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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Emily Versen, Program Director at Center for Family Life in Sunset Park
6:30:16
ยท
154 sec
Emily Versen, Program Director at Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, testified about the urgent need for increased funding for after-school and summer programs, as well as addressing delays in contract registration and reimbursements. She emphasized the critical role these programs play in supporting working-class immigrant families and the unsustainability of current funding levels.
- Called for fully funding year-round after-school and summer programs for K-12 students
- Highlighted that current DYCD funding is less than half of the true cost of programming
- Reported over $3.4 million in delayed reimbursements and unregistered contracts for their organization alone
Emily Versen
6:30:16
you Chair Stevens and the City Council for your support for children and youth across New York City.
6:30:20
My name is Emily Versen and I am a program director at Center for Family Life in Sunset Park.
6:30:26
I am calling on our city to prioritize fully funding year round after school and summer programs for elementary and middle school, youth, and high school, and to advocate for prompt registration of contracts and timely reimbursements for services rendered.
6:30:40
For over forty five years, the Center for Family Life, a settlement house, has provided comprehensive range of neighborhood based family and social services.
6:30:49
We intentionally base our K through 12 programming in 11 of Sunset Park's public schools enrolling over 3,600 youth in free year round high quality after school and summer programs made possible through DYCD funding that save our working class immigrant families over $15,000,000 per year in childcare costs.
6:31:09
However, we simply cannot continue to deliver these services if DYCD does not recognize and fund the true cost of programming which according to the comprehensive analysis conducted by UNH that several people have mentioned today is over $6,000 per elementary aged youth for a school year and over 4,000 for the summer.
6:31:29
The decade old contract that we are currently operating under that the city has extended multiple times rather than issuing a new concept paper an RFP for funds us at less than half of that.
6:31:40
It is unconscionable to under invest in our city's children in this way and it is unsustainable for providers who want to deliver the high quality programs that the children of New York City deserve.
6:31:52
Additionally, across the city CBOs have faced untenable delays in contract registration and budget and invoice approvals.
6:31:59
These hardships have been compounded by the city's migration from HHS accelerator to the passport system.
6:32:06
At CFL we are unable to voucher for expenses already incurred this year as we are still awaiting fiscal year twenty five contract registration and approval in passport totaling over $1,900,000 Additionally we're awaiting reimbursement for standing FY twenty four invoices totaling more than 500,000 and FY '25 outstanding invoices totaling over 980,000.
6:32:28
That is a total of over $3,400,000 for Center for Family Life alone and we are not the only CBO weathering these funding delays that affect essential cash flow.
6:32:38
Streamlining and prioritizing prompt contract registration and reimbursement should be a top priority for DYCD so CBOs can focus on directly serving their high need communities and we urgently need this addressed.
6:32:49
Thank you.
6:32:50
Absolutely.