Who in Albany cares about the $400 million in proposed cuts to human services programs in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget?  Yesterday, the Human Services Council of New York together with its upstate partners and individuals who rely on those services were asking that question – and answering it with a petition signed by over 2,000 individuals and nonprofit organizations.    The petitions were presented to State Senator Diane Savino, Chair of the Senate Committee on Children and Families and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Children and Families.  Both Savino and Paulin were emphatic in their support for the reversing the proposed budget reductions.  Who cares?  They do!

“I firmly believe that as a society we need to give families and children the supports they need to survive and to thrive,” said Senator Savino (D-Staten Island), herself a former New York City caseworker. “Often a little bit of help from a social service agency can go a long way in preventing more serious problems, and at a lower cost to taxpayers.”

“It is essential to the welfare of families and to the integrity of our great state that we do all we can to protect the vulnerable from harm,” said Assemblywoman Paulin (D-Westchester). “I’m particularly concerned about the proposed $50 million in cuts to child preventive services and cuts to domestic violence programs.”

HSC launched the “Who Cares? I Do.” campaign on February 14 to strengthen public support for human services and build awareness of the extraordinary cuts being proposed by the Federal, State and local governments.  Since then over 2,000 individuals and nonprofit organizations, representing nearly 3 million residents from counties throughout New York State, including the Bronx, Westchester, Suffolk, Greene, Albany, Oneida, Jefferson, Rensselaer, Onondaga and Erie, have signed the petition.

“The many thousands of signed petitions we’ve received show how important it is to our communities that human service programs like day care, afterschool programs, senior centers, employment services, supportive housing and mental health services are saved from being slashed,” said Michael Stoller, Executive Director of HSC. “Compounding high unemployment and so much financial uncertainty with cuts to vital services will be devastating to New Yorkers. The message today is that policymakers need to make human services a higher priority.”

State budget decisions are in progress now, and the weeks leading up to the budget adoption on April 1 are critical to build support to preserve these programs.  Among the numerous city and state human service agencies partnering with HSC are the Children’s Aid Society, the New York Children’s Action Network, the Coalition of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA), Goodwill Industries of Greater New York, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy and New York State Community Action Association. 

Supporters can visit www.WhoCares-IDo.org to sign the online petition, receive information on the proposed cuts and learn how to reach out to elected officials and take action in many other ways. Supporters can also follow the campaign on Twitter @WhoCares_IDo  or on Facebook at Who Cares? I Do.

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