exposure to pollutants from car, truck or bus engines, heating, power generation, and tobacco smoke can adversely affect child development. A study of children in Washington Heights, Central Harlem and the South Bronx found that those whose mothers had been exposed to high levels of urban air pollutants during pregnancy had lower scores on mental development tests and more than double the risk of developmental delay. Previous studies have shown that air pollutants can reduce fetal growth, but, according to Columbia University’s school of public health, which conducted the study, this is the first one to reveal that city pollutants can also affect cognitive development. 2006-05-31

Incarcerated Mothers and Child Welfare
The mothers of about 11,000 children in New York State are currently incarcerated. These women often lose legal custody of their children. "profoundly distrupt[ing] family relations", says this report by the Correctional Association of New York. It makes recommendations for improving the ways that the child welfare and corrections agencies confront this challenge. 2006-04-14

Future of Family Court
This report by the Center for an Urban Future looks at the challenges facing New York's family courts and offers recommendations for improving the institution. The report warns that the system is overburdened: the number of juvenile delinquency cases in family court increased 17 percent between 2004 and 2005 and in January 2006, the city took more than twice as many families to court on abuse or neglect than the year before. 2006-03-20

Teen Smoking
Only about one in 10 New York City high school students now smoke cigarettes, according to a survey by the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Education. This represents a 36 percent drop since 2001 and a 52 percent decline since 1997. The report attributes the drop to a sharp increase in cigarette taxes and to educational programs. 2006-03-14

Child Protection
This year's "New York State Citizen Review Panels for Child Protective Services Annual Report and Recommendations" recommends increasing state funding, passing legislation that would limit the number of cases a worker can oversee, and widening investigations of child deaths. 2006-02-16

Early Intervention For Developmental Disabilities
The Statewide Early Intervention Program provides services to all families of children under the age of 3 with developmental disabilities. Although it is a federally mandated program, much of the spending comes from the city and state budgets. Spending for the program has grown rapidly in recent years, according to this report by the Independent Budget Office, driven not only by an increase in the number of participants but also by higher costs for the services provided. 2006-01-30

Protecting New York's Children
Despite the recent death of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown, the changes in the city’s child welfare system have made the city’s children safer, according to a report by the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. Even though Nixzmary died from abuse in her own family, the report found that, in general, fatalities have been higher in years when the city removed large numbers of children from their families and placed them in foster care. It notes that the number of death of children known to the Administration for Children’s Services declined from 2004 to 2005. 2006-01-18

Child Care
The city's system of subsidized child care has grown in enrollment and in the amount the city spends on it, while at the same time federal and state funding for it is being reduced, according to a report by the Independent Budget Office. 2005-12-30

Adoptions Save Money
The city’s emphasis on finding permanent homes for children in the child welfare system has saved the city about $42 million a year, according to a new report by the Independent Budget Office. The city spent almost $13 million more on adoption subsidies in 2005 than it did in 2000, the office found. But, at the same time, city spending on foster care agencies dropped by $55.4 million. 2005-12-07

Child Welfare Watch
The number of children being placed in foster care is at its lowest level in decades, according to this report by the New School's Milano Center for New York City Affairs, and the total number of children in foster care is approaching levels it hasn't seen since the crack epidemic sent the size of the system soaring. This report also looks at some city programs that aid families at risk of losing their children to foster care and those who have recently gotten their children back. 2005-09-02

Issues And Proposals For The Candidates
Three leading New York civic groups have issued a report on key policy issues that they believe York’s next mayor will face over the next four years. The report, “Framing the 2005 Mayoral Debate: Issues and Proposals for the Candidates,” by the Regional Plan Association, the Center for New York City Affairs at Milano Graduate School and the Center for an Urban Future, considers major problems in such areas as education, economic development, child welfare and homelessness and presents possible solutions. The groups say the report is intended to encourage substantive discussion of policy issues in this year's municipal campaigns. 2005-08-25

Teen Dating Violence
The Department of Education is not adequately addressing domestic violence faced by students, particularly teenage girls, according to a report released yesterday by the public advocate, Betsy Gotbaum. Although about 10 percent of victims of domestic violence treated in hospitals are under the age of 20, the report says, the school system has inadequate policies for tracking such violence nor coordinating a response. Among its recommendations are better teacher training, and the ability to transfer the batterer to another school. 2005-07-19

Collecting Child Support
The city Sheriff's Office is ineffective in seeking out those who do not pay child support, this report from the City Comptroller's office has found. The sheriff, part of the city's Department of Finance, didn't do adequate research on those owing child support, didn't make initial attempts to find them in a timely manner, and failed to make adequate attempts to locate them at all, according to the report. Had all those not paying child support been found, $10.6 million more could have gone to the care of their children. 2005-07-15

Foster Children Having Children
About one in six of girls aged 13 to 21 in foster care are either pregnant or already parents, according to a recent report by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. The report says the city does not provide adequate services for these young women and their children and recommends the Administration for Children's Services take steps to reduce the number of pregnancies and provide better care and training for the young parents. 2005-05-25

Kids Speak Out
Students in New York City schools worry about bullying and harassment and think their school buildings are aging and poorly maintained. As far as instruction goes, they told a "kids only" hearing of the City Council education committee in March that the emphasis on reading and test preparation leaves them little time for other subjects, and that crowded classrooms make it hard for students to participate. 2005-05-16

Charting the Course for a Neighborhood-Based Safety Net
This report by the Milano Graduate School examines the collaboration between the city's Administration for Children's Services and nonprofit groups to improve the city's family support programs. Through a program called Neighborhood Networks, the city funded certain nonprofit groups working to improve access to children's services and reduce the number of children in foster care. The collaboration, the report finds, worked very well in some cases and not so well in others. 2005-04-08

Welfare Reform And Child Poverty
A Manhattan Institute report finds that welfare reform may be responsible for as much as half of the decline in child poverty among black and Hispanic households headed by single mothers. 2004-12-23

Managing the Transformation of Child Welfare in NYC
New York City’s child welfare has managed to keep more children with their own families instead of sending them to foster care, and has managed to save a lot of money doing so, this report by the Center for an Urban Future and the Milano Graduate School finds. But there is still much room for improvement in preventative family services that keep stable families together. 2004-12-14