Human Services Legislative Scorecard

New York City

The Champions

The success of our work relies on strong advocates who are about the human services sector and the people we serve.

Thank you to all the champions in the New York City Council who are standing up for New Yorkers!

  • As Chair of the Contracts Committee, Council Member Won has highlighted the need to pay human services providers on time, publicly supported the need for a human services cost-of-living adjustment, and has advocated for the sector in public hearings on PASSPort and online procurement. Most notably, last year she held an important hearing on the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services budget, led calls to restore funding to this vital agency, and – together with the sector – was successful in pushing for restorations.

  • Council Member Brewer is a dogged champion of all New York’s communities and has long been a partner of the human services sector. She is a constant presence at nonprofit events and rallies, and at each and every Council hearing, calls out the need for better funding for nonprofits, on time payment, and better pay for human services workers.

  • Council Member Brannan started his time in the Council as the Contracts Chair, where he learned about the struggles of the nonprofit sector in contracting with government, and has followed his own slogan, “No Procurement, No Peace!” to ensure changes in the contracting process.  As a vocal champion of on-time payment and better funding, he introduced Int. 514 last year, which would require agencies to pay interest to human services organizations who experience late payment. We look forward to its passage this year.

  • Council Member Stevens comes from the nonprofit sector, and she made that loud and clear when she took office, being the very first speaker at the first rally- and every rally- for #JustPay. She pushes for better pay for human services workers in public hearings and is the key voice in the Council on this issue. She has also been at the forefront of legislation to reform the procurement system, passing Int. 511 last year to hold city agencies accountable for delays in the contracting process.

The Legislation

This year, New York City Council had the opportunity to support the human services sector on two major pieces of legislation, including…

Prevailing Wage
(Intro 510-2022)

This bill was introduced by Council Member Althea V. Stevens. The proposed legislation would require payment of prevailing wages to human services workers providing services pursuant to City contracts. Specifically, the proposed bill would require providers to pay their human services employees no less than the prevailing wage.

Procurement Schedules
(Intro 511-2022)

This bill was introduced by Council Member Althea V. Stevens. This legislation requires the City Chief Procurement Officer to conduct a study and issue a report on the timing and duration of the City's procurement process for human services contracts exceeding the small purchase limit. This report will also provide recommendations to Procurement Policy Board (PPB) for setting procurement timelines for Human services contracts.