Chair Stevens Calls for Hardship Application and State Funding Accountability
Chair Althea Stevens continues her opening remarks, urging ACS to maximize state funding for youth services and Raise the Age implementation, and thanks the fiscal staff for preparing for the hearing.
I'm also interested in understanding how the ADC is working with the state partners to maximize the funding and vital services such as child care vouchers, preventative preventative services and programming.
I'm also really curious to hear about the plan for the money that was allocated to the from the governor, because in our preliminary hearing, that plan still had not been discussed with us and want to make sure that the money that was allocated for youth services and the raise the age that we are thinking about.
And also would like to hear if we're going to put in a hardship application.
And the council's response responsibility to ensure that the city budget is fair, transparent, and accountable to New Yorkers.
As the chair of Children and Youth Committee, I will continue to push for accountability and transparency in the ACS budget.
Amidst the needs to eliminate budget gaps and meet saving requirements, our responsibility is enacting a budget that reflects the needs and interests of our city's youth, taking on even higher importance.
Like the mayor has often repeated, this budget must not be balanced on the back of working people or young people.
I'm adding the or because nobody keeps talking about the young people.
So today, through and throughout the examination of AC budget, we ensure that this is the case.
Before we get started, I would like to take a quick moment to thank both my staff and the entire council fiscal division for their efforts in preparing for this hearing.
Margaret, Julia, Richard, Rhea, Elizabeth, and my deputy chief of staff, Greer, and the entire A Team back in the suite 16.
At this time, I'll pass it back to Chair Lee.