NYC Councilmembers, Families To Urge Mamdani Admin Not To Cut Foster Care Prevention Services in Final Budget

NEW YORK, NY (06/23/2026) (readMedia)-- TOMORROW, as elected officials continue to negotiate a final city budget, Councilmember Rita Joseph and others will rally with families and service providers to urge Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Council leadership to avoid cutting millions for foster care prevention services in this year's final budget. Despite promising to prioritize and invest in families, the Mamdani administration is now proposing more than $4 million in cuts to existing and expiring programs that are essential to keeping families together.

Foster care prevention providers have been incredibly successful in reducing foster care placements, halving the number of children in foster care to a historic low of 6,300 in just the last decade and saving the city millions in downstream costs. Despite this success, Power of Two and a number of prevention organizations are facing complete contract elimination as part of a "cost-cutting" measure. These cuts would be devastating for the thousands of families that rely on Power of Two and other service providers - especially at a moment when families are already stretched thin by housing costs, federal food assistance cuts, and economic instability.

The rally will feature families who have benefitted from preventative programs, other service providers at risk of having their funding cut, and advocates who are warning the City's proposed cuts will disproportionately hurt Black and Brown families across the city and cost millions more in downstream effects.