2019-20 New York State Budget Wins!

Thank You for reaching out to State leaders and representatives through our recent Advocacy Alert.  The New York State Budget for FY 2019-2020 passed and we had several wins on our priority issues.

We also want to thank all elected officials who worked on the Budget and helped prioritize children and families. Please take a moment to thank them as they would love to hear from you.

We made great progress in...

 ✔ Youth Justice

Increased State support for Raise the Age implementation to $200 million. (We asked for 200 million)

Pretrial reforms were put in place that (1) eliminate money bail for most misdemeanor and low-level felony charges, (2) require prosecutors turn over all evidence earlier in the legal process, and (3) address some barriers to speedy trial.

 ✔ Child Welfare

PINS youth now have better options -  Non-secure detention centers will no longer be used for youth who need supervision (Persons In Need of Supervision - PINS).  Instead, the Budget supports access to diversion and respite services, and allows placement into foster care when necessary. 

New Funding for Foster Families - Created the Family First Transition Fund to expand family-based foster care and pay for preventive services to keep families together.

 ✔ Early Childhood Supports and Home Visiting

Funded Nurse-Family Partnership program at $3.5 million services and expenses. (We asked for $6 million)

Increased funding for Healthy Families NY by $2.9 million. (We asked for $2.5 million)

 ✔ Child Care 

Added $10 million to the Empire State After School Program to create new after school slots in high need communities. (We asked for $10 million)

• Increased funding for Advantage After School Program by giving $10 million to restore $5 million in funding and give an additional $5 million to support minimum wage increases for childcare providers. (We asked for $5 million)

 ✔ Youth Development/Employment

• Restored $1.7 million and added an additional $1.5 million to the Youth Development program to level funding for calendar year 2019 (We asked for $1.69 million)

• Increased Summer Youth Employment funding by $4 million to support minimum wage increases. (We asked for $4 million)

 ✔ 2020 Census

• Invested in outreach to prevent under-counting with $20 million given to support efforts for a complete census count for New York. (We asked for $40 million)

This is an initial update of how the State Budget addressed our priority issues. There is room for improvement in early childhood supports, home visiting, child care, child welfare, and youth justice.

We will continue our work to ensure children and families are kept at the top of the public agenda.  Look out for more alerts if opportunities for progress arise before the end of State legislative session in June.
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Westchester Children's Association
470 Mamaroneck Avenue Suite 304
White Plains, New York 10605
914-946-7676
wca@wca4kids.org

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