Union Leader Worries for Colleagues Amid FEGS Collapse

Meant to post this yesterday -- more on the closing of FEGS in New York City. 

NEW YORK — Lorraine Guest hung up the phone in her office, staggered by the news. Her bosses had given her hope that her job would be safe, that her colleagues would be safe. But now? Now, it was clear that no one was safe.

The call, on Feb. 9, was from the human resources department at FEGS Health and Human Services, one of the largest social service agencies in New York City. Minutes later, Ms. Guest and other FEGS employees were summoned to an emergency meeting where management laid it all out: New agencies were taking over their programs. There were no guarantees that they would keep their jobs.

With Little Warning, Agency Is Crumbling

 A sad story in today's New York Times about FEGS. So many individuals with disabilities and friends depend on this agency for services.

The bombshell dropped on a quiet Friday evening. Steven Banks, the commissioner of the city’s Human Resources Administration, was in his office when he got the call.

On the line was Kristin M. Woodlock, the new chief executive of FEGS Health and Human Services, one of New York City’s largest social service agencies, a venerable institution often praised by corporate titans and community leaders alike.
But this was no social call: FEGS, the Human Resources Administration’s biggest provider of job placement services to the impoverished and disabled, had discovered a gaping hole in its budget and was suddenly struggling to stay afloat.