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Q&A
Council Member Stevens questions DYCD Commissioner on after-school program funding and implementation
2:38:15
·
6 min
Council Member Althea Stevens engages in a heated discussion with DYCD Commissioner Keith Howard about the executive plan for after-school program funding. Stevens expresses concern over the timing of implementation and the lack of immediate rate increases for providers, while Howard defends the plan as a significant investment towards universal after-school programs.
- Stevens criticizes the plan for not addressing middle school expansion and failing to increase provider rates in FY 2026
- Howard highlights the $331 million investment over three years and the goal of universal after-school programs
- Stevens argues that the delayed rate increase and rushed implementation put undue pressure on providers and DYCD staff
Althea Stevens
2:38:15
So the executive plan includes an additional 21,300,000.0 in fiscal twenty twenty six, '2 hundred and '90 '7 point '5 million in fiscal twenty twenty seven, and millions outliers to support of 20,000 seats by fiscal twenty twenty eight.
2:38:33
Although the council is pleased to see the administration prioritize additional seats for elementary school students, it does not address the expansion for middle school students, which we also are seeing an increase in our juvenile justice systems for, so I also want to just point that out, and leaving vulnerable youth without the support they need during critical development stages.
2:38:54
Additionally, it fails to address the underlying needs to increase rates for providers in fiscal twenty twenty six.
2:39:02
In the council budget respond, the council calls upon the administration to provide the necessary funding to increase the current compass contract in fiscal twenty twenty seven to rates of 4,900 for Compass Elementary and forty one fifty for Sonic middle school students.
Jess Dannhauser
2:39:19
The
Althea Stevens
2:39:19
department's Compass providers' contract has continued to fall short of covering the true cost of running the program.
2:39:28
Why were these costs of contract rates increase not included in the executive plan?
Keith Howard
2:39:34
First and foremost, $331,000,000 over the course of three years.
Althea Stevens
2:39:41
I already gave you points for that so we don't need to keep bringing that up.
Keith Howard
2:39:44
I hear you but We pick
Althea Stevens
2:39:46
up the points.
Keith Howard
2:39:47
What what you what I do want to say chair Stevens is the North Star is always going to be universal after school.
2:39:55
And I think that's one of the things that we need to highlight.
2:40:00
That even if you look at the investment which is significant across a three year period, the the overall goal is to get to universal after school.
2:40:10
And the mayor has mentioned that over and over again.
2:40:13
And I think we're on the right course.
2:40:15
Now in terms of the the rate increase that's gonna happen, it is going to happen in in our our FY '27, I mean '26, '20 '7, '20 '7.
2:40:26
It's gonna happen in FY '27.
2:40:28
With an additional investment of 5,000 slots in FY '28.
2:40:33
So I just see this as all good news.
2:40:36
Just trying to understand exactly when we do our stakeholder engagement with our providers.
2:40:46
And we've been doing it.
2:40:47
This is not a situation that we're just rolling out in the next three, you know, we thought about it in the next three months or two weeks, etcetera.
2:40:54
This is over a course of ten plus years that we've been engaged with our providers just talking about how those after school programming look like, and I'm just so happy to to know that we are in a good place right now.
Althea Stevens
2:41:09
Yeah.
2:41:10
That was the question because like I I I'm giving the credit around there has been significant growth in youth development in my tenure here.
2:41:20
All the things that I I asked for, we have been getting, but that's not what we're talking about right now.
2:41:27
This year the providers were very clear that they needed an increase in order to continue this work and that is being ignored with the assumption that like, oh well we're gonna give it to you next fiscal.
2:41:37
What are they supposed to sell their workers for the next couple of months?
2:41:40
Because that's the problem, we are significantly underfunding a contract and at the same time asking for them to expand at the same time at a rate that we know is underfunded.
2:41:51
And so like yes, have the points for the expansion, great job for the increase in two years, but how do people who are have to run these programs right now, what is the expectation?
Keith Howard
2:42:06
So again, you know the 5,000 investment that are happening in f y twenty six, we feel that it's gonna address a lot of the gaps.
2:42:14
I mean you know as well as I know you're you're you've been in this field, you're an expert in this field, you know that we have waiting lists that across the board that needs to be addressed.
2:42:23
I think that this investment can address those waiting lists, can address those issues out there, those gaps.
2:42:31
Is the rate an issue?
2:42:34
Well that's something that we continue to talk about.
2:42:36
Right?
2:42:36
The providers have reached out to us.
2:42:38
We've had conversations with them.
2:42:40
We've had conversations with OMB.
2:42:42
Alright?
2:42:42
But again, you talked about the complexities of you know, with a short period of time doing a concept paper, doing an RFP.
2:42:51
DYCD is geared to do with that.
2:42:53
Right?
2:42:53
This is what we do, and this is what we do as a subject matter expertise.
2:42:56
However, understanding that, we also know that we're relying on our nonprofit providers.
2:43:01
We've been relying on our nonprofit providers for some time now because they do great work.
2:43:05
Know?
2:43:06
That being said, the investment for the 5,000 slots, I see it as a win.
2:43:13
It is a deposit, but I see the bigger win with the $331,000,000 in the sector.
Althea Stevens
2:43:21
And again, I wanna say that is the work gonna get done?
2:43:24
Is everybody gonna roll up their sleeves for the next couple of to get the concept paper out?
2:43:28
Are the providers going to respond to it and do all things?
2:43:31
Yes, but that doesn't mean that we should.
2:43:33
And so I want to be clear about that like that just because you can do something doesn't mean that we should not have been more prepared and honestly this is something that could have been rolled out in January that would have given everyone much more time and the rollout could have been a lot cleaner and so I'm still gonna push back on that like this is the busiest time for not only the providers but DYCD and so to have this being rolled out at the same time that we're rolling out camp, know, ONS is gonna be on the streets, we have all these other things that's gonna be going on that this is the busiest time of the year that this is when this is being rolled out and it could have just been done in January, that's all I'm saying.
2:44:10
I'm not gonna not say it because it's unacceptable unacceptable that this is the expectation that we're gonna put on people that because you can't do what we should.
2:44:17
That doesn't mean that it's right, and so I'm gonna advocate for that because it's unacceptable.
2:44:21
I am not here to talk political stuff and the reality is if we would have this in January, you guys could have had the time for the rollout, had adequate feedback, and we could have been advocating and talking about other things.