When Policymakers “Get It”
What would it take to get every local policymaker in America to be willing to make the following statement?
“Human services contractors are absolutely essential to providing critical services to our City’s most vulnerable populations. They are the ones on the ground and they need to be paid fairly and on time.”
The question may be rhetorical, but the statement isn’t. It was made during an oversight hearing on a Model Budget for Human Services Contractors held by the New York City Council Committees on Contracting and General Welfare. The chairs of these two committees genuinely understand the importance of nonprofits and are working to ensure service providers are paid for the actual cost of providing services on a timely basis. Together, they are overseeing the implementation of model contracting as a method to update reimbursement rates for nonprofit service providers.
The purpose of the four-hour hearing held June 21 was explained by one of the committee chairs in a tweet inviting the public to participate: “Join me and the Contracts Chair as we explore the budgeting and funding of our front-line service providers. Our community-based partners deserve the adequate resources to maintain the social safety net supporting everyone in need.”
Proving that the chair’s enthusiasm was real, he later tweeted: “Our community partners are there for New Yorkers in need every single day — let's make sure we're there for our partners. We need to candidly identify barriers to timely payments and adequate funding. Let's work together to streamline, innovate, and move ahead.”
A new report from the City Comptroller finds the government-nonprofit contracting system to be in “dire need of reform.” Last week, a spokesperson for the Comptroller explained: “One of the city government's most important jobs is delivering services to New Yorkers in need– that’s why fixing the city procurement process is urgent and essential. Providing services to our most vulnerable residents depends on our ability to execute social service contracts expediently.”
As for the rhetorical question at the beginning – what’s it going to take to get others to express and act on similar support for the work of community-based nonprofit organizations, the answer is ongoing nonprofit advocacy, of course. In New York, groups like the New York Council of Nonprofits, the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, and the Human Services Council have been educating city and state officials about the challenges of government contracting rules and training nonprofits on how to make their case before policymakers. And grantmakers, through Philanthropy New York, have joined in the call for reform.
The hearing held on June 21 shows that engagement in advocacy is a long-term commitment. And one that pays off.
