OMIG and the Urban Legend of 10% Medicaid Fraud
I don’t know about you, but I feel guilty every time I go to the doctor… or whenever I fill a prescription or get a root canal.   Since everyone knows that 10% of all health care expenditures are out-and-out fraud while another 20-30% are waste and abuse, I’m pretty sure that I must be participating in some type of elaborate scheme cooked up by my physician… or the Price Chopper pharmacy …to defraud the federal government.    It just makes sense.  If 30-40% of all health care spending is crooked or wasteful, I’ve got to be part of it.  And, so must you!

WPA Report on Prison Nurseries
As families across the U.S. celebrated Mother’s Day, the Women’s Prison Association (WPA) released the first-ever national report on prison nursery programs.  While the number of prison-based nursery programs is growing, they are still relatively rare.  Only nine states have prison nursery programs in operation or under development.

The Healing Power of Work
Can you imagine being at the prime of your life, age 33, with a successful husband, a comfortable life style, a meaningful teaching career, two precious children and a beautiful co-op with an incredibly giving support system to complete this perfect picture? 

Get Your Scorecards Here
It’s not often that you hear nonprofit executives praise a performance evaluation system imposed by government funders.  But, that is exactly the reaction – with a few significant caveats – from providers after two years’ experience with the Administration for Children’s Services’ new Scorecard.  

From Adult Home to Supportive Housing: Coco's Story
What will a recent court decision ordering the creation of 4,500 new supportive housing units mean for individuals with mental illness previously forced to live in adult homes?  See Choice in Housing: Coco's Story.

Leake & Watts Receives $1 Million Donation
Leake & Watts has received a milestone $1,000,000 charitable donation from WIlliamsbridge Professional LLC.  The gift will be used to enhance services to New York children, adults, and families who face a myriad of challenges, including poverty, disabilities, and a lack of access to quality education and other basic services and supports.“We are excited to make a major gift to Leake & Watts and support the vital work that they do educating young people, helping people with disabilities to live full lives and assisting families under stress,” says Anthony Martello. “We are truly grateful to have the support of our friends at Williamsbridge Professional LLC, who have supported us for many years,” says Leake & Watts Executive Director Alan Mucatel.  “A gift of this magnitude is particularly important during these challenging economic times as we expand our services in the community and as we look even harder to increase private support to augment, enhance, and expand our servi...

Raising Funds in the “New Normal”
Over the last two years in the nonprofit world, we all have undergone a series of cutbacks, and some organizations have experienced painful restructurings and even closings. Now the “new normal” has settled in. Donors have fewer resources to support nonprofits, and nonprofits have less staff time dedicated to fundraising. Only the strongest, smartest, and most strategic will survive.

QSAC Losing Weight to Raise Funding
Gary A. Maffei, CEO at QSAC (Quality Services for the Autism Community), is challenging his staff to get fit by loosing weight and pledges $1 for every pound they loose.   And, he is hoping others will join him in making the challenge.  ...

Should He Stay.? Or, Should He Go?
 As rumors and accusations continue to emerge regarding Governor Paterson's alleged involvement in efforts to silence the victim of domestic violence by a close aide, there are calls for him to step down. What do you think?   Should he stay?  Or, should he go?

Matthea Marquart
Matthea Marquart, MSSW, is Director of Professional Development Design for Professional Services at Wireless Generation. She was named a “2008 Young Trainer to Watch” by Training Magazine. Her NYNPblog explores ideas around developing the skills and potential of nonprofit staff so that organizations can provide the best possible service to their clients.  The opinions expressed here are personal opinions of Matthea Marquart, and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Wireless Generation. ...

Northern Manhattan Improvement Corp. Building a Path to Prosperity
Housing has been at the heart of Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation’s work for the 30 years since its founding. “The mandate was to figure out the biggest need in the community,” says Barbara Lowry, who was hired in 1979 by a new board of clergy and other community leaders seeking to fill a nonprofit void in Washington Heights and Inwood.

What Are You Reading?
What are you reading?   NYNP is interested in publishing suggestions and reviews of books relating to nonprofit management, governance, fundraising, as well as human service programs, social work practices and more.  Share your thoughts and reactions with colleagues throughout the New York nonprofit human service community. You can email NYNP Editor Fred Scaglione at editor@nynp.biz or call 888-933-6967.    You can also post comments directly below.