CDF-New York, 90+ Partner Organizations Sign Letter in Support of Youth Justice Innovation Fund: ‘Proposal would help to build up critical community resources’ in State Budget
The Innovation Fund builds on evidence showing that linking youth with community-based services reduces criminal legal system contact and promotes community safety.
Media Contact: John Henry, jhenry@childrensdefense.org, CDF Media Relations Manager, 708-646-7679
NEW YORK, NY—Children’s Defense Fund-New York joined 97 partner organizations in signing a letter voicing their support for legislation that would establish the Youth Justice Innovation Fund in the New York state budget this year.
The legislation creating the Youth Justice Innovation Fund, sponsored by Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and Senator Cordell Cleare (and included in the Senate’s One House budget proposal), would direct $50 million to community-based organizations best equipped to provide a continuum of services from prevention and early intervention, to alternatives to detention, placement, and incarceration for young people. The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services will administer the fund through a statewide grantmaking program.
Read the full letter: Letter of Support – Youth Justice Innovation Fund
The letter, which will be sent to Governor Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, notes youth crime has gone down in New York State since the Raise the Age law was first implemented in 2018. While evidence shows the law—which was endorsed by CDF-NY—has improved community safety and youth well-being in the State of New York, officials have yet to fully deliver on its promise to fund the community-based services and programs that it provides as alternatives to incarceration for young people.
The Youth Justice Innovation Fund would take $50 million of the annual $250 million initially appropriated for Raise the Age and dedicate it directly toward funding community-based organizations that provide support for services like mentoring, mental health programs, academic assistance initiatives, and other programs proven to reduce contact with the criminal legal system and future court involvement.
“A recent report from the statewide Alternatives to Incarceration coalition shows that there is currently a significant gap in these kinds of programs. The fund would help to build up these critical community resources that bolster neighborhood safety and support positive youth development,” the letter reads.
CDF-New York and its partners urge the Governor and Legislature to include $50 million for the Youth Justice Innovation Fund in its final enacted budget for Fiscal Year 2026.