Chair Stevens challenges prevention service cuts as contradictory to prior claims

Preventive care.

And this is also frustrating because for the last two years, because I've only had ACS for two years, the last two years it was said that the reason that these numbers are down in these facilities is because of the work of preventive care and that that was necessary.

I don't want to get y'all in trouble because I be doing whatever and I don't know how Councilmember Lee does her thing.

Y'all know I be clapping.

I'm sorry.

My people don't know how to behave.

Sorry.

But it gets me very frustrated because preventative services has been toted as a reason for

not having so many people on

in the facility.

I think in your testimony you said that we're down like 13,000 from a decade ago and like these numbers are consistently going down and it has been a continuous effort to get

these numbers down and prevent preventive services has been like the thing that has been pointed to of saying we're going to get these things down.

And so how do we now sit here and say and justify that it's services, that this is a place that services should have savings?

Because I know we don't like to use cuts.

I know that's not what we're saying, right?

But how do we justify that now when that has been the thing that we've pointed to?

And so what is the plan to ensure that the continuity stays?

Because one of the things that I think for me is frustrating is that

I've heard things like, well, there's still slots.

And so if I'm a young person, well, if I'm a family and there's slots in

the Bronx and I live in Queens and I already don't like the system, because let's be clear, and I already have issues, I'm not going.

So I'm trying to understand what the justification is, what's the plan, and how this is going to look in actual time for these families.

So I'll stop chatting.

So I'll start out with, and this might be my own artificial separation.

You're welcome.

Hello.

The close to home related to the work of trying to support young people that are involved with juvenile justice.

And those placements and then the prevention services connected to preventing foster care placement are kind of aligned but different sort of yeah they're all different right

so I was just trying to make was like we need to listen to providers because they said this and now again we need to absolutely and the partnership of providers is critical and you heard that in my testimony

and prevention services are critical as well the entire continuum we also as an agency have to have responsibility for you know fiscal responsibility and aligning resources in

in ways so that we are investing and utilizing the the resources we do have and the decisions to eliminate slots is a really difficult decision and I'm happy to turn it over to

Deputy Commissioner Linares to talk a little bit more about the prevention programs that I think you're referring to.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Chair Stevens.

So I share your sentiment.

It was a very difficult decision for us, but we really had to maintain our fiscal responsibility and ensure that we are maintaining a strong prevention program as possible.

We have looked at different indicators to make the recommendations.

We wanted to make sure that one of the first things that we considered when thinking about this savings was our family is going to continue to have services.

So you're right, we don't want a family from Brooklyn to be thinking about a service in the Bronx.