Reports

Improving Contracting between Human Services and Health Care Organizations: Recommendations from a Cross-Sector Collaborative

The Human Services Council partnered with Greater New York  Hospital Association to convene the Human and Health Services Collaborative, a cross-stakeholder group that aimed to address the challenges in developing contractual relationships between community-based organizations (CBOs) and health care organizations (HCOs). This collaborative included representatives from CBOs, health systems, and MCOs serving Brooklyn who discussed experiences and successes with contracting and offered insights from their sectors on creating viable partnerships with sustainable funding models. Based on Collaborative discussions, HSC has developed a set of recommendations to facilitate cross-sector contracting and sustain the human services organization activities that provide value to healthcare providers and plans.

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Essential or Expendable? How Human Services Supported Communities Through COVID-19 and Recommendations to Support an Equitable Recovery

The Human Services Recovery Taskforce was formed to help analyze and develop strategies for strengthening the resilience of the sector during and following the COVID-19 health crisis. This new commission convened to study the human services sector’s response to COVID-19, the “new normal” that providers face, and the steps that government must take to keep the sector afloat and help New York recover from the pandemic. The Taskforce worked to gather information about response and recovery, and developed recommendations for steps the City and State can take to support a resilient and strong sector.

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Integrating Health and Human Services: A Blueprint for Partnership and Action

HSC convened the Commission on Value-based Care to examine and inform the State’s health care reform efforts with a human services lens. Over the course of a year, leaders with experience and expertise in government, health care, philanthropy, academia, and human services came together to examine the challenges and opportunities to the effective integration of health and human services. Our goal was to develop thoughtful and succinct recommendations to help foster health and human services collaborations – collectively known as “The Blueprint.” As architects of emotional, economic, physical, and spiritual well-being the engagement of human services CBOs in health care delivery is essential. This report examines the opportunities and challenges of integrating these two important systems of care.

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New York City Human Services Sector Framework for Serving New Yorkers After Major Disaster

Framework CoverOver the past year, HSC and members of our Disaster Readiness and Resilience Workgroup have worked to develop the Framework, a thorough guide to engaging in disaster work for human services organizations focused on such matters as integrating services, communications systems, the unique dynamics of the NYC landscape, and coordinating with government. This Framework incorporates lessons learned in past disasters, commonly recognized best  practices  as  applied  to  the  unique  situation  of  New  York  City, and provides recommendations for concrete action that are in varying stages of implementation.
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Undervalued and Underpaid: How NYS Shortchanges Nonprofit Human Services Providers and their Workers

Undervalued and Underpaid Report Cover

The Human Services Council, FPWA, and the Fiscal Policy Institute co-authored a workforce report highlighting how New York State shortchanges nonprofit human services providers and their workforce.
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Voices of New York's Human Services Sector

Voices-of-New-Yorks-Human-Services-Sector-CoverThe Human Services Council, FPWA, and the Fiscal Policy Institute have come together to co-author a report highlighting the need for increased investment in the sector to ensure nonprofits can continue to effectively serve communities across New York State.
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The Human Services Sector of NYC: How Ready Are We For Emergencies?

Disaster-Preparedness-2016-Report-CoverThe Human Services Council and Baruch College, in collaboration with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), released a report documenting the current degree of community preparedness by New York City human services organizations, including umbrella organizations, when faced by disasters; and to put forward recommendations to improve the human services sector’s community emergency readiness.

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New York Nonprofits in the Aftermath of FEGS: A Call to Action

A Call to Action Report CoverAfter the closure of FEGS Health and Human Services, the Human Services Council assembled the Commission to Examine Nonprofit Human Services Organization Closures to address the chronic issues throughout the sector that these closures have highlighted. This report, New York Nonprofits in the Aftermath of FEGS: A Call to Action, identifies chronic problems and offers solutions for strengthening the nonprofit human services sector.
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A Fair Wage for Human Services Workers

15andFunding-Report-CoverThe Human Services Council, FPWA, and Fiscal Policy Institute, which is leading a robust statewide coalition of nonprofit providers, co-authored a report detailing the importance of raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour for all workers in New York State, including human services workers, AND amending government human services contracts to fund the wage increase.
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Working Together Across Sectors: Creating a Fair and Equal City

SCS-Report-CoverThe Strengthening Communities Summit brought together leaders of nonprofit organizations, City agencies, academia, and philanthropy, to generate insights, possibilities, and pathways for re-inventing the working partnerships among City agencies, nonprofit social service providers, and the communities in which they work, in order to provide comprehensive, coordinated services in a manner that promotes equity in opportunity to residents across the City.
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The New York City Procurement Reform Project: The Initial Impact of HHS Accelerator

HHS-Accelerator-CoverFive years ago, HSC partnered with the New York City Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services to conceptualize a Web-based procurement system that would streamline human services contracting and foster more open and efficient competition that would become HHS Accelerator (“Accelerator”). This report is the result of a study on the initial impact of HHS Accelerator.
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Recommitting to the Nonprofit Sector: Creating a Path to Sustainability through Policy Change

Recommitting-to-Nonprofit-Sector-CoverOn January 14, 2013, the Human Services Council of New York convened nearly 200 leaders of government, philanthropy, media, academia, and the nonprofit sector to have a frank conversation about the strategic significance and economic health of the sector, how to change the culture and practices that keep the sector from realizing its full potential, and what can be done to ensure that nonprofits are meeting community needs. This document offers recommendations stemming from the Summit discussions to achieve a healthier nonprofit human services sector in New York.
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Investing in Human capital: How Investments in Human Services Support a Strong Economy

Investing-in-Human-Capital-CoverThe United States prides itself on being the “land of opportunity,” a place where hard work is rewarded. But attaining the American Dream has become increasingly difficult as more and more families struggle to make ends meet. With a shrinking middle class, skyrocketing poverty rates, and growing wealth gap, we must make policy choices that support participation in the workforce. This policy brief provides information and examples that demonstrate how human services such as child care and youth services, senior services, and nutrition programs remove barriers to work and help beneficiaries remain in the workforce, acting as a catalyst into the middle class.
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Dangerous Moves: How Public Funding Cuts to Human Services Hurt Women and Children

Dangerous-Moves-CoverHuman services are valuable resources to both government and communities. They provide affordable support such as child care, youth programs, elder care, medical assistance, legal help, and career services. During economic hard times, more people than ever rely on these services in their daily lives. And while human services help everyone, many services are especially important to women trying to balance their work and family lives. This report examines budget cuts that directly impact women in four service areas: child and elder care, homeless services, domestic violence assistance, and family health programs.

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A Lose-Lose Proposition: The Economic Impact of Lost Human Services in New York State

Lose-Lose-Proposition-CoverIn the last two years, New York State has cut about $800 million in funding for essential human services that support the health and success of struggling people throughout the state. At the same time, poverty, hunger, and homelessness are at or near all-time highs. Human services programs don’t only improve the lives of those in or close to poverty; they are an economic engine in the communities they serve, providing over a million jobs and stimulating business through the purchase of over a billion dollars in goods and services. Approximately 27,000 human service sector jobs have been lost due to service cuts in the last two years. This report details the direct impact that lost human services have on employment and economic opportunity in New York State.
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