Financial Problems Plague Youth and Family Services in Westbrook, Connecticut

WESTBROOK - When it comes to youth and family services for two shoreline towns, it's the tale of two cities.

In Old Saybrook, a town with a $32 million budget, approximately $528,000 is appropriated to the Youth and Family Services Department in salaries for its ten employees and operating expenses.

Old Saybrook's agency, one of the oldest in the state, is municipally funded.

In Westbrook, a town with a $22 million budget, only $57,500 goes toward the three staff member Youth and Family Services agency, a non-profit organization which started in 2001.

Westbrook Youth and Family Services Executive Director Jonathan Dean said the agency is only one of nine non-profit organizations in Connecticut.

Most Youth and Family Service non-profit organizations serve multiple towns, such as Tri-Town Youth and Family Services, which serves residents in Deep River, Chester, and Essex.

Dean wrote in a Jan. 15 letter to selectmen that "grant monies from our traditional grantors has either been declined or severely reduced this year, individual corporations are down drastically due to the current economy, (and) corporate giving is down this year."

The letter requested the Board of Selectmen make a $15,000 appropriation to ensure that the agency could stay open for the rest of this fiscal year.

That request was approved at a January Board of Selectmen meeting and Dean is optimistic that this could mean more funds in the future for the cash-strapped agency.

Dean said the agency is requesting $165,000 for Fiscal Year '08-'09 which "would still fall short of what other Youth and Family Services receive in other towns."
Youth and Family Services uses its finances to pay for preventive services which saves money in the long-run, Dean said, adding that while the agency primarily services Westbrook residents, it also has a community clinical program for children with autism.

Currently, the agency handles between 60 and 70 family cases a week and offers individual, group, and family therapy in addition to its clinical services, emergency social services, and after-school programs.

"It's not our job to duplicate services already in town," Dean said, adding that the town is lucky to have Rich Annino as Director of the Parks and Recreation Department which hosts programs that usually are hosted by a town's Youth and Family Services Department.

Dean also points to the Valley-Shore Y.M.C.A. as another valuable resource for programming.

Four interns, who have obtained bachelor's degrees and are working on their master's degrees, work at the town's public schools, and while their supervision costs $7,500, Dean said it is a good deal since hiring comparable staff would cost between $80,000 and $120,000 a year.

To do its part, the agency has three large fundraisers a year which generates between $40,000 and $45,000, Dean said.

First Selectman Noel Bishop said that it's difficult to speculate how much the town will appropriate for the agency for next year.

"Nobody questions the great importance and integrity of this high-profile agency that performs a tremendous amount of professional service," Bishop said.

Dean said that there is talk that the town could grant rent abatement to the agency which pays $900 a month for its space in the Riggio Municipal Building.
Bishop said several other organizations, such as Domestic Violence Valley Shore, also pay rent based on the space they use.

At the Feb. 7 Board of Selectmen meeting, Board of Finance Chair Paul Connelly said that two years ago there was real concern whether the building would be a revenue generator for the town and said "this history can't be ignored."

In fact, at that time, some residents asked about selling the building and the field behind it to create more revenue for the town.

Bishop said it is "safe to say that the agencies cover the cost to maintain the building" and that rent abatement is a "significant policy decision" since it could be granted on a permanent basis that could apply to all entities in the building.