A resolution introduced by Majority Leader Maria R. Whyte (D-Buffalo) and co-sponsored by Legislator Timothy M. Kennedy (D-South Buffalo) at the June 8 session of the Erie County Legislature proposes spending $90,000 of the unanticipated and unallocated funds raised by the recent sale of county properties to restore the county's investment in youth programming and help decrease the Holding Center's inmate population.

"Decreasing the inmate population of the Erie County Holding Center is a very important goal of the county's four-year fiscal plan, and the $90,000 we propose to be spent is less than half of the money allocated for similar programs in previous budgets," Majority Leader Whyte said. "We have been in contact with State Senator Marc A. Coppola (D-Buffalo) and State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt (D-Buffalo), and they have confirmed that if the county can find funding for the Prime Time Summer Youth Program, which provides structured, safe and healthy activities for youths age 10 through 18 during July and August, the state will be able to match these funds, which in the past has been matched at an almost 2-1 ratio."

"In less than two weeks, the last school bell will ring and right now in the City of Buffalo we just don't have the resources to keep kids off the streets and out of trouble," State Senator Coppola said. "This should send alarm bells ringing to everyone concerned about our children's safety and crime in our neighborhoods. It's going to be a long, hot, violent summer if we don't take immediate steps. Legislator Whyte has taken a real leadership role and I stand ready to assist her. My office has been in contact with officials from the Department of Children and Family Services and the money is there, waiting for us to access it."

"I have worked very hard to identify the top priorities in the Sixth District and form a strategic plan, and youth programming is one of the key priorities," Majority Leader Whyte continued. "Every dollar we can spend on youth programming, education and recreation, whether public or private, should be looked at as an investment in our youth and the future. This will allow us to help keep youths safe and productive in positive activities and to have better chances to avoid being part of illegal activities and the criminal justice system."

According to data tracked by the County Department of Probation and Youth Detention Services, Erie County youth fall well below the national average in obtaining the core competencies and assets needed to succeed in and out of school and eventually stay out of trouble, and youth detention and delinquency increased during the summer of 2005, when the funding for the Prime Time Summer Youth Program was first cut.

Majority Leader Whyte also noted that studies have shown that juvenile crime triples between 3-6 p.m. and that youth in after-school and summer programs are 50 percent less likely to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs. She also pointed out that police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors "overwhelmingly agree that investing in after-school and summer programs is more effective in reducing youth violence and crime than hiring more police officers or greater punitive measures."

"I am hoping to work with my colleagues in the County Legislature to get this resolution passed and to provide these crucial youth programming services," Majority Leader Whyte concluded. The resolution will be discussed at the 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 14, Public Safety Committee meeting.

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