Social Services

Among the many harsh truths about American society exposed by the coronavirus pandemic is this one: Our social safety net is broken. NBCLX storyteller Cody Broadway looks at how the ripple effect of the broken safety net can be seen in things like an increase in crowdfunding campaigns to cover lost wages and health expenses and a growing strain on...

Advocates say new guidelines that disqualify more people from green cards if they use government benefits is prompting droves of immigrants to drop government social services

Mayor Bill de Blasio released a plan Tuesday aimed at getting nearly all of the estimated 3,600 people who are living on New York City streets and in the subway system into shelters and homes within five years. The Democratic mayor’s plan to “end street homelessness as we know it” includes adding 1,000 new “safe haven” beds in churches and…

The two sides met with a judge for hours on Monday, trying to agree on a new arrangement regarding the SOTA program, which NYC created in an effort to get housing in other cities, Newark in particular, for the city’s homeless population. NBC New York’s Brian Thompson reports.

The number of homeless people living in the subways up more than 20 percent from last year – bringing the total to 2,178 individuals, according to a report released by the MTA task force in conjunction with the state-led Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

The State University of New York’s Orange Newburgh campus was partially evacuated Wednesday as authorities investigated a suspicious device discovered in a garage, authorities say.

SUNY’s Orange Newburgh campus was partially evacuated Wednesday after a suspicious device was found in a garage at a building. Ida Siegal reports.

A mother whose toddler was yanked from her arms by New York police in a widely seen online video has sued the city

Residents signing up for food stamps in Minnesota are provided a brochure about domestic violence, but it doesn’t matter if they even read the pamphlet. The mere fact it was made available could allow them to qualify for government food aid if their earnings or savings exceed federal limits. As odd as that might sound, it’s not actually unusual. Thirty-eight...

Jose Garcia carried a drawstring backpack full of used syringes as he walked into the converted shipping container that serves as the base for Florida’s only hypodermic needle exchange program. The 57-year-old carefully counted as he dropped 115 syringes one-by-one into a locked biohazard bin brimming with hundreds of other used needles. Garcia said the University of Miami pilot program...

President Donald Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Wednesday to economist Arthur Laffer, whose disputed theories on tax cuts have guided Republican policy since the 1980s. Laffer, 78, advised Trump during his presidential campaign and co-wrote a flattering book, “Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy.” Laffer says lower tax rates change people’s behavior and...

Job gains in the services sectors continued to rocket higher in April as hiring remained hot for computer system designers, social workers and health-care professionals. Manufacturing, on the other hand, posted a third straight month of lackluster employment figures. CNBC studied the net changes by industry for April jobs based on the data from the Labor Department contained in the...

Yousuf Abdelfatah already knows the answer he’ll give about his race on the 2020 census questionnaire will be wrong. He’s an Arab American, but the only race options on the census are white, black, Asian and categories for American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander. Reluctantly, Abdelfatah will mark white. “If you look at me, my skin is darker,...

The city’s Administration for Children’s Services repeatedly ignored orders to provide adequate shelter, a working wheelchair and basic therapy for a disabled teenager who was left sitting in his own urine, a judge held in a bombshell civil contempt ruling against ACS.

The ACS repeatedly ignored orders to provide adequate shelter, a working wheelchair and basic therapy for a disabled teenager who was left sitting in his own urine, a judge held in a bombshell civil contempt ruling. Melissa Russo reports.

A New York mother who had her toddler yanked from her arms by police in a widely seen video on social media has gotten a public apology.

The government reopened Monday but federal departments are still feeling the burden.

A mother who had her toddler yanked from her arms by New York police in a widely seen video said in an interview published Sunday that she went into “defense mode.”

The two suspended peace officers at the center of the viral video showing a tussle with a mom holding her toddler in a social services office claim the mother instigated. Michael George reports.

Miami police will use $1.6 million in federal grants to develop a pre-arrest diversion program where people with small amounts of opioids can enter a one-year outpatient treatment program.