Mayor de Blasio is planning to set the city’s two main social-service agencies under one command as the administration tries to get a handle on the homeless crisis.
WNYC has learned that Steven Banks,the current head of the Human Resources Administration, will be named commissioner of the Department of Social Services, and overseeing both HRA and the troubled Department of Homeless Services.
It's one of the major reforms to come out of a review of homeless services that began back in December. The review includes 46 recommendations,to be announced Monday afternoon.
Banks is the former head of the Legal Aid Society who spent decades suing the city over homeless services before he was named to head HRA by Mayor de Blasio.
The city says the new way will integrate a wide array of social services to supply more focus for reducing homelessness. They say it will also save on the administrative costs of running two separate agencies.There are currently approximately 58000 homeless people living in city shelters and more than 3000 on living on city streets.
Note: This story has been updated to clarify the city's way.
Source: wnyc.org