AFC Responds to the Adoption of the New York City FY 2019 Budget
Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the New York City Council’s vote to adopt the Fiscal Year 2019 city budget.
We thank the Mayor and the City Council for including in the budget an additional $150 million over three years to make more schools accessible to students, parents, and teachers with mobility, hearing, or vision needs. For too long, the City has tolerated a system where students who use wheelchairs or otherwise need accessible buildings are effectively barred from most schools. No child should be turned away from school because they can’t get into the building. The funding for school accessibility in this year’s budget is an important move forward.
Support for Students who are Homeless
We thank the City Council for adding $2 million to fund approximately 20 additional Bridging the Gap school social workers for students living in shelters. Along with the 10 additional social workers that the Mayor included in his Executive Budget in April, this investment means the City will move from 43 Bridging the Gap social workers to approximately 73. While the budget does not go as far as we had hoped, this investment will make a big difference in the ability of 30 additional schools to meet the needs of students living in shelters.
