Dear Friends and Colleagues,
First and foremost, we hope that you are all safe and at home with your families.
We are writing to inform you about kinship funding in the final NYS budget, which passed yesterday, April 1. Below is a copy of the actual budget provisions.
The budget legislative add for the local kinship programs is down $950,000 from last year’s funding of $1,900,000. This is alarming and distressing.
How did this happen? This year, the budget process was not “as usual.” From the advocacy side, we did our job, got assurances from our “legislative champions” that they’d do all they could to maintain funding. We held a successful education day in late February and also made sure that our budgets were included in chair letters to leadership.
Why the shortfall is not yet known in full, but we have some idea as to what happened.
This year, instead of both houses passing their own bills and then reconciling them, there was only one bill that was the same bill in each house. There should have been $1,900,000 for local kinship services in the final budget add which would supplement the $338,750 in the Governor’s budget. We have confirmation from our Assembly champion that they added half of the expected $1.9 million ($950,000), and while they looked for a Senate partner to add in the other half, that effort failed in the end.
While the budget is done, other mechanisms might exist that could add the funds. We are doing our part to find out more about what happened and what can be done, and welcome your thoughts and suggestions.
Sincerely,
Jerry, Rae, and Ryan
Aid to Localities
For services and expenses of kinship care
36 programs. Such funds are available pursu-
37 ant to a plan prepared by the office of
38 children and family services and approved
39 by the director of the budget to continue
40 or expand existing programs with existing
41 contractors that are satisfactorily
42 performing as determined by the office of
43 children and family services, to award new
44 contracts to continue programs where the
45 existing contractors are not satisfactori-
46 ly performing as determined by the office
47 of children and family services and/or
48 award new contracts through a competitive
49 process. Such contracts shall provide for
50 submission of information regarding
51 outcome based measures that demonstrate
1 quality of services provided and program
2 effectiveness to the office in a form and
3 manner and at such times as required by
4 the office (14077) ……………………….. 338,750
5 For additional services and expenses of
6 not-for-profit and voluntary agencies
7 providing support services to the caretak-
8 er relative of a minor child when such
9 services are provided to eligible individ-
10 uals and families. Such funds are avail-
11 able pursuant to a plan prepared by the
12 office of children and family services and
13 approved by the director of the budget to
14 continue or expand existing programs with
15 existing contractors that are satisfac-
16 torily performing as determined by the
17 office of children and family services, to
18 award new contracts to continue programs
19 where the existing contractors are not
20 satisfactorily performing as determined by
21 the office of children and family services
22 and/or to award new contracts through a
23 competitive process ………………………. 950,000
40 For services and expenses of the Catholic
41 Family Center in Rochester to establish,
42 operate, and administrate a statewide
43 kinship information, education, program
44 services and referral network (14013) ………. 220,500
45 For additional services and expenses of the
46 Catholic Family Center in Rochester to
47 establish and operate a statewide kinship
48 information and referral network …………… 100,000
NYS Kincare Coalition 