STATEWIDE — THE NY STATE CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES MUST RESTORE FUNDING for after-school programs, demands a coalition of elected officials in Southern Brooklyn. They are denouncing the state agency’s decision to defund the programs, leaving 1,300 students with no alternatives for after-school participation and, the group alleges, no information on new activities. The elected leaders received panicked calls from parents, reported The Daily News on Thursday afternoon. State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who represents the strip of western Brooklyn and is leading the charge, explained in a statement on Thursday, Aug. 22, that CFS replaced the Advantage and Empire State after-school programs previously offered with a new funding program but refused to share information on either the providers now being funded, nor their locations.
Consequently, longtime community groups that have provided after-school programming to several southern Brooklyn schools for years are no longer being awarded funding. A number of programs were approved, but without financial underwriting. The new funding program is The New York State Learning and Enrichment After-School Program Supports (LEAPS), whose documentation promotes the importance and goals for viable after-school programs but refers to testimonials from other U.S. cities outside New York. Joining Gounardes in the push for funds restoration are his State Senate colleagues Iwen Chu, Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and Simcha Felder; and City Councilmembers Justin Brannan and Alexa Avilés.
“Without state support, families could be on the hook for thousands of dollars in fees for after-school programs. For the many families who can’t afford that, losing access to after-school care could throw their routines and lives into chaos,” the joint statement continued.…