Social Justice and Strategic Planning at OFO This year, Opportunities for Otsego (OFO) committed to building a strategic plan that is centered on social justice. The process with any strategic plan involves analyzing data, setting measurable goals and putting those goals into action. Setting goals to impact conditions of society is more challenging. “We begin by looking inside our own house with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion assessments for the board of directors, management and all 140 employees. Then, based on…
Online home of The Freeman's Journal and Hometown Oneonta
Advertisement
Dan Maskin - Page 2
Opportunities for Otsego: The Childcare Dilemma By Dan Maskin I recently listened to an interview with journalist Claire Suddath about childcare. She was speaking about her November 2021 article in Bloomberg Business Week titled “How childcare became the most broken business in America: Biden has a plan to make day care more affordable for parents — if the providers don’t go out of business first.” The high cost of childcare is mainly due to it being a private market that…
Oneonta warming site at capacity By Kevin Limiti Opportunities for Otsego and the Oneonta Police Department are exploring strategies to get homeless people in the area sheltered now that winter is here. An executive order issued by former Governor Andrew Cuomo says that after temperatures go below 32 degrees, the homeless must be sheltered. Catholic Charities, the Main Street Baptist Church, Otsego County Department of Social Services, and other religious groups opened a new warming station in Oneonta in March…
OFO Announces Temporary Closure, Virtual Services ONEONTA – Opportunities For Otsego has announced that they will be closed until Tuesday, April 14, closing Head Start and Universal Pre-K, and relegating emergency housing services to the County, according to a release from Dan Maskin, CEO. Essential staff will be working remotely to answer questions, and WIC and Weatherization participants with appointments will be contacted. The Violence Intervention Program staff will be providing virtual services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault,…
MASKIN, HERZIG IMPRESSED Delgado Meets With OFO, Says Session ‘Illuminating’ ONEONTA – U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-19, today met with the poverty-fighting Opportunities for Otsego’s board of directors and staff. The freshman congressman called the meeting “illuminating and deeply important to understand the headwinds facing thousands of Upstate New Yorkers experiencing poverty and homelessness.” OFO CEO Dan Maskin said he was “honored” to have Delgado visit the organization, adding, “I was thoroughly impressed that he took the time to listen…
FROM WAR ON POVERTY’S FRONT LINES Participate In Census – Or Lose Clout By DAN MASKIN • Opportunities For Otsego CEO As mandated by the Constitution, the United States conducts a decennial census. This once-every-10-year count of the population – it is coming up in April 2020 – shapes the future of our communities and helps ensure political power is fairly allocated among the states and at the local level. Some communities, like those with higher rates of low-income households…
COLUMN 16.1% Of Us In Poverty. In Oneonta, That’s 25.6% By DAN MASKIN, President, OFO As it does annually, the New York State Community Action Association has just published “Poverty in NY,” which has a poverty report for each county and city in New York State. Otsego County has a poverty rate of 16.1 percent, meaning roughly one out of six people are living in poverty. Forty-eight percent of school children are enrolled in either the free or reduced school…
Maskin Asserts: 2,000 Children In Poverty – ‘And That’s High’ By LIBBY CUDMORE • Hometown Oneonta & The Freeman’s Journal ONEONTA – Daniel Maskin, Opportunities for Otsego president, wants people to rethink poverty. “Most people who are poor work,” he said. “They’re not sitting on their porch drinking beer. But where in this county can working class families get substantial jobs that support their families? There aren’t a lot of those.” The annual poverty report, put together by the state’s…
OFO’s Violence Intervention Program Receives $20K From Mary Kay Initiative ONEONTA – The Mary Kay Foundation has provided a $20,000 grant to Opportunities for Otsego’s Violence Intervention Program, OFO President Dan Maskin announced today. OFO will use the grant to repair and renovate its circa 1900 residence used as the county safe house for victims of violence, including new flooring, windows and appliances.…
OFO’s Dan Maskin Elected Oneonta Rotary President…