A new report by the InsideSchools project of the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, “Learning Equitably, Digitally, and Well,” examines how teachers, students, and parents have fared since schools switched exclusively to online learning in March.

The report draws on in-depth interviews with some 37 students, teachers, parents, researchers, and others, and includes recommendations to City education policymakers for improving online or blended (combination classroom and remote) instruction in the coming school year.

Covid-19, EducationSeth MoncreaseJune 22, 2020Report, report2020

Kids and Covid-19: A Mental Health Crisis Looms

Doctors across New York State see a growing number of young people coming to hospitals with dangerous psychiatric emergencies.

It is a first sign, they say, of a looming mental health crisis among children and adolescents. And they warn that—unless the State makes radical changes—many young people will not be able to get the mental health care they need.

Child Welfare Watch, Children, Covid-19, Youth, Mental HealthSeth MoncreaseJune 9, 2020report2020

Out of Jail and Homeless: City Struggles to Stop Covid-19’s Spread

With the help of nonprofits, New York City has begun providing hotel rooms to people leaving jail with nowhere else to go. Advocates say it's a great step, but thousands of New Yorkers remain in danger in the City's crowded jails and homeless shelters.

Covid-19, JusticeSeth MoncreaseMay 5, 2020Homelessness, report2020

Covid-19 Paused Family Reunification Cases; They’re Resuming, But at What Pace?

When the coronavirus put New York on pause, the City’s Family Courts shut down most of their operations. Last week, the Court began to open up for matters that might move cases forward. But progress is slow and limited, and many families remain without access to the judges who can send their children home from foster care.

Child Welfare Watch, Covid-19, FamiliesSeth MoncreaseApril 20, 2020report2020

The New Strain of Inequality: The Economic Impact of Covid-19 In New York City

New York City’s economy is in a more precarious state than at any time since the 1970s fiscal and economic crisis. The current public health and economic crisis far surpasses the personal, psychological, and economic devastation wrought by 9/11, the 2008-09 Great Recession, or Superstorm Sandy. The social distancing public health imperative at present has incapacitated a substantial portion of the city’s economy. Job losses and new unemployment claims that have mounted since the beginning of the pandemic are unprecedented. An estimated 1.2 million New Yorkers (or 27 percent of all private sector workers) will be jobless by the end of April in an environment where businesses have been ordered to close and non-essential personnel told to stay at home. This report identifies the workers and industries that are expected to experience the most profound displacement and economic losses as business closures and social distancing measures demanded by the health crisis continue. The daunting economic challenges New York City faces in the months and years ahead are discussed.

Covid-19, EconomySeth MoncreaseApril 15, 2020Economic Policy, Covid-19, report2020

After Deaths of Juvenile Detention Staff Members, Parents Fear for Their Children's Safety

Covid-19 has torn through the City's juvenile detention centers. Frantic parents say their kids should be sent home.

Covid-19, Youth, Justice, Children, Families, Child Welfare WatchSeth MoncreaseApril 8, 2020report2020

Child Welfare Limbo: Covid-19 Puts Family Reunifications On ‘Indefinite’ Hold

Amid the chaos caused by Covid-19, New York City parents with kids in the child welfare system have lost access to the Family Court judges normally entrusted with protecting their rights. In at least one case, the City's child welfare agency held custody of a child for more than a week without seeking permission from a judge, according to family members who were desperate to bring the child home.

Child Welfare Watch, Covid-19, FamiliesSeth MoncreaseMarch 30, 2020report2020

New Report On The Jobs Impact Of Covid-19 And Unemployment Insurance

James Parrott, director of economic and fiscal policies for the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, partnered with The Century Foundation and its Senior Fellow Andrew Stettner on a new report released yesterday projecting up to 15 million U.S. lost jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and estimating the value of a key provision in the new Senate stimulus bill regarding unemployment insurance benefits.

Economy, Covid-19Seth MoncreaseMarch 26, 2020Economic Policy, Covid-19, report2020

Backfire: When Reporting Domestic Violence Means You Get Investigated for Child Abuse

Child welfare investigators are often among the first responders to domestic violence cases. Officials say their goal is to help not just kids but adult victims, protecting them from abusers and steering them into services like therapy or shelter. But critics of the system--including many advocates for domestic violence survivors--say that child welfare interventions often go terribly wrong, turning victims into suspects and creating chaos for vulnerable families.

Child Welfare WatchSeth MoncreaseMarch 1, 2020Domestic Violence, report2020

As Public Preschool for 3- and 4-Year-Olds Grows in NYC, What’s Happening to the Babies?

One unintended consequence of free, public preschool programs is the toll they can take on a community’s supply of child care for babies and toddlers. In some places, when public preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds grow, affordable child care for younger children shrinks. This analysis of enrollment data for the subsidized child care system suggests that in New York City, about the same number of infants and toddlers are receiving subsidized child care in child care centers and family child care programs as before the expansion of Pre-K-for-All. But other data and research which is inclusive of non-subsidized child care raises concerns that affordable infant and toddler care for low-income parents in New York City may indeed be at risk.

Children, Youth, FamiliesSeth MoncreaseFebruary 14, 2020Data, report2020

Time for a Real Look at How the New York State Workers’ Compensation System Treats Workers

Many aspects of New York’s workers’ comp benefit structure combine to deliver inadequate lost-worktime compensation to injured workers. Since 2007 workers' comp “reforms,” payments to or on behalf of workers have fallen relative to workers’ comp premiums while insurance company profits have soared. This report unravels the details and argues that the Empire State needs to take a fresh look at its workers’ comp system in order to restore the priority of fairly compensating victims of workplace injuries and ensure that businesses responsibly invest in enhancing workplace safety. This report updates several data series included in an earlier version released in April 2019.

EconomySeth MoncreaseFebruary 13, 2020Workers, report2020