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Q&A on OMB's commitment to Early Childhood Education (ECE) funding and expansion
5:19:33
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3 min
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Director Jiha responds to Council Member Adams' questions about committing to additional funding and seats for Early Childhood Education programs.
- Jiha expresses commitment to the ECE program but cites budget constraints and the need to backfill stimulus dollars.
- He mentions $5 million allocated for outreach to fill existing vacant seats.
- Jiha cannot guarantee adding resources immediately but commits to reviewing requests after reallocation of existing seats.
- The administration emphasizes the need to balance ECE funding with other critical programs and ongoing asylum seeker care costs.
Jacques Jiha
5:19:33
Madam speaker, we are as committed as you are to this program.
5:19:36
It's not by accident that you put it you you do know very well that, the, a big chunk of that program is funded with stimulus dollars.
5:19:46
We work very hard to find resources to backfill those stimulus dollars because we don't want that program to go away.
5:19:54
So we are as committed to this program as you are.
5:19:58
We are committed to working with you and the council, to increase the which of the program.
5:20:05
Currently, we have as as you know, we have about 23,000 NTCs.
5:20:10
Okay.
5:20:10
And so we're working we included in the budget about $5,000,000 to do a major outreach in the neighborhoods to work with the council to target the areas where we have those NTCs to make sure that, families are fully aware of those seeds and take advantage of them.
5:20:33
But as you know, in this environment, it's extremely difficult.
5:20:36
Okay?
5:20:37
I cannot give you a guarantee right now that we would add resources, but as I said on many occasions, that if after we do the reallocation of seats, that there is an increasing needs for seats, we'll review the seat at they will review the request at that time and make the appropriate adjustment to our budget because this is a program that is as important as to you as it is to us.
5:21:01
Okay?
5:21:01
It's just that the question is the environment that we're in is a very tough environment.
5:21:06
It's a difficult environment.
5:21:07
As I said, we've managed to stabilize the situation, but we are not yet out of the woods.
5:21:13
We have 65,000 people that we have to take care of for to take care of, you know, in the next year and the year after.
5:21:22
Okay?
5:21:23
And we always have to be to remember this.
5:21:25
There's 65,000 folks in our care right now that we have to take care of coming here and the year after.
5:21:32
So because right now, we're not seeing a drop in the population, and we have other a lot of other critical programs that require resources right now, okay, that we need to fund.
5:21:43
So, again, we'll work with you, okay, to do, you know, whatever we can to make sure the parents want a seat, can get a seat.
5:21:52
Okay?
5:21:52
That's we we committed to this.
5:21:54
Okay?
5:21:55
But as I said, when the request comes in, if after the allocation of seats from areas where we have too many seats to those area where where we have a lot of demand because we have to do a matching of capacity and and needs.
5:22:10
Okay?
5:22:11
Once that is completed and we get rid of a lot of the empty seats that we're paying for, we are committed to work with you to address this in the long
Adrienne E. Adams
5:22:19
term.
5:22:20
So what I think I'm hearing, director, is that OMB is making the commitment to add seats as they're needed throughout the year but won't budget it in.
Jacques Jiha
5:22:28
Currently, as I said, we need you know, we have so many program we're trying to save at the same time.
5:22:34
And and you know that you have a councilor's priorities, we have priorities, a lot of things given this financial situation that, you know, we have to take care of right away.
5:22:44
So we cannot commit at this moment in time that we're gonna add.
5:22:47
But as I said, as we go along, okay, as we do the reallocation of seats, trying to make the system as efficient as we can, if there is an increasing need, we will address that at that time.