星期三, 2月 14, 2018
AG HEALEY’S OFFICE LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN ABOUT PERVASIVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LAW PRACTICES
AG HEALEY’S OFFICE LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN ABOUT PERVASIVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LAW PRACTICESCampaign Uses Social Media, Multilingual PSAs, and a Website to Educate Residents About “Notario Fraud”
BOSTON – Attorney General Maura Healey today launched an education campaign to protect residents from falling victim to the unauthorized practice of immigration law, a widespread scam also known as “notario fraud.”
The educational multilingual campaign, which is being run by the AG’s Community Engagement and Civil Rights Divisions, aims to provide people with the tools they need to protect themselves
“Far too often, residents seeking legal assistance are being cheated by individuals who aren’t authorized to practice law, and being charged hundreds or thousands of dollars for services that are worthless,” said AG Healey. “This practice is illegal and my office is working to educate residents across the state about how to recognize and avoid these scam artists.”
As part of its education campaign, the AG’s Office will be reaching out directly to immigrant communities using social media, multilingual PSAs, a targeted website – created by the AG’s Office in English, Portuguese and Spanish – and posters (in English,Portuguese, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Russian) with helpful tips. The AG’s Office will also be working in partnership with the AG’s Advisory Council on New Americans to hold community presentations on how individuals can avoid falling victim to these illegal practices.
The AG’s Office is urging residents to take the following precautionary steps to avoid notario fraud:
· Make sure your lawyer is licensed. Only a licensed attorney – or someone specially authorized by the federal government can:
o Represent you in court or before an administrative judge.
o Advise you as to whether or not you should apply for benefits or protections.
o Explain your legal options and give you legal advice.
· Never pay for any immigration forms. They are available for free.
· Never leave your lawyer’s office without receipts for all payments.
· Never sign a blank form.
· Keep all your original personal documents.
· Get copies of everything.
The AG’s Office has taken previous action against individuals for the unauthorized practice of immigration law.
In September 2016, Gerson Barahona, a Waltham man was ordered by a judge to pay more than $155,000 in restitution to victims, civil penalties and attorney’s fees after he falsely held himself out as an attorney specializing in immigration law and unlawfully charged individuals hundreds or thousands of dollars for legal advice and services. The AG’s Office sought and obtained a preliminary injunction in December 2014 that ordered Barahona to stop providing any services related to immigration matters.
The launch of this campaign is part of an ongoing effort by AG Healey to ensure that her office is a resource and advocate for the immigrant community.
Last week, the AG’s Office issued a guide to help parents in the event of sudden detention or deportation by federal immigration officials. The AG’s guide, available in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole and English, provides information to parents who are concerned about their immigration status, understand different options for care and custody of a child who remains in the US following parental detention or deportation.
Last year, the AG’s Office sent an advisory to local public school districts reminding them of their obligation under state and federal law to provide all students with equal access to primary and secondary education. The AG’s Office also issued guidance to health care providers and local public school districts on immigration enforcement, and an advisory to public and private colleges and universities on issues that may affect immigrant students.
To report notario fraud, call the AG’s Civil Rights Division at (617) 963-2917.
MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES SELECTION OF CONSULTANT TASKED WITH CREATING ACTION PLAN TO END YOUTH HOMELESSNESS
MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES SELECTION OF CONSULTANT TASKED WITH CREATING ACTION PLAN TO END YOUTH HOMELESSNESS
|
BOSTON - Wednesday, February 14, 2018 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced today that the City of Boston has selected Matthew Aronson and his team of consultants to build on the city's work to end youth homelessness in Boston by researching and creating an action plan to support young individuals experiencing homelessness and put them on a pathways towards stable housing. Mr. Aronson and his team are charged with assisting the City in gathering data on youth and young adults experiencing homeless, understanding the current system's capacity, identifying the unmet needs of youth and young adults, and designing a plan to address gaps in Boston's emergency assistance system that will end youth homelessness.
"I'm very proud of our efforts to redesign the way we deliver services and housing to people in Boston who are experiencing homelessness," Mayor Walsh said. "We have taken significant steps forward, but we need to take that experience and success and build a new approach -- one that will make sure that every one of our young people has a stable home that allows them to work towards a better life." Through the efforts of Boston's Way Home, Mayor Walsh's initiative to end veteran and chronic homelessness, Boston has made progress in preventing and ending homelessness among single adults, including ending chronic veteran homelessness and housing more than 450 chronically homeless individuals. Using national and local best practices, Boston has transformed its homelessness services into a coordinated and integrated system based on Housing First principles. The City is currently seeking proposals to further support people experiencing homelessness in existing shelter as quickly as possible, while ensuring they are connected with proper resources. Building on this success, the City and its partners are now turning their focus to tackling the prevalence of homelessness among unaccompanied youth and young adults.
"We envision a future where Boston effectively ends homelessness and housing instability among youth and young adults," Mr. Aronson said. "We are thrilled to have been chosen for this work, and we believe that we will be able to develop a plan that ensures every youth or young adult facing homelessness is safe, supported, and able to fully utilize their strengths. We believe in a future where every young person has access to effective and coordinated housing, education, employment, and health-related resources."
Mr. Aronson and his team have worked with communities at the national, state, and local levels on issues of ending youth and young adult homelessness. Mr. Aronson served for seven years as a subject matter expert on youth and young adult homelessness for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. In that role, he wrote Federal policy, designed pilot projects, collaborated with national leaders in both the public and private sectors, and worked directly with communities including New York City, Cincinnati, and Santa Cruz to develop coordinated community plans to end homelessness among local youth and young adults.
His colleagues include Dr. Alice Colegrove, Ayala Livny, Jamila Bradley and Lauren Leonardis. Several members of the team are currently co-authoring Massachusetts' state plan to end youth homelessness, while Dr. Colegrove, Ms. Livny, and Ms. Bradley are founding board members of the Y2Y shelter in Harvard Square. Ms.Leonardis, Ms. Bradley, and Ms. Livny are the founding co-facilitators of the Boston Youth Action Board. The team has combined decades of experience running and providing consulting services to myriad programs working with youth and young adults experiencing homelessness.
The Walsh Administration has laid the groundwork to tackle youth homelessness: in October 2016, Boston formed a Youth Homelessness Leadership Team, which will be reconvened to serve as the steering committee to support the creation of a coordinated youth homelessness response system. This team has also identified gaps in the system and will create a Youth Homelessness Resource Map to catalogue the local organizations that provide housing and services to homeless youth.
In addition, the City has convened a Youth Action Board, which assisted in the creation of a system map and will help the Leadership Team to prioritize services needed in Boston.
"In order to reach a resolution you have to hear not just one voice but all of them," said Dustin Pardy, Boston Youth Action Board member. "You need to ask those who have been affected by homelessness. When my opinions are valued by people from the City it means a whole lot to me. My voice is being heard through the Youth Action Board."
To support this work, the City will also receive technical assistance from HUD in the development and implementation of this plan.
While a number of City and State agencies and community organizations work with youth and young adults who are at-risk or experiencing homelessness in Boston, these services, interventions and resources are often not designed for the unique developmental needs of youth and young adults. Agencies offer programs that do not yet function as a coordinated system, and while Boston has begun to see promising new partnerships, there is a clear need to create a coordinated system that led to the City's success with adult individual homelessness.
Creation of a coordinated plan is critical to preventing and ending homelessness among youth and young adults. At the end of the engagement, Boston will have an action plan to prevent and end youth homelessness, which will:
|
BAKER-POLITO ADMINISTRATION AND STATE TREASURER DEB GOLDBERG ANNOUNCE RECIPIENTS OF FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION INNOVATION FUND
BAKER-POLITO ADMINISTRATION AND STATE TREASURER DEB GOLDBERG ANNOUNCE RECIPIENTS OF FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION INNOVATION FUND
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BOSTON — Today, the Baker-Polito Administration, in partnership with State Treasurer Deb Goldberg’s Office, announced the second-round recipients of Financial Education Innovation funding. This initiative began in 2015 to provide capital to high schools across the Commonwealth to expand ‘Credit for Life’ and financial education fairs. These awards are funded through the Division of Banks’ settlements over alleged unlawful lending practices.
“‘Credit for Life’ fairs are critical to providing essential money management skills to students,” said John Chapman, Undersecretary of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. “This funding and the educational events it supports, gives students in the Commonwealth access to invaluable financial education, which is an important life skill for our young people to master as they graduate high school and move into the next stage of life.”
“I have experienced firsthand the amazing impact ‘Credit for Life’ fairs have on our high school students,” said Treasurer Deb Goldberg. “This kind of experiential learning helps students learn how to budget their money responsibly and make informed financial decisions as they prepare to enter college or begin their careers.”
Through an extensive application process that culminated this month, the Treasurer’s Office of Economic Empowerment awarded 73 high schools across the Commonwealth a total of $133,950 in funding to expand or establish financial education programs.
“I am thrilled that the Division can yet again provide this important funding,” said Terence McGinnis, Commissioner of Banks. “The information students receive through their school’s ‘Credit for Life’ fair will help them with anything from managing a savings account to balancing a checkbook, skills that they will utilize well beyond graduation.”
This is the fifth installment of awards through the Financial Education Innovation Fund, which was established as an ongoing effort to strengthen financial literacy. This installment added the opportunity for more than one school to apply for joint funding for Credit for Life fairs.
The 2018-2019 Innovation Fund Recipients are:
|
麻省理工學院中國創新創業論壇啟動新年度活動 (圖片)
 |
| MIT-CHIEF 2018主席張海生。(周菊子攝) |
 |
| MIT-CHIEF 2018主席Chengtao Li。(周菊子攝) |
 |
| 曾任主席的葛志飛(右)和小夥伴一起展示春聯。(周菊子攝) |
 |
| MIT-CHIEF歷任主席分享經驗。左起，葛志飛，譚豐，賀敏，樊煊赫。 (周菊子攝) |
星期二, 2月 13, 2018
AG HEALEY STATEMENT ON DACA RULING
AG HEALEY STATEMENT ON DACA RULINGRuling Stems from Lawsuit Filed by AG Healey, 16 other Attorneys General
BOSTON – Attorney General Maura Healey today issued a statement following the ruling by a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York that blocks the Trump Administration’s efforts to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) while legal challenges are pending:
“From day one, we have stood up for a simple principle: Dreamers are Americans. Ending DACA would be devastating for our economy, for our communities, and for hundreds of thousands of young people who call America their home. Today, a second federal court has recognized that attempts by the Trump Administration to terminate the DACA program are illegal. With attorneys general from across the country, I will continue to protect thousands of Massachusetts residents and make our federal government keep its promises.”
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by AG Healey and a coalition of 16 other attorneys general in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in September 2017 to defend the DACA program. The preliminary injunction issued today orders the Trump Administration to maintain the DACA program on the same terms and conditions for those already participating. Current DACA grantees can nowrequest renewal while litigation to defend the program continues.
Last month, a federal judge in California issued a similar ruling that DACA must remain in place while legal challenges to the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate DACA are pending.
###
Governor Baker Seeks $200 Million for Local Infrastructure Improvements
Governor Baker Seeks $200 Million for Local Infrastructure Improvements
Chapter 90 funding will support municipal road and bridge repairs
BOSTON – Today, the Baker-Polito Administration filed An Act Financing Improvements to Municipal Roads and Bridges, which authorizes $200 million in Chapter 90 transportation funds to support all 351 cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth. Since taking office in 2015, the Baker-Polito Administration has already released $700 million in Chapter 90 infrastructure funds; today’s request would bring that total to $900 million.
“Chapter 90 funding provides critical support for local officials who need to repair infrastructure in cities and towns across Massachusetts,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Roads and bridges in good repair throughout the Commonwealth are an essential component of growing our state and regional economy, and we look forward to working with the Legislature to secure this funding before construction season begins.”
“As a former local official, I understand what an important tool flexible Chapter 90 funding is for Massachusetts cities and towns,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “Our administration, through Chapter 90 and several other locally-focused programs like Chapter 70 and local aid, is proud to serve as a reliable partner for our municipalities and we hope for swift action from the Legislature on these important funds.”
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Chapter 90 program reimburses cities and towns for costs incurred for eligible transportation projects. This is the fourth year that the Baker-Polito Administration has filed for $200 million for Chapter 90 funds.
“Chapter 90 funding is just one of the many ways we support the Commonwealth’s cities and towns through our capital investment plan,” said Administration and Finance Secretary Michael J. Heffernan. “This key program gives municipal officials the flexibility to address the specific needs of their communities.”
“Through the leadership of Governor Baker and Lieutenant Governor Polito, MassDOT is continuing to support our municipal partners and empower them to invest in local roads, sidewalks, intersections, and bridges,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack. “By working closely with our cities and towns and allowing them to strengthen their infrastructure through measures such as the Chapter 90 program, as well the Administration’s Small Bridge and Complete Streets programs, we can ensure residents and commuters are better connected to their families, jobs, business, and other opportunities across the Commonwealth.”
Funding for each municipality is predetermined by a formula that includes factors such as population, road miles, and employment. Cities and towns must submit receipts to the MassDOT Highway Division district in which they are located which verifies that the expenditures qualify for reimbursement under Chapter 90. The Highway Districts in turn submit these receipts to the Department of Transportation’s Fiscal Department which facilitates the reimbursements to cities and towns.
訂閱：
文章 (Atom)