KINGSTON – On the first day marking New York’s Raise the
Age, an effort to rehabilitate youthful offenders, rather than have them
be admitted to incarceration, Ulster County Executive Michael Hein made
an announcement, highlighting the county’s effort to combat not
only this issue, but the greater underlying issue that contributes to
underage criminal activity – generational poverty.
On Monday, Hein announced the county’s Brighter Futures Initiative,
already having an approximately $13 million investment on behalf of the
county, had secured $4 million in funding through Community Foundations
of the Hudson Valley provided by the Novo Foundation.
This investment on behalf of the county, and Community Foundations Hudson Valley, will help fund the initiative that includes contributions to the Restorative Justice and Community Empowerment Center in Kingston, the Linear Trail ADA compliant park and the effort to have high-quality, low-cost food available to those with limited means.
The breadth of this initiative is wide. Hein said the marriage
between these programs has roots facilitated in the Restorative Justice
Program, as well as for those outside it, with a care coordinator assigned
to making sure the needs of individuals are met.
“That individual’s sole job is to make sure that they’re doing the intensive case management that makes sure that these young folks get exactly the services that they need to be able to break that cycle; but, it’s more than that. Sometimes, it’s their parents, or grandparent, or another caregiver and maybe there’s issues at home,” said Hein. “If there’s child care issues, or a million other issues that could come up, we are really focused on addressing them.”.
The Brighter Futures Initiative, comprehensively, will offer tutoring,
educational navigation, job training, mentoring, family support and conflict
resolution, among other services.
Hein said this model is setting a precedent for upstate New York and although it may take six months to a year, for all of the moving parts to come together, it will eventually create an out for those plagued by generational poverty.
