A Bronx-based nonprofit that provides in-school mental health services is grappling with the abrupt termination of its $5.1 million multi-year contract with the city, putting families at risk of losing essential care and leaving the organization on the brink of fiscal insolvency.
I’RAISE Girls and Boys International Corporation, which operates in NYC and Atlanta, began serving the North Bronx as a nonprofit in 2013, and its licensed clinicians have since worked with over 30,000 families and 5,000 public school students, according to the organization. Over the years, I’RAISE has contracted numerous times with the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) and never had any terminations or warnings, according to CEO Shanequa Moore.
The organization partners with P.S. 78, 189 and 112 in the Edenwald neighborhood and P.S. 194 in Castle Hill to bring mental health clinicians into schools and provide care and case management for students. I’RAISE works with youth experiencing truancy, trauma and mental health diagnoses, as well as newly-arrived migrants, in an effort to keep families out of the ACS system, said Moore.
The four schools are under resourced, and without I’RAISE, they would likely not have mental health services at all, according to Moore. At one of the sites, cafeteria aides pull double duty to help address truancy issues, she said.
I’RAISE has been able to succeed in areas where others might not, Moore said. “We have the schools’ trust,” said Moore, a Bronx native. “They trust us because they know us, and we look like them.”
Office space
Moore said she has not received a clear explanation from ACS as to why the contract is being terminated effective Dec. 31.
The agency told the Bronx Times that it had communicated its concerns to I’RAISE prior to the termination. ACS added that it is working to schedule a meeting with the organization but declined to comment on the specific concerns raised.
Moore said the main issue ACS previously discussed with I’RAISE was a requirement for the nonprofit to open an office outside of the schools. Though I’RAISE staff were accustomed to using its partner schools as satellite offices, the organization promptly started work to secure a separate site, said Moore.
Emails sent by I’RAISE to the Bronx Times show that by early November, the nonprofit had identified a potential office, the Hub Centre Building in the South Bronx, and had begun engaging the Board of Directors in the decision, having the lease checked by an attorney and budgeting for the new expense, which ACS said it could not provide funding for.
In the emails, I’RAISE leadership indicated to ACS that while the process was complicated, they believed they were complying with all agency requirements and were well on the way to securing the office site.
It was never explained that obtaining the space was a condition of keeping the contract, nor were other stipulations given, Moore said.
She also said she is receiving mixed messages from ACS, including emails from one staffer that seem to suggest business as usual, as if the termination was not scheduled for the 31st. Moore has also not received word on when the organization will be reimbursed for services performed since July.
“We don’t have any instructions,” she said. “It’s very confusing.”
Late payments
With the contract ending and the city already behind on reimbursements, I’RAISE is now staring down a financial cliff, Moore said.
According to the city comptroller’s fiscal transparency website Checkbook NYC, the contract between I’RAISE and ACS was registered May 28, 2024, with a start date of July 1 and expires June 30, 2027. The amount spent to date is listed at $413,000, and checks dated July 1 adding up to that amount were already paid to I’RAISE, records show. But Moore said the nonprofit is now waiting on approximately $450,000 for services rendered since then.
Late payments from the city — a persistent problem experienced by many NYC nonprofits — have caused organizations large and small to take out loans to make payroll (while footing the bill for interest) or, in some cases, close altogether.
The payment delays are not unique to I’RAISE, nor are they new to the organization. During fiscal year 2023, Moore said she waited a year for reimbursements from the city and was forced to terminate staff during the delay.
The situation is now dire, Moore said: if the organization does not receive the funds by Jan. 3, it will not make payroll. ACS said in a statement to the Bronx Times that the agency will reimburse for all properly-invoiced expenses but did not specify a timeline.
Even before the contract termination, the late reimbursements were taking a drastic toll on staff, Moore said. Many of its 12 employees have struggled to pay their expenses. Some don’t have enough to eat or are behind on rent, and one got arrested for jumping the train turnstile because he could not easily afford transportation.
“The staff, because of the pay delays, they have gone through mental health breakdowns,” Moore said. “I’m trying the best I can to keep their spirits up.”
In an effort to address the late payments, Moore said she requested a meeting with ACS, which was held on Dec. 13. According to Moore, Luisa Linares, the Deputy Commissioner in the Office of Preventive Services at ACS, said near the end of the meeting that the contract was set to be terminated.
The Bronx Times emailed Linares, who referred communications to the agency press office.
Moore was stunned by the abrupt termination, and a notification letter dated Dec. 13, the same day as the meeting, arrived to her on Dec. 16.
“I almost fainted when I got the news,” she said.
Throughout years of contracting with the state and city, termination of a working contract had never happened with I’RAISE before. Moore said if she knew of any threats to the money, she would have immediately taken steps to correct the situation. Now, with the funds about to run out, she is wondering what went wrong.
Gathering support
Moore said I’RAISE will continue in-school services until Dec. 20 when schools go on winter break, but its future beyond that is highly uncertain.
I’RAISE staff are walking the neighborhoods around the satellite schools to gather signatures for a petition in support of the organization. So far, it has over 300 signatures.
Elected officials who have awarded city funds to the nonprofit are also looking into the situation. The office of Council Member Amanda Farías, whose district includes one of the schools served by I’RAISE, told the Bronx Times that they’re working with the organization on the issue and waiting to hear back from ACS. Her office awarded $60,000 in discretionary funds to I’RAISE over the past three years, according to city records.
The Bronx Times also reached out to Council Member Kevin Riley’s office, whose district includes the other three schools, and is awaiting response. His office has given I’RAISE $180,000 in discretionary dollars. Council Members Chi Ossé and Yusef Salaam have also awarded funds.
With I’RAISE’s future up in the air, ACS said it has resources to help all families. In a statement to the Bronx Times, ACS said it is “committed to providing high-quality services and up-stream supports to children and families in their communities. Any family in need of a helping hand can reach out to our Support Line at (212) 676-7667 and we can connect them to services in their community.”
Meanwhile, Moore is hoping that garnering the community’s good will and the help of elected officials will help save her nonprofit. The organization has always had positive relationships with electeds, schools and the Bronx community as a whole, said Moore.
“We’re in it for relationship-building,” she said. “We’re in it for the long term.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
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