PEF peers into budget, page by page, department by department
Budget cuts would heighten problems for troubled youth
By SHERRY HALBROOK
Under the Executive Budget, the state Office of Children and Family Services would close 115 youth- facilities beds and eliminate 99 jobs. This would reduce capacity to help troubled youth.
In light of the recent sexual assault and kidnapping of an employee at Camp Cass by a teenager housed at that OCFS facility, and another violent attack by a youth at the Industry facility, reducing staffing at such facilities by nearly 100 positions is clearly a move in the wrong direction, and reduces opportunities for rehabilitation of the troubled youth they serve. These incidents cry out for higher, not lower, staffing levels.
The
state links the reduced capacity and staff at facilities to the Evidence-based
Community Initiative (EbCI) which aims to treat youth living at home in their
communities.
However, that program has fallen far short of its projected service level. Begun
in 2003-04, it was supposed to serve 645 youth per year and allow for the annual
elimination of 250 beds in youth facilities. Instead, only 50 youths have been
diverted from the facilities to the EbCI program.
That’s because EbCI is only for non-violent offenders and most of those in the
facilities have a history of violence. And most of the youths coming into the
care of OCFS have already tried and failed in community-based programs. They
need the structure and highly supervised environment of the OCFS secure
facilities.
Too often, these potentially violent youths are being accepted at facilities
operated by private organizations that are not prepared to deal with them. The
resulting increase in violent incidents at a facility in Romulus operated by
Kids Peace was a factor in the closing of that 400-bed facility.
Another
reason OCFS facilities need to increase staffing is the very high level of youths they serve who need special treatment, counseling or education. According to a 2001 report issued by OCFS, 73 percent are substance abusers, 52 percent have mental health issues, 26 percent require special educational services, 43 percent have special health needs, 11 percent are sex offenders and 7 percent are mentally retarded or developmentally disabled.
PEF is running ads and lobbying legislators on this budget issue.
KNOW THE FACTS — Download the OCFS fact sheet at www.pef.org
The
Communicator March 05
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