HEALINGNYC: MAYOR AND FIRST LADY ANNOUNCE $22 MILLION EXPANSION OF CITY’S PLAN TO COMBAT OPIOID EPIDEMIC

New investment will create peer intervention programs at more hospitals, increase naloxone distribution and connect more New Yorkers to treatment

  Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray today announced a $22 million annual investment to expand HealingNYC, the citywide plan to combat the opioid epidemic.  This new investment will create peer intervention programs at more hospitals across the City, increase naloxone distribution and training on how to use this lifesaving drug, and connect more New Yorkers struggling with substance misuse to treatment. With this new investment, the City will spend a total of $60 million annually to reduce opioid overdose deaths.

More New Yorkers died from drug overdose in 2016 than suicides, homicides and motor vehicle crashes combined. The City launched HealingNYC in March 2017 to reverse this surge in overdose deaths. While the 2017 opioid overdose data is still provisional, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is seeing a flattening in the overdose death rate compared to 2016. The City predicts that this expanded HealingNYC could help save as many as 400 lives by 2022.

“The opioid epidemic has destroyed lives and hurt families across the country. In New York City, we are harnessing every tool to stop this deadly surge in its track,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This new investment will help to save more lives and connect those struggling with addiction to treatment.” 

“Addiction is a chronic disease, and people suffering from any disease need our help and support, not our judgment or punishment,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray, who leads the City’s mental health and substance misuse efforts. “Through ThriveNYC, we’re working hard to change the way people think about addiction and mental illness, establish prevention protocols, and create a culture of healing and wellness. With this expanded investment, we will open more doors to support for those who need it.”

“We are beginning to see some encouraging signs in the data regarding overdose deaths,” said Dr. Herminia Palacio, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. “From 2016 to 2017, the number of opioid overdose deaths is flattening, rather than continuing to shoot upward. But we have much more work to do – and that’s why we’re announcing new investments to expand HealingNYC, so that we can serve more people in the emergency department and inpatient settings, equip more front-line City staff and community members with naloxone, and  expand our crisis response tools – including deploying peers with lived experience - to serve people at risk of overdose.”

This new funding will start in Fiscal Year 2019 and be at full ramp up in Fiscal 2020.

With this additional $22 million annual investment, the City will implement the following strategies:

· Expand Emergency Department Peer-Based Interventions: New York City Health + Hospitals will expand its peer advocate program from three to all 11 of its emergency departments by the end of 2018. DOHMH will complete expansion of the Relay peer intervention program to 15 private hospitals by June 2020, up from the 10 sites currently slated for funding. With the expansion of these two programs, New Yorkers with an opioid use disorder will have access to peer support at the 26 hospitals that provide nearly 75% of all emergency services for overdose.

· Expand Inpatient Hospital Interventions at Health + Hospitals: NYC Health + Hospitals will expand plans for its Consult for Addiction Treatment and Care in Hospitals (CATCH) program from four to six sites, with four to be launched in Fall 2018 and the other two by the end of 2019. CATCH teams will connect inpatients admitted with substance abuse disorder to medically assisted treatment and outpatient care. The six sites will be NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, /Lincoln, /Metropolitan, /Coney Island, /Elmhurst, and /Woodhull. ​These sites were chosen because their neighborhoods are some of the hardest hit by the opioid epidemic.

·    Launch “Leave Behind” Naloxone Program: FDNY EMS will distribute 5,000 naloxone kits annually at homes they visit in response to an overdose call. The leave behind program will launch by the end of summer 2018. 

·    Establish End Overdose Training Institute: DOHMH will launch the End Overdose Training Institute by spring 2018 to teach 25,000 New Yorkers annually, including front line city workers, how to administer and distribute naloxone.

·    Expand HOPE Program: The City will expand the HOPE program which diverts people arrested on low-level drug offenses into treatment rather than the criminal justice system.  The City will fund peer workers in Staten Island, and launch a new HOPE program in the Bronx.  This new investment will divert 1,400 people annually from the criminal justice system and connect them to medication-assisted treatment and other resources. 

·     Expand Crisis Response Services:  The City will hire 29 additional staff to expand the capacity of the Health and Engagement Assessment Team, and Rapid Assesment Response Team which help to respond to overdose calls and connect New Yorkers to care. This additional staff will help to enhance the DOHMH and NYPD 24/7 Triage Desk to coordinate the City’s response to opioid overdoses.

“Healing NYC has been critical in addressing the opioid crisis and this expansion will go a long way in providing the medical and mental health supports necessary to help New Yorkers who use drugs and are at risk of overdosing," said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. "These new and expanded initiatives will provide New Yorkers in communities across the City with the support to prevent overdose and to engage them in the care and treatment that can prevent untimely death and promote recovery.”

"Thousands of times a year FDNY Paramedics, EMTs and Firefighters have utilized quick intervention with Naloxone to save patients suffering from drug overdoses," said Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro. "With this funding to expand HealingNYC, we know in the years to come that many more New Yorkers lives will be saved."

"The opioid epidemic is one of the most significant challenges facing health care today, especially for public health systems dedicated to caring for those most in need," said Mitchell Katz, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals. "Our work to improve access to evidence-based treatments—in primary care, emergency department, and inpatient settings—focuses on linking thousands of additional New Yorkers to life-saving care."

"With the help of the Mayor’s HealingNYC initiative, NYC Health + Hospitals is not only building capacity to save lives at risk of opioid overdose, but also fostering a culture of compassion that will make us national leaders in caring for people with all substance use disorders," said Luke Bergmann, PhD, Assistant Vice President of the NYC Health + Hospitals Office of Behavioral Health.

The opioid crisis has had serious effects on families throughout New York City. Rates of drug overdose deaths in New York City more than doubled between 2010 and 2016, increasing from 8.2 per 100,000 residents in 2010 to 19.9 per 100,000 residents in 2016. DOHMH reports that while drug overdose deaths affect every neighborhood and demographic in New York City, residents of impoverished neighborhoods are the hardest hit.

Since HealingNYC was launched in March 2017, the City has distributed nearly 100,000 naloxone kits to opioid overdose prevention programs; expanded access to medications for addiction treatment; launched Relay, a new peer-based program in hospital emergency departments for people who experienced an overdose; trained more than 700 clinicians to prescribe buprenorphine; offered 1:1 education on judicious opioid prescribing to 1,000 doctors; and significantly increased community outreach and public education efforts.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. - SECOND ANNUAL BRONX GOSPEL CONCERT - APRIL 7TH

NYPD School Safety Agent Sentenced To Prison For Conspiracy To Distribute Heroin

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James J. Hunt, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), George P. Beach II, the Superintendent of the New York State Police (“NYSP”), and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced that TINA BATISTA, a former school safety agent with the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin in Manhattan.  BATISTA pled guilty to the Indictment on November 15, 2017.  U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan imposed today’s sentence. 

BATISTA’s co-defendants, Lazaro Mallet and Ruben Luciano De Los Santos have also pled guilty to participating in the conspiracy.  On February 23, 2018, De Los Santos was sentenced to two years in prison by Judge Nathan.  Mallet, who is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Nathan on April 27, 2018.   

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Tina Batista was an NYPD school safety agent entrusted with safeguarding our city’s schools and its students.  But she violated that trust by committing a serious narcotics crime involving a large quantity of heroin and lying to law enforcement about her crimes.  Thanks to the outstanding investigative work of the DEA and the NYPD, Batista will serve time in prison for her crimes.”        

DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt said:  “Honest men and women in law enforcement work hard to keep our community safe from all perils, drugs included.   And through this investigation, the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force identified a member of law enforcement who put this city at risk by using her shield to facilitate drug trafficking.”         

Superintendent George P. Beach II said,  “Thanks to the hard work and partnership of law enforcement at the federal, state and local level, we have put three people behind bars who were supplying dangerous drugs to our communities. Today’s sentencing involved a school safety agent, who was trusted to keep our children safe, and was also conspiring to distribute heroin. We will continue to aggressively pursue criminals who profit from illegal drugs at the expense of the safety and security of our neighborhoods.”

According to the Complaint, the Indictment, other documents filed in this case:

On December 20, 2016, BATISTA, who was then a school safety agent with the NYPD, drove her boyfriend Mallet and De Los Santos from the Bronx to the vicinity of 115th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan where Mallet had arranged to sell more than a kilogram of heroin to a confidential source working in an undercover capacity with federal law enforcement (the “CS”).  The car that BATISTA drove had a visible NYPD parking permit with the NYPD logo indicating that the vehicle was associated with law enforcement.  BATISTA had obtained the parking permit through her employment with the NYPD.

After the CS entered BATISTA’s vehicle and spoke with Mallet about the heroin in Spanish and in English, Mallet provided the CS with a Gucci shopping bag containing approximately 1.3 kilograms of heroin.  BATISTA, Mallet, and De Los Santos then waited in the area for approximately one hour to receive payment for the heroin until they were arrested.

During an interview that was conducted after BATISTA’s arrest, BATISTA lied multiple times to federal agents, falsely stating, in substance and in part, that she was not aware of any drugs, that the Gucci bag only contained sandals, and that she did not speak Spanish.

BATISTA had also previously conducted unauthorized inquiries in NYPD databases at the request of Mallet using a supervisor’s security code.

After her arrest in this case, BATISTA’s employment with the NYPD was terminated.

In addition to the prison sentence, BATISTA, 37, of the Bronx, was sentenced to two years of supervised release.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, which comprises agents and officers of the DEA, the NYPD, and the NYSP.    

Five Manhattan Doctors Indicted For Accepting Bribes And Kickbacks From A Pharmaceutical Company In Exchange For Prescribing Powerful Fentanyl Narcotic

Two Former Pharmaceutical Company Employees Have Also Pled Guilty and Are Cooperating with the Government

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing today of an Indictment in Manhattan federal court charging five Manhattan doctors, GORDON FREEDMAN, JEFFREY GOLDSTEIN, TODD SCHLIFSTEIN, DIALECTI VOUDOURIS, and ALEXANDRU BURDUCEA, with participating in a scheme to receive bribes and kickbacks in the form of fees for sham educational programs (“Speaker Programs”) from a pharmaceutical company (“Pharma Company-1”) in exchange for prescribing millions of dollars’ worth of a potent fentanyl-based spray manufactured by Pharma Company-1 (the “Fentanyl Spray”), among other offenses.  FREEDMAN, GOLDSTEIN, SCHLIFSTEIN, VOUDOURIS, and BURDUCEA were arrested this morning.  All are expected to be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan this afternoon.

Also unsealed today were the guilty pleas of two former Pharma Company-1 employees, Jonathan Roper and Fernando Serrano, in connection with their participation in the bribery and kickback scheme.  Both Roper and Serrano are cooperating with the Government. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “These prominent doctors swore a solemn oath to place their patients’ care above all else.  Instead, they engaged in a malignant scheme to prescribe Fentanyl, a dangerous and potentially fatal narcotic 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, in exchange for bribes in the form of speaker fees. Payments from pharmaceutical companies should not influence how doctors prescribe --- especially when a potent and dangerous drug like Fentanyl is involved.  This scheme to use their patients as an instrument for profit has resulted in the indictment of five physicians.”    

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “A substance as powerful as Fentanyl should be prescribed based only on doctors’ own independent medical judgment. In this case, as alleged, a series of doctors were convinced to push aside their ethical obligations and prescribe a drug for profit to patients who turned to them for help. Doctors and medical professionals everywhere should be reminded of the faith and trust placed upon them, and that the health and safety of their patients is not for sale.”

As alleged in the Indictment[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:

The Fentanyl Spray

The Fentanyl Spray, which is manufactured by Pharma Company-1, is a powerful painkiller that is approximately 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.  The FDA approved the Fentanyl Spray only for the management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients.  Prescriptions of the Fentanyl Spray typically cost thousands of dollars each month, and Medicare and Medicaid, as well as commercial insurers, reimbursed prescriptions written by the defendants.

The Speaker Program Bribery and Kickback Scheme

Pharma Company-1 launched a “Speakers Bureau” in or about August 2012.  While the Speakers Bureau was purportedly aimed at educating other practitioners about the Fentanyl Spray, in reality Pharma Company-1 used its Speakers Bureau to induce the doctors to prescribe large volumes of the Fentanyl Spray by paying them Speaker Program fees. 

Speakers were supposed to conduct a slide presentation for other health care practitioners regarding the Fentanyl Spray at each Speaker Program.  In reality, many of the Speaker Programs led by the defendants were predominantly social affairs where no educational presentation about the Fentanyl Spray occurred.  Attendance sign-in sheets for the Speaker Programs were frequently forged by adding the names and signatures of health care practitioners who had not actually been present.

Freedman’s Participation in the Scheme

FREEDMAN was a doctor certified in pain management and anesthesiology who owned a private pain management office on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.  FREEDMAN, who was also an Associate Clinical Professor at a large hospital in Manhattan (“Hospital-1”), received approximately $308,600 in Speaker Program fees from Pharma Company-1 in exchange for prescribing large volumes of the Fentanyl Spray. 

In March 2013, a Regional Sales Manager for Pharma Company-1 sent an email to FREEDMAN informing him that he would receive more Speaker Programs in the coming months because Pharma Company-1 wanted prescriptions of the Fentanyl Spray to increase, and urging FREEDMAN to put more patients on the Fentanyl Spray.  FREEDMAN responded, in part, “Got it,” and significantly increased his Fentanyl Spray prescriptions in the following months, during which he received approximately $33,600 in Speaker Program fees. 

In 2014, FREEDMAN’s prescriptions of the Fentanyl Spray rose even further, and he was the fourth-highest prescriber of the Fentanyl Spray nationally in the final quarter of 2014, accounting for approximately $1,132,287 in overall net sales of the Fentanyl Spray in that quarter.  During 2014, FREEDMAN was the highest-paid Pharma Company-1 Speaker in the nation, receiving approximately $143,000. 

GOLDSTEIN’s Participation in the Scheme

GOLDSTEIN was a doctor of osteopathic medicine who owned a private medical office on the Upper East Side.  GOLDSTEIN received approximately $196,000 in Speaker Program fees from Pharma Company-1 in exchange for prescribing large volumes of the Fentanyl Spray.  After GOLDSTEIN began prescribing a competitor painkiller, Pharma Company-1 pressured him to stop doing so and switch patients to the Fentanyl Spray, which GOLDSTEIN did.

In 2014, GOLDSTEIN was approximately the fifth-highest-paid Pharma Company-1 Speaker nationally. He was the sixth-highest prescriber of the Fentanyl Spray in the last quarter of 2014, accounting for approximately $809,275 in overall net sales of the Fentanyl Spray in that quarter.

SCHLIFSTEIN’s Participation in the Scheme

SCHLIFSTEIN was a doctor certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation who co-owned with GOLDSTEIN a private medical office on the Upper East Side.  SCHLIFSTEIN, who also worked as an attending physiatrist and consulting physician at two other Manhattan hospitals, received approximately $127,100 in Speaker Program fees from Pharma Company-1 in exchange for prescribing large volumes of the Fentanyl Spray. 

In or about October 2013, SCHLIFSTEIN expressed an interest in becoming a Speaker for Pharma Company-1.  So a senior Pharma Company-1 executive traveled to New York, and took SCHLIFSTEIN, GOLDSTEIN, and others, to a Manhattan strip club where Pharma Company-1 spent approximately $4,100 on a private room, alcoholic drinks, and “lap dances” for SCHLIFSTEIN and GOLDSTEIN.  In the month following that outing and SCHLIFSTEIN’s nomination as a Speaker, SCHLIFSTEIN’s Fentanyl Spray prescriptions increased substantially.    

In late 2014, Pharma Company-1 significantly decreased SCHLIFSTEIN’s Speaker Programs in order to send a message to SCHLIFSTEIN that he would need to prescribe larger volumes of the Fentanyl Spray.  In response, SCHLIFSTEIN repeatedly requested more Speaker Programs.  Pharma Company-1 told SCHLIFSTEIN it would assign him more Speaker Programs only if he prescribed larger volumes of the Fentanyl Spray.  SCHLIFSTEIN’s Fentanyl Spray prescriptions then increased substantially, and Pharma Company-1 rewarded him with more Speaker Programs.

By the end of the second quarter of 2015, SCHLIFSTEIN was approximately the 19th-highest prescriber of the Fentanyl Spray nationally, accounting for approximately $593,373 in net sales in that quarter.

VOUDOURIS’s Participation in the Scheme

VOUDOURIS was a doctor specializing in oncology and hematology who worked at a private medical office on the Upper East Side, and was an Assistant Clinical Professor at Hospital-1.  VOUDOURIS received approximately $119,400 in Speaker Program fees from Pharma Company-1 in exchange for prescribing large volumes of the Fentanyl Spray. 

In September 2014, VOUDOURIS, who had recently been nominated as a Speaker, had dinner with, among others, several Pharma Company-1 executives, as well as Roper and Serrano.  During the dinner, the Pharma Company-1 Vice-President of Sales told VOUDOURIS that he wanted her to prescribe the Fentanyl Spray to one new patient every day, and that VOUDOURIS would be allocated Speaker Programs if she continued prescribing the Fentanyl Spray.  

In the week that followed the dinner, VOUDOURIS did not prescribe what Pharma Company-1 viewed as an adequate quantity of the Fentanyl Spray.  Roper and Serrano met with VOUDOURIS and told her that Pharma Company-1 expected VOUDOURIS to write more Fentanyl Spray prescriptions.  In the months that followed the dinner and this conversation, VOUDOURIS’s Fentanyl Spray prescriptions rose significantly. 

By the end of the first quarter of 2015, VOUDOURIS was approximately the 10th-highest prescriber of the Fentanyl Spray nationally, accounting for total net sales of the Fentanyl Spray of approximately $581,500 in that quarter.

BURDUCEA’s Participation in the Scheme

BURDUCEA was a doctor certified in pain management and anesthesiology, was an Assistant Professor of anesthesiology at Hospital-1, and practiced at an anesthesiology and pain management office associated with Hospital-1.  BURDUCEA received approximately $68,400 in Speaker Program fees from Pharma Company-1 in exchange for prescribing large volumes of the Fentanyl Spray.  In addition, Pharma Company-1 hired BURDUCEA’s then-girlfriend, now wife (“CC-1”), to work as BURDUCEA’s sales representative and paid her in large part based on the volume of Fentanyl Spray prescribed by her assigned doctors, including BURDUCEA. 

By the end of the end of the second quarter of 2015, BURDUCEA was approximately the 14th-highest prescriber of the Fentanyl Spray nationally, accounting for total net sales of the Fentanyl Spray of approximately $621,345 in that quarter.

A chart containing the names, ages, residences, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants is attached.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the FBI, and thanked HHS OIG for its participation in the investigation.

Defendant	Age	Hometown	Charges (Potential Maximum Term of Imprisonment)
GORDON FREEDMAN	57	Mount Kisco, NY	Anti-Kickback conspiracy (5 years), Violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (5 years), and Honest services fraud conspiracy (20 years)
JEFFREY GOLDSTEIN	48	New Rochelle, NY	Anti-Kickback conspiracy (5 years), Violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (5 years), Honest services fraud conspiracy (20 years), Aggravated identity theft (2 years mandatory), Wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information (1 year)
TODD SCHLIFSTEIN	49	New York, NY	Anti-Kickback conspiracy (5 years), Violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (5 years), Honest services fraud conspiracy (20 years), Wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information (1 year)
DIALECTI VOUDOURIS	47	Long Island City, NY	Anti-Kickback conspiracy (5 years), Violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (5 years), Honest services fraud conspiracy (20 years), Aggravated identity theft (2 years mandatory), Wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information (1 year)

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

As Tax Day Approaches, A.G. Schneiderman Issues Consumer Alert On Frequent Tax Season Scams

Schneiderman Provides Tips To Avoid Tax Scams, Urges New Yorkers To Report Potential Fraud To His Office

  With this year’s tax day less than a month away, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman provided taxpayers with tips to help avoid fraudulent tax schemes. The Attorney General also urged New Yorkers to stay vigilant and report any suspected scams intended to steal personal and financial information from consumers to his office.

“One of my most important jobs is to help keep New Yorkers safe from scam artists,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “With tax day around the corner, I wanted to share some tips to protect New Yorkers from being ripped off. If you suspect a scam, report it to my office.”

Each year, the Office of the Attorney General receives complaints from consumers about various tax-related schemes. The Attorney General’s Office continues to receive complaints about scammers who impersonate the U.S. Treasury Department, IRS, or other government officials and attempt to collect bogus tax debts. Fraudsters will pose as government officials via emails or phone calls, often using fake government logos in their email, or caller ID spoofing so that the victim’s caller ID box says “Internal Revenue Service” or displays the IRS’ actual phone number. Scammers threaten consumers with lawsuits, arrests, or deportation if they do not turn over money or provide sensitive personal information. A sample IRS scam call can be found here.

Consumers should be aware that, starting this year, debt collectors representing the IRS may call consumers to collect tax debts. However, the IRS will never do so without first sending the consumer a letter notifying the consumer that they will do so, and providing the consumer with information to help them determine that a call is legitimate. If a consumer gets such a call and has not already received this letter, the consumer should refuse to speak to the caller except to demand that another copy of the letter be sent. In many cases, the scammers claim consumers owe past tax debts and insist that consumers pay using a prepaid credit card or gift card. Many scammers insist on the use of these products because they are generally difficult to trace. 

The IRS and legitimate government agencies will never demand payment by gift card, prepaid card, or certified check, or ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone. Consumers should not pay over the phone, no matter how persuasive the caller. If a consumer has doubts about whether a collection call is legitimate – even if the consumer has received a letter from the IRS – they should call the IRS directly at 1-800-366-4484.

Taxpayers should also be wary of tax preparation businesses that advertise low fees to get customers in the door, but then increase the final fee by hundreds of dollars and claim the tax return was more complicated than anticipated. Be cautious of instances where a tax preparer electronically withdraws more than the agreed-upon fee without notice to the consumer.

Another scam that taxpayers should look out for involves the taxpayer receiving an unexpectedly large, and perhaps early, “tax refund” from the IRS. The scammer then calls the taxpayer, pretending to be an IRS employee, and demands that the taxpayer correct the “error” by repaying the money. The call may seem legitimate because the money was mailed or deposited by the IRS into the consumer’s account, but this “refund” actually belongs to another consumer whose identity has been stolen by the scammer. Consumers should not spend the money or “refund” any of it to a caller. Contact the IRS identity theft hotline directly at 800-908-4490 to report the scam.

In order to help New Yorkers avoid tax scams, Attorney General Schneiderman offers the following additional tips:

• If you owe money, you will receive a legitimate notice in writing that identifies the agency and the reason you owe money.
• Do not give out personal information to telephone callers – including your Social Security number, bank account information, or other payment information.
• Legitimate government organizations will never threaten lawsuits, arrest, or deportation for failure to pay a debt.
• Legitimate government agencies will never insist that consumers pay a debt only via a prepaid credit card.

The following suggestions will help consumers file their tax returns safely and keep more of their return:

• Only use established and recognizable companies for tax-preparation services.
• Check the tax preparer's qualifications and history through the Better Business Bureau.
• Ask for a written estimate of all fees. Avoid those who base their fees on a percentage of your refund.
• Avoid tax preparers that promise cash for preparing the return, but in fact merely offer a discount on inflated fees.
• Make sure the tax preparer is accessible, even after the April due date.
• Never sign a blank return.
• Review the entire return before signing.
• Make sure the preparer signs the tax form and includes a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN).
• Consult New York's “Consumer Bill of Rights Regarding Tax Preparers.”

In addition to being vigilant consumers, New Yorkers should report potential scams to the Attorney General’s office by submitting a complaint online or calling the consumer hotline at 1-800-771-7755. Scams should also be reported to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.

Consumers can avoid the costs of refund anticipation loans and checks by filing their return electronically and having refunds either mailed or directly deposited into their own bank account.

The Attorney General reminds New Yorkers that there are Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites where consumers can get their tax returns prepared free of charge. For more information about how to qualify and identify a VITA location site, go to: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-you-by-volunteers. 

Comptroller Stringer Audit: Massive DOE Breakdowns Endanger Homeless Students

19,000 – or 58 percent – of DOE’s homeless students were chronically absent from school in 2015-2016

DOE made no outreach efforts in 75 percent of the absences sampled in the audit

DOE’s inaction leaves thousands of homeless children at risk

  As New York City faces a record homeless crisis, with more than 33,000 children who reside in City shelters and are enrolled in its public schools, Comptroller Scott M. Stringer today announced a disturbing new audit that reveals massive breakdowns that could jeopardize the safety and welfare of homeless students. Among numerous systemic failures, the Department of Education fundamentally violates its own rules requiring outreach and follow-up efforts when homeless students are absent from school without advance notice. That inaction from the agency leaves the safety and welfare of thousands of vulnerable homeless students—who experience higher absentee and dropout rates than their peers—at risk.

Comptroller Stringer’s audit included an in-depth review of DOE’s records regarding 73 students that DOE identified as residing in homeless shelters and chronically absent during the 2015-2016 School Year. The audit found, among other things:

• The 73 students were absent a total of 3,037 days, an average of 41.6 days per student, during the 178-day school year.
• The 73 students were absent for one or more days, without advance notice, on 1,614 separate occasions.
• Although DOE rules require the schools to contact parents on the first day of eachseparate occasion when a student is absent without advance notice, its records showed that:
  • DOE did not attempt to contact the students’ parents on the first day for 92 percent of the students’ 1,614 unscheduled absences; and
  • DOE made no absence-related outreach efforts—on the first day or any other day—in no fewer than 1,210 instances when the 73 students were absent, failing to follow its own rules in 75 percent of the cases.

“This audit shows more than your typical set of agency breakdowns. These are heartbreaking government failures, because they affect young, vulnerable children. Schools are like second homes to so many families across the five boroughs, but for homeless children, the classroom is sometimes their only source of stability. The DOE is failing these kids. But instead of admitting obvious breakdowns in supporting a challenging population of students, the bureaucracy believes in defending the indefensible, and claiming it’s getting the job done, contrary to all the evidence. It has to change – lives are at stake,” Comptroller Stringer said. “We, as a City, are defined by how we support our most vulnerable. We need to be a school system that gives all children a chance to achieve their dreams. What we’ve shown in this audit is that the bureaucracy is letting kids down. The numbers here are deeply alarming, but behind each one of them is a vulnerable child who needs help from adults. Our kids deserve better.”

SYSTEMIC VIOLATIONS OF CHANCELLOR’S REGULATIONS

The NYCDOE’s Chancellor’s Regulation A-210 mandates that schools maintain a system for recognizing patterns of student absences and that they implement specific strategies for intervention to reduce the number of students who are chronically absent. Chancellor’s Regulations also require schools to follow up and intervene for unexcused lateness or early departures. Further, DOE specifies that “every effort must be made to telephone parents on the first day of a student’s absence.”

Yet, Comptroller Stringer’s new audit discovered that the DOE has shown a fundamental indifference to reaching out – at all – to homeless students when they’re consistently absent or late.

• In one case, a homeless third grader in the audit sample was absent on 41 of 178 school days and late on 17 days during the 2015-2016 School Year. For an 11-week period when the student was absent for 10 days, DOE had no evidence of any outreach efforts.  DOE’s records regarding the remainder of the child’s absences reflected only two attempts to contact the student’s parent or guardian—one after the child’s 11th absence, and the other a “promotion-in-doubt letter” after the child had been absent 22 days of the school year.  DOE appears to have offered no assistance to remedy the issues relating to the student’s absences.
• One homeless first grader in the sample, who attended two different schools during the 2015-2016 School Year, was absent on 55 of the 178 days for which the student was enrolled (70 percent attendance) and was late on 101 separate occasions. At the first school, the student was absent for six consecutive school days, but the evidence DOE provided showed that the school made no outreach effort until the fifth day—which consisted of merely sending a letter to the student’s parent stating that the student had been chronically absent during the prior school year. DOE had no evidence that the school attempted to contact the parent to ascertain the reason for the then-current absence. At the second school, the student was absent for 49 days, and, according to DOE records, the school waited 6 months, when the student had already accumulated 27 days of absence and 51 instances of lateness, before meeting with the student’s parents to discuss the attendance issues.

BREAKDOWNS AT DOE

The audit found that while DOE has established multiple protocols related to student absences that central staff and individual school employees are required to follow, it does not have adequate oversight mechanisms to ensure that they are actually followed. Comptroller Stringer’s audit found:

• Where evidence of outreach efforts exists, DOE’s methods are woefully inadequate because DOE does not require that the outreach efforts involve actual interaction with parents;
• Instead, as the audit shows, the DOE considers automated calling systems — “robo-calls,” — as well as mailed “promotion-in-doubt” letters that do not consistently mention attendance issues, as “outreach efforts” for students with excessive unexcused absences, in lieu of actual contact with a child’s parent or guardian;
• For three students in the audit sample, with absences ranging from 17 to 51 days, the only evidence of any kind of outreach was a form letter that was dropped in the mail;
• The sample of 73 students spanned 96 different schools, and the Comptroller’s Office reviewed attendance plans, which under the Chancellor’s Regulations, are required to be developed by each school. Yet, the audit discovered that 90 out of 96 schools did not identify strategies for boosting attendance among students with chronic absences and did not delineate a process to update contact information for the students and their families; and
• DOE’s records of homeless students were so disorganized that the list it provided to the Comptroller of students residing in shelter during the 2015-2016 School Year was incorrect. Further analysis revealed that 15 of the 73 students randomly selected as a sample did not reside in shelter during that period.

SYSTEMIC FAILURES IN SUPPORTING ATTENDANCE OF CHRONICALLY ABSENT STUDENTS

For students in shelters, DOE employs Family Assistants who are assigned to one or more shelters to work with homeless families and monitor the school attendance of their children. However, the audit showed that DOE has not demonstrated that its Family Assistants are making contact with the families whose children are chronically absent and late, specifically:

• DOE had no evidence that its Family Assistants conducted outreach for 1,357 – or 89 percent – of the 1,518 absences DOE recorded for the audit’s sample of 54 students who resided in shelters during the 2015-2016 School Year and were in need of intervention by a Family Assistant.
• For 29 of the 54 students in the audit sample with chronic attendance issues (54 percent), DOE Family Assistants made no outreach;
• The widespread Family Assistant outreach failures the audit uncovered is likely due, in large part, to insufficient staffing. Specifically, during the 2015-2016 School Year, DOE employed only 110 Family Assistants to oversee 32,243 school-aged children residing in shelters—an average of 293 children per Family Assistant.

ATS AND CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM

Chancellor’s Regulations stipulate that schools must conduct “407 investigations” to identify why students with significant attendance issues remain absent, and to ensure intervention measures have been utilized. That process begins when a “Form 407 Attendance Follow-up” is automatically initiated at the school level through DOE’s “Automate the Schools” – or ATS – system. Those “407 follow-ups” should be conducted whenever a student has been absent for 10 consecutive days, when a student with a prior “407 investigation” has been absent for 8 consecutive days or 15 aggregate days, and when a student in pre-k through 8th grade has been absent for 20 total days in a four-month span. However, the Comptroller’s audit found:

• During the 2015-2016 school year, ATS generated a total of 69 “Form 407 referrals” for 39 of our sampled students, each of which should have triggered a school-based investigation.
• While “407 investigations” are supposed to be automatically triggered by ATS, Comptroller Stringer found that the required investigations were never opened in 14 percent of the audit-sample cases.
• DOE failed to make any required outreach or intervention prior to opening 20 percent of the “407 investigations.”
• One student in our sample was absent for 20 school days between November 2015 and January 2016 before ATS generated a Form 407—on the second day after the student’s return to school. Further, the only evidence that the school staff spoke with the parent consisted of a Parent-Teacher conference on January 11, 2016, after the student had already been absent for 12 aggregate days. DOE made no effort, as required, to ascertain whether the child was safe and whether the family needed help on other days the student was absent.

The lack of outreach and documentation of follow-ups for chronically absent students carries significant consequences, especially when a student transfers schools. It can result in the new school not being fully aware of the student’s attendance history, living circumstances or the types of interventions needed to successfully return the student to the classroom.

In response to the alarming findings, Comptroller Stringer made 12 recommendations, including:

• DOE should enhance its procedures to ensure that school officials immediately make required outreach and intervention efforts when students are absent—and that those efforts are documented—in accordance with the Chancellor’s Regulations.
• DOE should ensure that its employees charged with oversight responsibilities for student attendance are familiar with their responsibilities.
• DOE should conduct a study to determine the appropriateness of its current caseloads for Family Assistants and whether its staffing levels are sufficient to enable them to effectively fulfill their job responsibilities.
• DOE should ensure that school officials immediately investigate all “Form 407 referrals” when required and that “Form 407s” are maintained at the students’ respective schools.
• DOE should amend its current process, particularly its automated process, to ensure that all students’ absence histories are fully recognized within the ATS system, absence patterns are properly identified, and “Form 407 referrals” are generated, regardless of whether the students have transferred between schools.

STATEMENT FROM STATE SENATOR GUSTAVO RIVERA ON THE STATE SENATE ONE HOUSE BUDGET RESOLUTION

  State Senator Gustavo Rivera released the following statement after voting against the State Senate One House Budget Resolution. 

"The Senate One House Budget Resolution makes it clear that the Republican majority is comfortable blocking New York's progress. It outright guts and dismisses common sense measures that have proven to foster a more equitable and thriving society, whether we are talking about the DREAM Act, true bail reform, early voting, or the Child Victims Act.

This budget proposal focuses on cutting or withholding funding from those New Yorkers who are most in need. It underfunds programs that help low-income students pursue a higher education, like the College Discovery Program, which will not only hurt our youth's access to education, but the future of our workforce. As New York City faces an affordable housing crisis, including a half million public housing residents living within crumbling infrastructure, this version of the budget fails to provide any capital funds to address NYCHA's most pressing problems and works to defund programs aimed at protecting tenants from unnecessary harassment and overcharges. It targets funds that go to help needy children in foster programs and refuses to provide New Yorkers upstate who are living with HIV/AIDS rental assistance so they can get the care they need. Additionally, those who serve these vulnerable populations are denied a Cost of Living Adjustment, so that, under the guise of saving the state money, our human service agencies and caretakers are forced to cut critical services. 

We need a budget that works to build a better state and future for all New Yorkers in every district and I am committed to continue fighting for a budget that truly addresses the issues we face throughout our state."

DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION URGES ELIGIBLE DACA AND TPS RECIPIENTS TO AVOID ANY INTERRUPTIONS IN IMMIGRATION STATUS

Despite Trump Administration wind-down of DACA, past and current recipients can currently apply for renewals due to court injunctions

TPS re-registration period for Haiti and El Salvador ends on March 19

  The de Blasio Administration urges New Yorkers who have or have had DACA, as well as eligible TPS recipients, to connect with qualified immigration attorneys in order to avoid lapses in their status. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers have work authorization and protection from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs. But the Trump Administration’s terminations of these programs have put many immigrant beneficiaries at risk. The City has conducted extensive outreach to impacted communities to raise awareness on DACA and TPS. It is critical that impacted New Yorkers access free and safe immigration legal services available for all residents through ActionNYC by calling 311 and saying “ActionNYC.” 

“In spite of repeated failures of leadership in Washington, the City is stepping up to ensure immigrant New Yorkers have access to needed legal assistance,” said Bitta Mostofi, Acting Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. “We encourage DACA recipients – as well as TPS recipients from Haiti, El Salvador, and Syria – to reach out to qualified immigration attorneys to review their options as soon as possible. TPS recipients from Haiti and El Salvador in particular need to take action before the March 19 re-registration deadline. Any New Yorker can call 311 and ask for ‘ActionNYC’ to connect with free and safe immigration legal services. In New York City, where immigrants are central to our identity, we will continue to fight for a permanent legislative solution for Dreamers and long-term TPS recipients.”

While the Trump Administration announced its plans to rescind the DACA program last fall, DACA recipients are currently able to renew their status. Thanks to court orders, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is required to accept renewal applications from individuals with active DACA status, as well as from those who previously had DACA. While we applaud the courts’ injunctions requiring U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to accept DACA renewals, DACA recipients are still at risk of losing their status and a permanent solution is needed. The Center for American Progress estimates that over 20,000 DACA recipients have fallen out of status since the Trump Administration rescinded the DACA program last fall.

While USCIS is currently required to accept DACA renewals, the City urges USCIS to make every effort to allow DACA recipients to maintain their status with minimal disruptions. USCIS has publicly stated that they will process applications in the order received, not in the order in which applicants’ statuses will expire. This does not account for the reality that a lapse in DACA status could be personally devastating to applicants, who could lose their jobs and protection from deportation as a result. While Congress continues to debate protections for Dreamers, the City urges the Trump Administration to process DACA renewal applications expeditiously.

An estimated 15,000 New Yorkers have TPS, including 5,400 Haitian New Yorkers and 4,000 Salvadoran New Yorkers. The City encourages TPS recipients from Haiti, El Salvador, and Syria to speak with an immigration attorney and review their options ahead of upcoming re-registration deadlines. TPS designations grant work authorization and protection from deportation to certain qualifying nationals, subject to periodic review by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Due to Trump Administration’s decisions to terminate TPS designations for Haiti and El Salvador, in disregard of the facts on the ground, Haitian and Salvadoran TPS recipients must re-register by Monday, March 19, to maintain their status before their TPS termination dates, July 22, 2019 and September 9, 2019, respectively. Additionally, Syria’s TPS designation was renewed for 18 months, but Syrian TPS recipients must re-register by May 4, 2018 to maintain their status.

The de Blasio Administration stands with Dreamers and TPS recipients in this time of uncertainty, and has fought for years to lower barriers to obtaining immigration benefits and protections for eligible NYC residents. The City is working with legal service providers across the five boroughs to provide resources and information to eligible DACA and TPS recipients. For the latest updates on DACA and TPS, New Yorkers can go to nyc.gov/DACA and nyc.gov/TPS.

Any New Yorker in need of any type of immigration legal help can call 311 and say “ActionNYC” to connect with safe and confidential legal services, in their neighborhood and in their language. The City encourages all DACA recipients to contact a qualified immigration attorney before submitting their materials. Resources may be available for DACA recipients seeking financial assistance to pay for DACA filing fees. New Yorkers can consult the New Economy Project NYC Dreamer Fund for more information.