Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, I, C – Batavia) welcomed members of the Batavia Youth Bureau, the Genesee County Youth Bureau and the Orleans County Youth Bureau to Albany for a visit to the State Capitol and to meet with him and other Western New York legislators regarding the proposed block grant for youth bureaus in Governor Paterson’s Executive Budget plan.

Pictured above with the Assemblyman (second from right) are (from left to right): Sandra Gapa, Josh Stendts, Matt Mallow, Deborah Kerr-Rosenbeck (Youth Bureau Director, Genesee County), Jennifer Waldron (Youth Bureau Staff, Genesee County), Meghan Gapa, Paul Teresi, Brooke Ranney, Ali Rohan, Patricia Dieck (Youth Bureau Director, Batavia), and Toni Funke (Youth Bureau Staff, Batavia).

Three of 109 youth bureaus in the state, the Western New York area youth bureaus provide youth development and prevention services throughout the Town of Batavia and Genesee and Orleans counties, respectively.

These youth bureaus also joined with youth bureaus from across the state at a legislative breakfast to unite in opposition to the block grant proposed by Governor Paterson. The block grant, totaling $90 million statewide, merges the funding for Detention Services, Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention, Special Delinquency Prevention Program, Runaway and Homeless Youth, Alternatives to Detention, and Alternatives to Residential Placement. These programs were previously funded independently through the State Budget at approximately $18 million total, representing a collective funding cut of approximately $28 million.