Legislature adds funds for the disadvantaged

State Senator Mike Barrett reports that the upcoming fiscal year budget includes funds for several programs to help people living in especially difficult circumstances.

One initiative, run by the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps, aims to prevent troubled young people from re-entering the juvenile justice system. Back in May, the Senate first adopted an amendment, offered by Barrett, for $500,000 for the Corps’ Detention Diversion Program.

“Programs that keep kids out of lock up make a difference,” said Sen. Barrett, D-Lexington. Even a short time spent in juvenile detention damages educational and job prospects. RFK provides 24/7 case management for kids while they await trial, including coordination with probation staff, curfew checks, and weekly family check-ins.

“I see the effects of detention on the lives of children all the time,” said Dorchester Juvenile Court Judge Leslie Harris, Ret. “This is the only program in the Massachusetts courts that addresses the problem.”

A second measure adds funds for the Secure Jobs Initiative, which connects low-income parents in homeless shelters and emergency housing to job training and job placement services, including follow-up support for a full year.

“All the hurdles have not been cleared,” Barrett said. “Given the state’s pinched fiscal situation, the money is at some risk of a gubernatorial veto, or even later in the process gubernatorial impoundment. We’ve made great progress. But this is not yet a done deal.”

Barrett said the state budget “still falls short of where we need to be” in terms of help for the most vulnerable. He favors a progressive income tax to boost funding for much-needed services, such as transportation and education. But because instituting a progressive income tax requires a change to the state constitution, the question must first go before voters in 2018.

The Senate budget also includes:

· $4.63B for Chapter 70 education funding, a $116.1M increase over FY 2016 to allow for an increase for every school district;

· $14.1M for local Councils on Aging, increasing the formula grant to $10 per senior per year and strengthening local senior center community programming and services; and

· $139.2M in total funding to fight the opioid epidemic, an increase of $23.6M over FY2016 spending.

Now that the Senate and House have reached an agreement, the budget goes to the Governor’s desk.