Invest in Kids Funding Delayed

During the development of the 2015 Westchester County budget, Westchester Children’s Association and many community advocates urged the Board of Legislators and County Executive to set aside money for key programs that help children and youth. While we were happy to see a 3% increase in Invest in Kids funding for children and youth in the 2015 county budget, the money that was promised to nonprofits has yet to be released.

The delay in awarding these funds puts children at risk — some nonprofits have already had to cancel programs or cut staff. Executive Director Cora Greenberg was cited in a lohud article about this problem:

“The [Invest in Kids] program, which has been around since 1993, targets at-risk young people in 11 urban communities. The maximum county grant is $45,000 and the agencies must match that amount. Nearly $2 million was put into the program for the year, said Cora Greenberg, executive director of the Westchester Children’s Association, who has been getting complaints from agencies about the funding gap.”

While the program funding should have been released by January 1, Westchester nonprofits still have not found out if their applications have even been approved. Read the full article to learn more.