The Emergency Appropriation funding was approved by the state Assembly with the support of Assemblyman William…
By Betsy Scheinbart
The Summer Jobs Program, which employs 50,000 young people in New York City each year, received $25 million in state funds last month.
The Emergency Appropriation funding was approved by the state Assembly with the support of Assemblyman William Scarborough (D-St. Albans).
But Scarborough said $25 million in state dollars is not enough to fund a broad-based summer jobs program.
At a public hearing in March hosted by several assembly committees, providers said at least $40 million in state funds is needed to establish a program equal to the program that existed prior to the summer of 2000.
In 2000, a change in federal regulations created a permanent gap in summer job funding. Scarborough would like to reverse the effects of those regulations.
Scarborough introduced legislation to create a permanent program on the state level out of general funds to fill the budget gap.
Some 70 percent of the funding will provide jobs for young people whose family income is below the federal poverty level.
