QUESTION
How are savings generated in the asylum seeker response effort, and what are the critical changes in census trends?
0:39:20
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164 sec
Budget Director Jacques Jiha explains the strategy to generate savings in asylum seeker response, emphasizing a shift to non-profit providers and focusing on census reduction with policies like 30 and 60-day notices.
- The administration aims to reduce per diem costs by changing the staffing and service models, moving from for-profit to non-profit providers, projected to save $700,000,000.
- Policies like 30 and 60-day notices are implemented to reduce the census, considering it crucial for managing the crisis sustainably.
- The emphasis is on reducing reliance on the Emergency General Fund by reducing the number of asylum seekers.
- The changes are part of strategies to address budget reductions for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 in the asylum seeker response effort.
Adrienne E. Adams
0:39:20
Let's talk about asylum seeker responses and pigs assigned to this particular category.
0:39:28
As part of the preliminary plan, the administration has decreased the city wide planned expenditure for the asylum seeker response effort by $500,000,000 in fiscal year 2024 and $1,200,000,000.
0:39:43
In fiscal year 2025, a nearly 16% reduction of the expenses over the 2 fiscal years.
0:39:51
The administration has indicated that these savings were generated from a variety of actions, including the implementation of shelter time limit notices.
0:40:01
Efficiencies in HURT contracts, a shift of some HURT contracts to nonprofit providers and the recognition of current census trends.
0:40:10
Can you walk us through the assumptions of the revised forecast by providing what changes to census trends are now included and how they differ from the last forecast you provided in August 2023.
Jacques Jiha
0:40:25
Yes.
0:40:25
As we discussed before, the strategy is basically twofold is On the one hand, our goal is to reduce the per diem cost to generate savings by changing the staffing model by changing the service model that we have, thereby changing the staffing model.
0:40:49
And moving away from for profit providers to not for profit providers.
0:40:55
So this is the strategies that we're using on the trying to minimize.
0:40:59
It gives you the PGIM cost.
0:41:01
That should generate about $700,000,000 in savings.
0:41:06
On the other side, we're trying to reduce the census.
0:41:10
Because it is it is very critical that we bring down the census.
0:41:14
And the 30 days, 60 day policy at a part of the entire package of bringing down the sensors.
0:41:22
As you can imagine, why did you see the sensors were critical for us?
0:41:27
Is, as you know, we have over relied on PEG to fund the Alarm secure crisis.
0:41:35
So this is not something that is sustainable in the wrong one.
0:41:38
Okay.
0:41:38
So therefore, we have to bring down the population.
0:41:41
Otherwise, we're gonna have to find a new source of fund funding.
0:41:45
Okay, to keep this going if he were, you know, to stay as is.
0:41:49
So therefore, we have to bring down the senses.
0:41:52
And the 30 days and 60 day policies are critical.
0:41:57
Very, very, very critical, okay, to part of the strategy that we're using.
0:42:03
To bring down the census.