02.07.2019 | Chalkbeat New York | Once again, De Blasio’s preliminary budget doesn’t renew funding for 69 social workers who provide support services to homeless students living in shelters under the Bridging the Gap program. The funds for this program will expire by the end of this school year. In the past, de Blasio has excluded this pool of funding — about $14 million in the current budget —  and later added the money back into the final budget proposal after backlash from advocates… “We are appalled that the Mayor continues to play budget games with critical supports for students living in shelters,” said Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York, in a statement.  “With more than 100,000 students experiencing homelessness, the City should be increasing the number of Bridging the Gap social workers, not putting the continuation of the program in jeopardy.” اقرأ المقال