The Resilience Advocacy Project (RAP) is highly concerned that the impact of Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget proposals will be to undermine the development of low-income children and youth. In order to close the State’s $10 million gap, Governor Cuomo plans to cut spending on vital programs and services that support our most vulnerable young people.
Among the most disturbing:
- $2.8 billion cut to School Aid: New York City is facing a $1.4 billion funding reduction and will be forced to make choices between closing schools, laying off teachers, increasing class sizes, reducing classroom resources like school books and desks, and eliminating educational supports like tutoring and transportation.
Says Billie Easton, Executive Director of Alliance for Quality Education:
Governor Cuomo’s budget pulls the rug out on children’s education by cutting literacy programs, career and technical education, college prep, pre-K, arts, music, sports, tutoring, guidance counselors and school librarians. [This budget’s] cuts to our kids’ schools are the largest in history. If they are adopted, the damage to students will be permanent because children do not get a second chance.
- Shift of over $114 million in costs to counties for critical youth services like adoption subsidies, runaway youth prevention, special education placements, and and homeless and housing subsidy programs, and the reduction in funding for Early Intervention services. The severity of the proposed cuts means that fewer children will have access to services, community organizations will be unable to provide full-services to those children who do have access, and the city will be forced to make decisions between quality control and access to services
- Full-family sanctions: Cuomo proposes to implement a policy of eliminating a family’s full welfare grant in instances where the head of household is believed to have violated a welfare program rule. The collateral costs of these “full-family sanctions” cannot be understated. Children in sanctioned homes are more likely to experience long stretches of homelessness, longer stays in foster care because of income and housing instability, loss of eligibility for early education programs, increased rates of hospitalization, and extreme food insecurity.
GET INVOLVED! Sign-up for our email list to receive advocacy updates and information about how to get more involved! Also, reach out to your representative and let them know that these cuts are unacceptable.
Resilience Talking 