As summer break approaches, tens of thousands of low-income public school students and their families are relying on Summer Youth Programs to keep them safe, fed, and positively engaged. However, $20 million in funding for Summer Youth Programs serving at least 34,000 middle school students was excluded entirely or in part from the preliminary budgets in Fiscal Years 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016 with funding restored each time by the City Council in the Executive Budget.
Legislation co-authored by Youth Service Chair Debi Rose and Council Member Ben Kallos would eliminate proposed budget cuts and mandate the Universal Summer Youth Programs that our City's children deserve.