Take kids from homeless parents? NYC mayor's plan
Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Sat, 6 Nov 1999 22:12:42 -0800 (PST)
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Do you agree with NYC Mayor Giuliani's plan to put homeless kids in foster
care?
Why or why not?
If you've been a homeless parent, have you faced problems with child custody?
Did the state's placement decision benefit of your child(ren)?
http://www.sltrib.com:80/1999/nov/11031999/nation_w/43741.htm
FWD Salt Lake Tribune - Wednesday, November 3, 1999
Knight Ridder News Service
MAYOR BLASTED FOR PLAN TO DENY BEDS TO HOMELES WHO WON'T WORK
NEW YORK -- Mayor Rudolph Giuliani paraded his plan to deny shelter to
able-bodied homeless people who refuse to work as "the highest form of
compassion and love" last week, but as advocates for the homeless see it,
the mayor's new policy is "cruel and unusual punishment."
The controversial plan is unlikely to go into effect by Jan. 1. The scheme
faces an array of legal obstacles and has sparked sharp divisions within
the Giuliani administration.
The administration has backed off plans to implement the policy for single
adults by the end of the year. In state court last week, city lawyers
agreed to a delay, pending a ruling on the legality of the plan by
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Stanley Sklar.
The plan aims to push the homeless toward independence by forcing them to
find work or get job training. Those who refuse may be denied shelter and
other forms of public assistance.
Giuliani's plan to send the children of homeless people who lose their
shelter into foster care has drawn the most opposition. The city's shelter
system currently houses about 9,000 children.
"We do not believe that the best way of helping homeless people is by
subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishment," said City Council Speaker
Peter Vallone.
The administration is downplaying such attacks.
"No one wants to take children away," said Thomas Crane, the city's chief
litigator. "If a mother loses her children, it would be for her conduct.
We're talking about the kind of person who shouldn't be a parent."
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