Politics & Government
Bloomberg's Child Care Cuts Would Hit Neediest Areas Hardest, Report Says
Bloomberg's proposed budget would close 191 programs across the five boroughs, according an advocacy group.
A new report, released by the Campaign for Children, says that Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s will particularly hit those communities suffering from high rates of childhood obesity, rampant unemployment, low school achievement and high rates of poverty.
The Out-of-School Time (OST) after-school system was created by Mayor Bloomberg in 2005, serving 85,000 children at its height in 2009. With this year’s proposed budget cuts, the OST system will be reduced by half, says the Campaign for Children. According to the report, 191 programs are set to close, and only 25,000 children will have access to programs next year.
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“Where there are hard-working parents struggling to make ends meet, and children without any other safe place to go, we simply cannot take away these essential programs,” said Stephanie Gendell of Citizens’ Committee for Children, an advocate from the Campaign for Children, in a statement.
