Q&A
Council Member Stevens questions OMB Director Jiha on DYCD budget cuts and program impacts
6:35:57
·
4 min
Council Member Althea Stevens questions OMB Director Jacques Jiha about the $44.4 million in cuts to the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) programs, focusing on the impact on the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) and summer youth programs. Jiha defends the cuts, stating that DYCD believes they can still provide robust services, but Stevens expresses skepticism and calls for better evaluation of the impacts.
- Stevens raises concerns about the disconnect between OMB's claims of no impact and the reality experienced by providers and community members.
- The discussion touches on the process of implementing Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) cuts and the need for better justification and evaluation.
- Stevens also inquires about the savings from cutting Fridays from the summer youth program, to which Jiha promises to provide information later.
Althea Stevens
6:35:57
Good afternoon.
6:35:58
How you doing?
Jacques Jiha
6:35:59
Doing very well.
Althea Stevens
6:36:00
I'm gonna be nice because I got just paid.
6:36:04
So I'm a behave today.
Jacques Jiha
6:36:06
Okay.
Brad Lander
6:36:08
And I like
Althea Stevens
6:36:08
to get one of my word.
6:36:11
Okay.
6:36:12
But in the November, employment rate plans included a 4 44,400,000 peg to the Department of Youth and Community Development, the reductions were made in some of the agency's most utilized programs such as Compass, the Office of Neighborhood Safety, and Summerizin.
6:36:26
The council called upon the administration to restore the 44,400,000 and cuts to the DYCD programs in a preliminary response.
6:36:33
The program operated by the Office of Neighborhood Safety aims to improve community policing, relationships, reduces the criminal and incarceration, and contracts with, the justice system.
6:36:45
Despite this, there was a $5,400,000 baseline peg implemented for the office of, neighborhood safety.
6:36:51
What areas within ONS does the peg affect?
6:36:54
What programs and services are being impacted by this reduction?
6:36:57
ONS programs foster collaboration between community provider agencies and what is the impact of the PECS on providers.
Jacques Jiha
6:37:07
Based on this, question with, GYCD, They believe that we still provide robust services to youth in our programs.
6:37:19
So from their perspective, the violence disruptors program was not impacted by this spike.
Althea Stevens
6:37:24
Yeah.
6:37:25
They keep saying it, but that's not the truth.
6:37:27
And and so and just to add some of the other questions that I had at the bottom.
6:37:31
Like, so when OMB is requiring, them to do PECS, is there an evaluation process?
6:37:37
How do we know that what we're doing won't have an impact?
6:37:39
Because that's being said, and so I feel like there's a disconnect in what, you know, you guys are saying, like, oh, we're telling you to do the pegs.
6:37:46
And they're like, oh, it's no impact, but that is not what we're hearing, especially even the ONS part where they're like, oh, well, they're taking out the legal services aspect of, the program.
6:37:56
And And they're like, oh, well, they can just go to, like, DHS and do it.
6:37:58
And it's and that's not true.
6:38:00
And so I'm just trying to understand even with the process of the pegs, are you guys a lot making or pushing them to do evaluations and get feedback so that we know that there's no true issue around the things that needs to be cut.
Jacques Jiha
6:38:14
You told me you were gonna be nice to me.
Lincoln Restler
6:38:15
That wasn't nice?
6:38:18
I'll just ask the question.
Jacques Jiha
6:38:19
Yes.
6:38:19
You are.
6:38:20
Yes.
6:38:20
You are.
6:38:22
It's, we continue to work with them because this is again, as I say to folks very often, we could only repeat what the agency Exactly.
6:38:31
Tell us.
6:38:31
Okay?
6:38:32
If they come back to us and say, you know what?
6:38:34
Hey.
6:38:34
We could justify this PEG because there are limited impact.
6:38:38
Here's the impact.
6:38:40
We always have the follow-up question.
6:38:41
Okay.
6:38:43
What are the metrics?
6:38:44
Our provider has been impacted.
6:38:46
So from our perspective, when they said to us Were
Althea Stevens
6:38:48
they able to answer those questions?
Jacques Jiha
6:38:49
It's a goal
Althea Stevens
6:38:50
When you asked them that?
Jacques Jiha
6:38:51
Yeah.
6:38:51
We do.
6:38:51
We do ask all these questions.
6:38:52
No.
Althea Stevens
6:38:52
I said, but was ZYCD able to answer that?
6:38:54
Because when I asked them they wasn't able to answer it.
Jacques Jiha
6:38:56
Well, they what they told us to justify the peg is they were okay.
6:39:01
So that's what we that's what we go with.
6:39:03
Okay?
6:39:04
So if they tell us, you know, that, you know, that, you know, there's no impact, That's what we have to believe because we we're not dealing with this on a day to day basis.
Althea Stevens
6:39:13
Yeah.
6:39:14
I would love for us to think about and and thinking about moving forward to and I can set time up with you guys to talk more.
6:39:19
I'm not filling out the form now.
6:39:20
But I would love to set up time to talk with you guys to talk more about, like, how do we make sure that when folks are saying that there's no impact on the pegs, that they're giving you real justification.
6:39:31
Because that to me, when I'm asking them questions, they're saying there's no impact.
6:39:35
And when I'm looking at the numbers, that will make sense
Diana Ayala
6:39:37
to me.
Althea Stevens
6:39:37
And so I will have to set time up, so that, like, they have to justify more to this being like, we fine.
6:39:43
We'll make it work, because then it just becomes very arbitrary.
6:39:45
And just one last thing, I'm just also wanted to know on we know with summarizing and the Fridays with middle schools being cut.
6:39:52
Do we know how much savings that they're that they're actually going to be having from cutting the Friday program to the summerizing?
6:39:59
And why does the administration believe that the reduction loss is necessary for this extra day?
6:40:03
Because it doesn't seem like it's that much savings that we're getting from cutting the, Fridays from summarizing.
Jacques Jiha
6:40:11
Yes.
6:40:12
Let me get back to you with the actual number because I don't have in front of me right now.
6:40:16
But I'll provide you that information Okay.
Althea Stevens
6:40:18
No problem.
Jacques Jiha
6:40:19
As quickly as possible.
Diana Ayala
6:40:20
Okay.
Althea Stevens
6:40:20
Thank you so much.
Jacques Jiha
6:40:21
Okay.
6:40:21
No problem.
