The $980M unused funds in Albany: A Closer Look at Raise the Age Program
ALBANY, New York — Nearly a decade ago, Democrats fought for — and secured — a program aimed at keeping teens out of the criminal justice system. Now, they’re sitting on nearly a billion dollars in funding for it that has never been used.
The Raise the Age program, which ended the practice of charging 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for certain crimes in New York, was passed by the Legislature in 2017 with a focus on reducing crime by addressing its root causes.
The Unutilized Funds and Program Implementation
The program was meant to keep at-risk youth away from the adult criminal justice system, with the Legislature allocating a combined $300 million in 2018 and 2019, and $250 million every year after that, to realize those goals. But since then, only about one-third of those dollars have actually been spent.
Seven years after its passage and five years after its full implementation, Democrats have continued to defend Raise the Age. Why they’ve sat on hundreds of millions of dollars that could go towards making the program a success is another question.
Challenges and Advocacy
Advocates are calling on the state to act. Nassau County Assemblymember Michaelle Solages highlighted the need to fund a host of “wraparound services” for at-risk youth and teens charged with crimes.
Reports of surging crime rates among youth offenders and increased rates of drug use, self-harm, and physical attacks within juvenile detention centers have frustrated efforts to demonstrate the program’s successes.
Funding Allocation and Implementation Hurdles
The lack of resources has forced counties to come up with creative solutions when overseeing youth offenders. The reimbursement process for funds has been described as onerous, hindering the effective utilization of the allocated budget.
Advocates’ Call for Action
Advocates are urging the Legislature to reserve funds for community-based programming and to streamline the funding process to ensure the money is put to use effectively.
Explore the untapped $980 million in unused funds allocated for the Raise the Age program in Albany and learn about the challenges faced in implementing the program.
