May 24, 2012

Dear Jeremiah Leadership Council Member:

As apart of the Campaign for Children(C4C), the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies invites you to join us in taking action to oppose the Mayor’s plan to cut subsidized child care for over 47,000 children. We are asking that you sign on to the citywide clergy letter (attached) and join us in the actions enclosed.

Attached please find a clergy toolkit that includes:

  • Fact sheet
  • A list of actions
  • The citywide clergy sign-on letters
  • Bulletin Insert

I hope you will join these important efforts.

In Partnership,

Reverend Joel Gibson

Director of Member & Faith Based Services

May 24, 2012

Dear Faith Leader:

This week, the children of our city face a pressing crisis. Through his Proposed Budget, Mayor Bloomberg has announced a plan to eliminate various forms of child care support for over 47,000 low-income children. Our children-and they all are our children- desperately need your help in preventing this misguided and destructive act from happening.If these cuts are allowed to go forward uncontested, thousands of children will lose out on the most fundamental educational opportunities; opportunities that could easily spell the difference between a productive life and life in prison or worse. Parents and custodial care givers will be forced to choose between work and staying home to care for their children.

Numerous agencies, both faith based and secular, will be effected. Organizations such as Salvation Army, Inwood House, the ChineseMethodistCenter, Church of the Epiphany, United Methodist City Society, Episcopal Social Services and others will have to cut programs that play a vital role in insuring the wellbeing of our city’schildren. The children of this city have been entrusted to the care of all of us. So care we must.

Please join the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies and its Jeremiah Leadership Council in signing on to the attached letter to Mayor Bloomberg. While the Mayor has the ultimate authority to rescind his decision, we need Deputy Mayor Gibbs to stand up for our children by standing with us in saying there must be a better way.

Unless something changes, these cuts will go through. Though they’re speaking out, working parents and young children can’t solve this crisis alone. The children of New York City need your moral voices as faith leaders to speak out with them. Our communities are depending on you.

Please contact Onleilove Alston, FPWA Faith Based Organizing Associate by June 11thto sign on to the letter.

(212) 801-1356

For more information about the Jeremiah Leadership Council (JLC) please visit

Our children and I thank you for your support.

In Partnership,

Rev. Joel A. Gibson, Director of Member and Faith Based Service

FACT SHEET

More Than 47,000 Children Will Lose Child Care and After-School Programs

The Mayor DID NOT restore cuts to child care and after-school in his Executive Budget. Cutting child care and after-school for over 47,000 children is a morally unacceptable, and will be detrimental to our city in the long run: These cuts mean:

  • Low-income working parents will need to find safe places for their children and most will not succeed. New York City’s economy will suffer as parents have to leave their jobs due to lack of childcare.
  • Research has shown that children who attend child care and after school programs do better in school and have lower incidents of crime, violence and drug use. With these cuts, more children will be swept into the criminal justice system and will not be prepared for educational and career advancement.
  • Childcare centers will close, and after-school programs will shut down. When teachers and staff lose their jobs and local economies will be hurt, increasing the need for unemployment and public assistance. Every dollar cut from child care leads to a $1.86 loss for the community.
  • Community based culturally specific programs such as the Afro-American Parents Day Care Center and Chinese American Planning Council will lose or close. These sites will be lost forever or replaced by programs run by for-profit educational companies that may not provide culturally competent programming.

Borough Implications for Out of School Time(OST) Reductions

  • Bronx: The Out of School Time (OST) after-school program is facing a 43% reduction in programs.
  • Brooklyn: The Out of School Time (OST) after-school program is facing a 50% reduction in programs.
  • Manhattan: The Out of School Time (OST) after-school program is facing a 62% reduction in programs.
  • Queens: The Out of School Time (OST) after-school program is facing a 39% reduction in programs.
  • Staten Island: The Out of School Time (OST) after-school program is facing a 32% reduction in programs.

How cuts will affect Faith Based Organizations

  • The Salvation Army will have to close 12 out of 13 of its childcare programs.
  • The United Methodist City Society will have to close 2 sites.
  • Episcopal Social Services of New York will lose 600 slots.
  • Lutheran Social Services of New York will lose 200 slots

Actions Faith Leaders Can Take to Save Child Care

  • Sign-on to the enclosed clergy letters to Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda I. Gibbs.
  • Contact Onleilove Alston, FPWA Faith Based Organizing Associate at or 212-801-1356 to sign onto the letters.
  • Include the enclosed insert in your worship bulletin/program this Sunday
  • Make an announcement about the proposed cuts and encourage your congregants to take the actions outlined on the bulletin insert.
  • Contact your City Council person and request that they refuse to pass any budget that includes the loss of child care for low-income New Yorkers. To find your City Council person visit:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg

City Hall

New York, NY10007

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

As New York City faith leaders the Jeremiah Leadership Council is outraged by the proposed budget cuts to child care and afterschool programs. This cut-represents a dramatic reversal of your promise to prepare every child for school. In 2005, your campaign explicitly promised to double the availability of childcare options. Instead, the system has been steadily dismantled and downsized over the past seven years. This cut is a part of an alarming trend of disinvestment in low-income communities and as faith leaders we believe that all children regardless of their socio-economic status deserve quality education. With this cut, the Bloomberg Administration’s legacy will be the elimination of desperately needed educational opportunities for low-income children.

As New York City faith leaders, we believe the budget is a moral document and we urge you to reconsider this plan and restore child care and after school for these children and their hard-working parents. Dismantling programs that serve the most vulnerable children challenges the very moral fabric of our great city.

During this time of economic crisis the city must support child care and after school programs that allow working parents to keep their jobs and provide for their parents. If the cuts proposed in the budget go through working parents will have to scramble to find safe places for their children. Additionally, when childcare centers close, and after-school programs shut-down, teachers, staff and providers lose their jobs and local economies will be hurt.

Quality child care is essential to the social and economic success of New York City. Child care also boosts our local economy, by sustaining working parents who spend their money in local neighborhoods, producing a return of nearly $2 for every $1 invested in childcare.

As faith leaders we also stand by the many long standing community institutions, large and small, who have lost programs due the Early Learn proposal process. These organizations have been cornerstones in our communities and have built strong programs throughout the years and without them our children and communities will suffer.

Research has shown that the after school hours are the peak time for juvenile crime. (Source: Bureau, Urban Institute Estimate, 2000) Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2002). Without adequate educational and recreational opportunities multitudes of children will be swept into the criminal justice system trapped into the very cycle that programs such as your Young Men’s Initiative is seeking to end.

Our faith communities expect more from our great city then to balance the budget on the backs of hard-working New Yorkers and their children. As faith leaders we believe that if we do not sow into our children today we will reap a city of disparity tomorrow.

We urge you to restore these cuts to childcareand after school. Do not leave the children of New York City without safe, quality and affordable education options. As faith leaders we ask you to honor your promise to make New York City a place where all people can thrive. The future of our city will be determined by how we much we invest into our children today. The Jeremiah Leadership Council urges you to make the just choice and support the children of our city.

Sincerely,

Vincent Adams, Author, FatherhoodAdvocate & MemberNew York CityChurch of Christ

Christina Adrien

Rev. Luis Alfredo Cartagena Zayas, Assistant Pastor Park Avenue Christian Church & Co-Moderator Northeastern Region Disciples of Christ

Onleilove Alston, Faith-Based Organizing Associate FPWA

Rev. Dr. Cheryl Anthony, JudahInternationalChristianCenter & Women of Faith Advocating Change(WFAC)

Eno Awoloye, Retail Action Project

Sanayi Beckles, Youth Minister St. Luke A.M.E. Church

Tim Bomgardner, Northeast Director of Community Youth Development World Vision

Rev. Chloe Breyer, Director Interfaith Center of New York

Danny Ortiz, Fellow at the Micah Institute at NY Theological Seminary

Rev. Gwen Dingle, Senior Pastor, The Pentecostal House of Prayer

Rev. Nathaniel Dixon, Pastor St. Stephens United MethodistChurch

Rev. Andre Eaton,The St. John’s World Tabernacle, Inc.

Rabbi Michael Feinberg, Executive Director Great NY Labor-Religion Coalition

George Finley, N.Y.C. Community for Change Now!

David Fritz,LMSW Social Worker

Rev. Joel Gibson, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies

Rabbi Cynthia Green, Neighbors Together

Darryl Harris, AdonteFellowshipChurch

Rev. Dr. Peter Heltzel, Director of the Micah Institute at NY Theological Seminary

Rollie Hernandez Neighbors Together

Michael Hinton, Neighbors Together

Kathryn Holmes

Rev. Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson, Senior Pastor Park Avenue Christian Church

Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson, Executive Director Children’s Defense Fund-NY

Minister Adlere Kebrew of FCHC2 Ministries

Rev. Jennifer Hope Kottler, Associate Pastor Park Avenue Christian Church

Rev. Dr. Clyde Kuemmerle, Executive Director Ecclesia Ministries of New York

Deacon Christine Lee, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

Rev. Dr. Sally N MacNichol, Director CONNECT Faith

Rev. Christopher Mietlowski, PastorGustavusAdolphusLutheranChurch

Philip J. Nuebrondo, Neighbors Together

Kimberly Ortiz, Retail Action Project0

Reverend Jeremiah J. Park, Resident Bishop United Methodist ChurchNew York Area

Reverend Lorena M. Parrish, Senior Associate Pastor Fort Washington Collegiate Church

The Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary

Rev. Dr. Dominick Reyes, Pastor A New Beginning International

Nancy Romer, Brooklyn Food Coalition

Rev. Patricia A. Sealy, Pastor Mott Haven Reformed Church

Jospeh Shemm

Rev. Dr. William S. Shillady, Executive Director United MethodistCity Society

Rev. Dr. Gary V. Simpson, ConcordBaptistChurch of Christ

Rev. Ariel Soto, Friendly Hands Inc.

Tami Tyree

Rev. Domingo Vasquez, Director of Friendly Hands Inc.

Don Williams

Stephen M. Williams, Westside Neighborhood Alliance (WSNA)

Deputy Mayor for Health and Human ServicesLinda I. Gibbs Deputy Mayor

City Hall

New York, NY10007

Dear Deputy Mayor Gibbs:

As New York City faith leaders the Jeremiah Leadership Council is outraged by the proposed budget cuts to child care and afterschool programs. This cut is apart of an alarming trend of disinvestment in low-income communities and as faith leaders we believe that all children regardless of their socio-economic status deserve quality education.

As New York City faith leaders, we believe the budget is a moral document and we urge you to speak out against this proposed cut. Dismantling programs that serve the most vulnerable children challenges the very moral fabric of our great city. We need your leadership now more than ever.

During this time of economic crisis the city must support child care programs that allow working parents to keep their jobs and provide for their parents. If the cuts proposed in the budget go through working parents will have to scramble to find safe places for their children. Additionally, when childcare centers closeand after-school programs shut-down, teachers, staff and providers lose their jobs and local economies will be hurt.

Quality child care is essential to the social and economic success of New York City. Child care also boosts our local economy, by sustaining working parents who spend their money in local neighborhoods, producing a return of nearly $2 for every $1 invested in childcare.

As faith leaders we also stand by the many long standing community institutions, large and small, who have lost programs due the Early Learn proposal process. These organizations have been cornerstones in our communities and have built strong programs throughout the years and without them our children and communities will suffer.

Research has shown that the after school hours are the peak time for juvenile crime. (Source: Bureau, Urban Institute Estimate, 2000) Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2002). Without adequate educational and recreational opportunities multitudes of children will be swept into the criminal justice system trapped into the very cycle that programs such as your Young Men’s Initiative is seeking to end.

Our faith communities expect more from our great city then to balance the budget on the backs of hard-working New Yorkers and their children. As faith leaders we believe that if we do not sow into our children today we will reap a city of disparity tomorrow.

We are looking to your leadership to take a stand against these cuts. The future of our city’s children needs your courage, support and leadership.

Sincerely,

Vincent Adams, Author, FatherhoodAdvocate & MemberNew York CityChurch of Christ

Christina Adrien

Rev. Luis Alfredo Cartagena Zayas, Assistant Pastor Park Avenue Christian Church & Co-Moderator Northeastern Region Disciples of Christ

Onleilove Alston, Faith-Based Organizing Associate FPWA

Eno Awoloye, Retail Action Project

Sanayi Beckles, Youth Minister St. Luke A.M.E. Church

Tim Bomgardner, Northeast Director of Community Youth Development World Vision

Rev. Chloe Breyer, Director Interfaith Center of New York

Danny Ortiz, Fellow at the Micah Institute at NY Theological Seminary

Rev. Gwen Dingle, Senior Pastor, The Pentecostal House of Prayer

Rev. Nathaniel Dixon, Pastor St. Stephens United MethodistChurch

Rabbi Michael Feinberg, Executive Director Great NY Labor-Religion Coalition

George Finley, N.Y.C. Community for Change Now!

David Fritz, LMSW Social Worker

Rev. Joel Gibson, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies

Rabbi Cynthia Green, Neighbors Together

Darryl Harris, AdonteFellowshipChurch

Rev. Dr. Peter Heltzel, Director of the Micah Institute at NY Theological Seminary

Rollie Hernandez Neighbors Together

Michael Hinton, Neighbors Together

Kathyrn Holmes

Rev. Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson, Senior Pastor Park Avenue Christian Church

Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson, Executive Director Children’s Defense Fund-NY

Minister Adlere Kebrew of FCHC2 Ministries

Rev. Jennifer Hope Kottler, Associate Pastor Park Avenue Christian Church

Rev. Dr. Clyde Kuemmerle, Executive Director Ecclesia Ministries of New York

Rev. Dr. Sally N MacNichol, Director CONNECT Faith

Rev. Christopher Mietlowski, PastorGustavusAdolphusLutheranChurch

Philip J. Nuebrondo, Neighbors Together

Kimberly Ortiz, Retail Action Project

Reverend Jeremiah J. Park, Resident Bishop United Methodist ChurchNew York Area

Reverend Lorena M. Parrish, Senior Associate Pastor Fort Washington Collegiate Church

The Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary

Rev. Dr. Dominick Reyes, Pastor A New Beginning International

Nancy Romer, Brooklyn Food Coalition

Rev. Patricia A. Sealy, Pastor Mott Haven Reformed Church

Jospeh Shemm

Rev. Dr. Gary V. Simpson, ConcordBaptistChurch of Christ