An important message to Pride for Youth's supporters from Andy Peters.
Friends:
Governor Cuomo’s 2011/2012 Executive Budget poses very serious threats to youth services. If passed by the Legislature without revision, it is very likely that state support for LICC’s hotlines and street outreach program, via the Office of Children and Families’ Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention (YDDP) and Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) funding streams, will cease.
Just like the 2009 Block Grant fight with Governor Paterson, the need for advocacy is urgent. The future of the hotline and street outreach is in jeopardy.
Please help us raise our voice to elected officials. We won the fight in 2009, and we can do it again. But we need to generate as many letters, phone calls, etc. as possible.
What You Can Do:
1. Send a letter to Governor Cuomo. Instructions and a template are included below. Feel free to personalize the letter, but all you have to do is cut and paste it to his on-line contact form.
2. Send letters to the Senate and Assembly Chairs of the Children and Families Committee. These are the key folks who will weigh in on OCFS funding, and they’ve both said they will work to restore our funding, but we need to keep the pressure on. Instructions and a template are included below.
3. Send letters to your NYS Assemblyperson and Senator. Instructions/template below.
4. Call the Governor’s phone line: (518) 474-8390 and your NYS legislators. Here’s a script:
“I’m calling with a grave concern about the Executive Budget. Youth development and runaway and homeless youth funding must be restored. The proposed Primary Prevention Incentive Program Block Grant will wipe out our local safety net for troubled youth. Please take action by striking out this Block Grant from the budget, and restoring Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention and Runaway and Homeless Youth Act funding to their 2010 levels.”
5. Schedule an appointment with your NYS legislators to tell them about these issues.
6. Let me know what you’ve done so I can keep track of our collective efforts: AJPeters@longislandcrisiscenter.org
7. Forward this message to all your friends, family members, colleagues, etc.!!!
Thank you. We’ll win this fight together.
Andy
Letter to Governor Cuomo
**Just cut and paste into his on-line contact form
The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
Dear Governor Cuomo:
Eliminate the Proposed PPIP Block Grant, and Restore Appropriations to RHYA, YDDP and SDPP to 2010 Levels.
The State budget deficit requires sacrifices by all New Yorkers. But when it comes to cutting services, those sacrifices must take into account our responsibility to disenfranchised youth.
The elimination of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA), Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention (YDDP) and Special Delinquency Prevention Program (SDDP) under the Office of Children and Families Services (OCFS), will annihilate community-based services that provide critical intervention to young people who lack family support and stand at a dangerous crossroads. This isn’t sharing the deficit burden. It’s asking troubled minors to give up everything they have: a bed at a shelter, a community center counselor, a safe place in their neighborhood to go to after school—the opportunity to turn their lives around.
The alternative: the Primary Prevention Incentive Program (PPIP) Block Grant is based on a good idea—reinvest detention facility closure savings into community-based services that prevent costly residential placements. But at a mere 50% of OCFS’s current youth development funding, and competitively awarded to localities with the highest rate of residential placements, this program in no way replaces, nor does it do better than the State’s current system for supporting at-risk youth.
Localities that do well preventing residential placements, since they have services in place via RHYA, YDDP and SDDP, will be penalized as they will be ineligible for funding AND they will lose those services that have kept youth from needing to be placed. The result will be more youth entering costly systems of care across the state. Moreover, the Block Grant does nothing to assist New York’s tens of thousands of runaway and homeless youth, who come from all communities—suburban, rural, urban, wealthy, working class and impoverished—and who were heretofore protected by responsible legislation and a system of regulations for their care.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Letter for Children & Families Chairs
**Cut and paste to Senator Diane Savino: and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin:
Dear Senator Savino/Assemblywoman Paulin:
Eliminate the Proposed PPIP Block Grant, and Restore Appropriations to RHYA, YDDP and SDPP to 2010 Levels.
The State budget deficit requires sacrifices by all New Yorkers. But when it comes to cuts to services, those sacrifices must take into account our responsibility to disenfranchised youth.
The Governor’s proposed elimination of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA), Youth Development/Delinquency Prevention (YDDP) and Special Delinquency Prevention Program (SDDP), under the Office of Children and Families Services (OCFS), will annihilate community-based services that are critical interventions to young people who lack family support and stand at a dangerous crossroads. This isn’t sharing the deficit burden. It’s asking troubled minors to give up everything they have: a bed at a shelter, a community center counselor, a safe place in their neighborhood to go to after school—the opportunity to turn their lives around.
The Governor’s alternative, the Primary Prevention Incentive Program (PPIP) Block Grant, is based on a good idea—reinvest detention facility closure savings in services to prevent costly residential placements. But at a mere 50% of OCFS’s current youth development funding, and competitively awarded to localities with the highest rate of placements, the Block Grant in no way replaces, nor does it do better than the State’s current youth support system.
As a supporter of Long Island Crisis Center, I know the importance of RHYA and YDDP-funded programs. Our crisis hotlines help 10,000 youth and families per year. Some are living day-to-day, sleeping in an abandoned car or on a friend’s couch when they can. Others are overwhelmed by myriad stressful life events and suicidal. Our street outreach program canvasses for disconnected teens—at high risk for gang involvement—and links them to positive alternatives, such as job training. Without RHYA and YDDP, these programs will close.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I look forward to hearing from you
Letter to Your Senator and Assembly rep
**Cut and paste to your appropriate representatives listed below.
Dear Senator/Assemblymember:
Eliminate the Proposed PPIP Block Grant, and Restore Appropriations to RHYA, YDDP and SDPP to 2010 Levels.
The State budget deficit requires sacrifices by all New Yorkers. But when it comes to cuts to services, those sacrifices must take into account our responsibility to disenfranchised youth.
The Governor’s proposed elimination of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA), Youth Development/Delinquency Prevention (YDDP) and Special Delinquency Prevention Program (SDDP), under the Office of Children and Families Services (OCFS), will annihilate community-based services that are critical interventions to young people who lack family support and stand at a dangerous crossroads. This isn’t sharing the deficit burden. It’s asking troubled minors to give up everything they have: a bed at a shelter, a community center counselor, a safe place in their neighborhood to go to after school—the opportunity to turn their lives around.
The Governor’s alternative, the Primary Prevention Incentive Program (PPIP) Block Grant, is based on a good idea—reinvest detention facility closure savings in services to prevent costly residential placements. But at a mere 50% of OCFS’s current youth development funding, and competitively awarded to localities with the highest rate of placements, the Block Grant in no way replaces, nor does it do better than the State’s current youth support system.
As a supporter of Long Island Crisis Center, I know the importance of RHYA and YDDP-funded programs. Our crisis hotlines help 10,000 youth and families per year. Some are living day-to-day, sleeping in an abandoned car or on a friend’s couch when they can. Others are overwhelmed by myriad stressful life events and suicidal. Our street outreach program canvasses for disconnected teens—at high risk for gang involvement—and links them to positive alternatives, such as job training. Without RHYA and YDDP, these programs will close.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I look forward to hearing from you
NYS Senators/Assembly Reps for Nassau County residents. You can look up your representatives by entering your zip code at these sites:
NYS Assembly Directory
NYS Senate Directory
Senator Carl Marcellino
Senator Kemp Hannon: (lists e-mail address only) hannon@senate.state.ny.us
Senator Charles Fuschillo
Senator Dean Skelos
Senator Jack Martins
Assemblyman Joseph Saladino
Assemblyman Charles Lavine
Assemblyman Brian Curran
Assemblyman Michael Montesano
Assemblyman Thomas McKevitt
Assemblywoman Earlene Hooper: NO E-MAIL OR CONTACT FORM / PLEASE MAIL OR CALL: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Earlene-Hooper/contact/
Assemblyman David McDonough
Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg
Assemblyman Ed Ra
All information is also available at: http://http://www.longislandcrisiscenter.org/fundingcrisis.html and on our Facebook page, which you can 'Like'
If you have any questions, contact Andy at AJPeters@longislandcrisiscenter.org
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