More Towns May Fund Summer Youth Programs After State Budget Cuts

By Jack Kramer, Correspondent

East Haven may have been the first but it may not be the last municipality to use its own funds to keep youths working in a summer youth employment program that the state has stopped funding.

John Brancato, manager with Workforce Alliance which coordinates the youth summer work program for thousands of youths in 30 South Central Connecticut towns, said that others may follow East Haven’s lead.

Brancato said a “number of communities may continue to operate smaller programs during the summer with leveraged resources (philanthropic contributions, municipal contributions, etc.).

He said those communities may likely include New Haven, Madison,West Haven, Wallingford, Meriden and Middletown.

One of the towns that already has made the decision to fund the program – at least part of it – itself is East Haven.

Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. said he has told the town’s finance director to re-appropriate $26,000 to ensure that all of the Town's eligible youths have the opportunity to participate in the Town's "2017 Workforce Alliance" program.

The town is going to pay for each participant, to work 10 hours a week, which is a reduction from the 15 hours per week the participants have worked in the past.

Maturo said, "The Town's 'Workforce Alliance' program is a critical resource to our community's youth insofar as it builds work ethic and gives low-income youths the opportunity to build their resumes with safe, constructive jobs.

“For most participants, this program provides a 'first job,' which helps set them apart from others as they seek other employment as they grow older,” Maturo said.

About 5,000 youths are employed in the summer youth program statewide. The state, in the past, has spent $5 million to fund the program. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy had cut funding to $3.5 million in his proposed budget in February, but as the state budget crisis worsened and no budget deal could be reached, he eliminated all funding entirely.