SOCIAL SERVICES
As a borough in a major city, Staten Island faces similar social problems to other urban areas. At the same time, due to its somewhat unique history and relationship to New York City compared to other boroughs, trends in social services on Staten Island need to be understood in terms of the Island’s history.
Staten Island, as compared to the other boroughs of New York City, has only recently begun to experience a significant influx of immigrant and ethnic minority populations. This influx is related to social class and has resulted in challenges to the social services on the Island, which have to respond to the diverse cultures and language communities increasingly found the New York Metropolitan area. On Staten Island this includes sharp increases in illegal aliens, as well as immigrants from African, Caribbean and Eastern European countries. As one of the fastest growing communities in New York State, Staten Island is experiencing a remarkable increase in overall demand on various social service systems that help persons from birth to death.
Unique to its history was the presence of Willowbrook State School, which was officially closed in 1987. Part of the legacy of the largest institution for persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities is the large number of group homes and related community services on Staten Island. There are very significant problems on the Island related to drug abuse, mental illness, HIV infection and homelessness.
David Goode
Sociology Program, The College of Staten Island
AVAILABLE DOCUMENT
- CSI-SIP Working Paper 4: "The Staten Island Social Capital Community Benchmark Study: Poll Findings and Survey," Dr. Richard Flanagan, April 2007.
