Brewer asks about prevention and housing stability

Thank you very much.

I always have the broader question, which is, if you have, this is not a new issue.

I've been around a very long time, so this is not a new issue.

But the question is, how do you prevent young people in the first place, and those that you do support, which I think you are, if Stephanie's there, I know everything is okay.

That's me talking.

My question is, they're going to go home, but they may not have a home.

So how do you deal with this bigger issue of prevention in the first place?

Maybe looking at the neighborhoods, NYCHA, then they need tons more support in that neighborhood.

Or if they don't have a place, I have 35 foster care kids, it's rough.

But you need someplace to go.

So we're going to turn it over to Ray Tumor to talk about some of our community-based alternatives.

Thank you, Stephanie.

And Councilmember Brewer, thank you for that question.

You know, ACS certainly recognizes the importance of both diversion and prevention programs on the front end.

And so we offer diversion programs for young people after they've already had interaction with the system.

But we also recognize that it's really important to

prevent young people who are at risk of future involvement.

And so one of the ways we do that is through our family assessment program.

We have borough offices located in each borough that are staffed by licensed social workers.

And the family assessment program started as a PINS diversion program, but it is now open to any New York City family who is struggling with the behaviors of their young person.

So they can come into one of our offices, engage with a licensed social worker, and we have a continuum of community-based services that are run by community-based agencies

that we contract with to support those families, and we offer an entire continuum of services.

So we have family-based therapies that are evidence-based models, and then we also have youth-specific services that really just kind of follow the youth.

So it really depends on what the circumstances of that family are, but we are dedicated to prevention work,

and we serve over 3,000 families per year in those programs, and we have significantly reduced the number of young people who are placed into care on.

So you think increasing that might help cut the numbers going into Horizon and Crossroads?

We're all trying to get the numbers down, and then we're trying to get the young people out of that program, trying to get them back home.

So in terms of our prevention work, it does start really early, right?

So we're trying to engage young people when they're in middle school who are exhibiting sort of status offenses, right?

So, you know, skipping school, behavioral issues.

Do you have the list?

of absentee for the middle school and the high schools?

Like does DOE give you that list?

Does somebody go visit that family?

Stephanie says no.

Well, we don't have a specific list of young people, but we do work very closely with the middle schools in our district that tend to send young people into our facilities.

We do also offer family court alternative to detention programs that do stem the tide.

So what would you suggest we need to do to increase those services so that this number and the pictures that...

Councilmember Stevens keeps showing us don't exist.

So I think, you know, the things that were mentioned in the press release is our focus in terms of DOP and Mach J implementing programs in the youth part.

I think we've been successful in family court.

You heard the commissioner's testimony about only six JDs that remain in secure detention, and we want that to even be lower than that.

But I think we've laid out a plan that clearly identifies, you know, what we think is appropriate for those young people in the youth part.

Okay, but if you got the list of, because absenteeism is very high at DOE right now.

If you had that list, would that help?

I would go knock on those.

I mean, DOE is trying to go knock on the doors.

I got it.

And then I'll shut up.

So I don't think ACS really has, we can't just knock, ACS can't knock on people's doors without authority.

I understand that, but DOE could do that and then you could work together.

Yes, that would be possible, but ACS can't just...

No, no, but you could get...

DOE could say this person needs, it's one administration in case you didn't know.

Yes, yes.

When young people are truant, you know, DOE does make the referrals to our family assessment program and we work directly with that family.

You know how many they make or you don't have that number?

DOE is our largest referral source.

So they, you know, like I said, we served over 3,000 families.

DOE is typically around 40% of those families that, you know, refer 40% of those families to us.

Okay.

So we do work with them.

It sounds like there could be more coordination if DOE would be helpful.

One administration.

All right.

Thank you.