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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Dr. Sophine Charles, Representative from the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCA)
5:09:58
ยท
143 sec
Dr. Sophine Charles from the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCA) presented testimony on five key advocacy priorities for foster care, child welfare, prevention services, and juvenile justice agencies serving New York City families and children. These priorities include workforce issues, procurement challenges, underfunded prevention contracts, liability insurance concerns, and community-based services for youth.
- Workforce: High turnover rates (40% or higher) necessitate investment in pay parity and career development support.
- Procurement: Agencies struggle with delayed and delinquent payments from the city, totaling over $800 million for some providers.
- Prevention contracts: Five years into ten-year contracts, agencies cannot keep up with inflation and rising costs.
- Liability insurance: Child welfare agencies face significant premium increases or non-renewal threats, potentially creating a crisis for foster care services.
- Youth services: Community-based aftercare services are needed for juvenile justice programming, including developmental support, GED, counseling, and vocational training.
Dr. Sophine Charles
5:09:58
Great.
5:09:59
Good afternoon Chair Stephens.
5:10:01
I'm Doctor.
5:10:01
Sophine Charles from the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies, also known as COFCA.
5:10:07
We have the more most of the foster care, child welfare, prevention services, juvenile justice agencies serving New York City families and children.
5:10:19
Five high items are on our advocacy priorities.
5:10:23
Workforce, procurement, underfunded prevention contracts, liability insurance, and community based services for our youth.
5:10:33
On the workforce area, our turnover is 40%, sometimes higher.
5:10:39
And we're looking to get the city council to invest in our workforce.
5:10:45
We need pay parity, and we also need career development support.
5:10:49
All of this is already on your agenda.
5:10:52
And on the procurement side, our agencies are struggling, to keep the doors open, to keep to make payroll.
5:10:59
At this point, the city delays and delinquent payments, you know, more than 800,000,000 for some of our providers.
5:11:09
And on the prevention contract side, underfunded.
5:11:13
Right now, we're five years into a ten year contract, and the agencies absolutely cannot keep up with inflation, the cost of rent, the cost of of personnel.
5:11:26
And on the liability insurance side, our child welfare agencies are many of them are under threat of losing insurance.
5:11:35
They are either faced with sometimes as high as a 70% increase in premiums or just not having their premiums renewed at all.
5:11:45
And so that creates a major crisis that we're in right now.
5:11:49
And our city will have to pick up on agencies that are not the cost for agencies that are not able to get insurance, especially on the foster care side.
5:12:00
And last, our youth in our juvenile justice programming, they need community based after care services to help with their developmental supports, GED, counseling, vocational training, and overall development services.
5:12:18
So we need your support on all of those.
5:12:20
Thank you.