On January 16, 2018 Governor Cuomo released his $168.2 billion Executive Budget for State Fiscal Year 2018-2019.  The Governor focused his remarks on efforts to address the State’s budget $4.4 billion deficit, additional federal cuts, as well as the threats to New York’s economy from the new federal tax bill.

The Executive Budget includes a number of proposals CCC supports such as an additional $15 million for prekindergarten, $10 million for after-school programs, $50 million for community schools, $7 million to restore previously cut funding for child care, $4 million to address the minimum wage increase for the Summer Youth Employment Program, and $100 million to implement a continuum of services associated with raising the age of criminal responsibility. We also support the budget’s inclusion of the First 1,000 Days initiative, which is designed to better address the needs of young children, and we strongly support numerous legislative proposals including the Child Victims Act, the Dream Act, and bail and discovery reform, as well as statutory language to reauthorize Close to Home.

On the other hand, the Executive Budget proposes a number of cuts that CCC is concerned about, including a number targeted at New York City.  These include a cap on New York City’s reimbursement for services that prevent child abuse and neglect at a time when the City has been successfully implementing a strong continuum of evidence based services and on the heels of a $64 million state cut to foster care this year.  Furthermore, the Executive Budget proposes to eliminate all $41.4 million of state support for the Close to Home juvenile justice initiative, which is not only critical for justice involved youth but essential for the city’s implementation of Raise the Age.