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Council Member Stevens addresses compensation and staffing challenges for youth program providers
3:01:14
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152 sec
Council Member Althea Stevens raises concerns about compensation for Cornerstone providers and the broader implications of staffing issues in youth programs. She emphasizes the need for ongoing support to prevent staff turnover and competition between programs.
- Stevens highlights the challenge of retaining staff when different programs offer varying compensation
- DYCD officials mention efforts to stabilize the sector, including ensuring cash flow and providing COLA increases
- Stevens shares a personal experience of losing half her staff due to compensation disparities between programs
Althea Stevens
3:01:14
And since the original contract were issued, requirements for the Cornerstone providers have expanded including increasing operational hours, how have providers been compensated for those additional staffing needs?
Christopher Lewis
3:01:32
Thank you chair Stevens.
3:01:34
We've tried to ensure that given the the circumstances around our contracting and and budget process that we've doing, we've done everything we can to ensure that the sector is stabilized and afforded the necessary cash flow to provide services to the sector.
3:01:50
With these particular program areas in in particular, you flagged and noted the areas that that serve summarizing, so Compass and and Beacons.
3:01:58
We've made sure to to ensure that they they have cash flow to support up to 80% of their awards to to try to maintain and and keep them as stable as we we possibly can in a circumstance where as we're working through to to implement additional funds to the to the to the system.
Jeremy Halbridge
3:02:15
Many provide Check Stevens if I may.
3:02:16
Sorry.
Mistou
3:02:17
Just to add up.
Jeremy Halbridge
3:02:17
In addition to that, there's also the COLA ICR and Way that we mentioned before that is directly related to ensuring that the programs have the staff, the money for staffing that they need to ensure they can provide the programming.
Althea Stevens
3:02:32
Yeah.
3:02:33
Again, I think we definitely have to keep having conversations around even the staffing issues because I remember when the middle school expansion and they had they had got their contracts extended and this is when I was actually provider, I lost half of my staff to the middle school providers because their contract was more.
3:02:51
And then it became increasingly hard for me to for me to even hire because it was like well why would I stay here when I can go make $5 more over here?
3:03:00
And so this is a real issue and I and I think sometimes we forget about that and then now you have even people in the same agency leaving to go to other programs and so now directors are mad at other directors because they just can't have it increase and so I think this is definitely something we have to keep our eye on and even as the program is growing because we will have new providers so then that means people will be leaving to go to other agencies, and so this is definitely something that I foresee as being an issue, and so definitely want to have ongoing conversations and figuring out how do we support providers in this because we can't pretend like this is not going to be a real real thing because I remember that vividly.
3:03:38
I I remember coming back in September and I lost half my staff and we had to figure it out.
3:03:44
So just want to be clear about that.