Suffolk County turns down effort by six youth service nonprofits to win back funding

Suffolk County lawmakers rejected a last-ditch effort to restore funding to six nonprofits that provide youth services, ending a monthslong process that has bewildered the organizations' leaders.

Members of the county’s Budget and Finance Committee on Tuesday voted against six resolutions to restore funding — ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 — to the nonprofits, whose defunded services centered on career training and mentorship programs largely focused in minority communities. The reimbursement grants totaled just over $107,000.

Legislators in April voted down a resolution that combined the nonprofits into one bill. County officials have said the funding has been reallocated to organizations that better meet the needs of youth, such as mental health programming, and some legislators have alleged that certain nonprofits violated their contracts.

Leaders of the nonprofits told Newsday on Tuesday that the county has not communicated any specific issues in the months they have sought feedback to potentially correct any oversights. Some said they’ve ramped up fundraising efforts to close the gap in lost funding, while others said services will be scaled back.

Legis. Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon), the minority leader, introduced separate resolutions for each nonprofit after the April vote to alleviate concerns some legislators had expressed about voting on them collectively.

But on Tuesday, the discussion still centered on the nonprofits as a collective, he said. "It’s moving the goalposts," Richberg said in an interview.

Legis. Steven Flotteron (R-Brightwaters), who chairs the budget committee, said during the meeting that he believes there were "multiple violations to the contract" for some nonprofits.

Sylvia Diaz, the deputy county executive for Health, Human Services and Education, told committee members the county is "about ready to publish" an approximately 400-page needs-based assessment report for "determining where best to serve the community."

Legis. Trish Bergin (R-East Islip) said some organizations have used funds for purposes other than what’s stated in their contract, and asked Diaz if it was correct to say the county was taking money from people "who are ill-equipped, in our opinion, to manage funds."

"In some instances, that is the case," Diaz responded.

Dafny Irizarry, president of the Long Island Latino Teachers Association — which lost $22,385 — said in an email Tuesday that she met with Diaz last week and was assured her organization did not have irregularities. She called the latest decision "an arbitrary and capricious action."

Tijuana Fulford, executive director of the Butterfly Effect Project in Riverhead — which lost $10,109 — said she’s "disappointed" about the process and lost funds. She said there’s confusion because her organization still receives other county funding.

"You can’t praise me on one hand and tell me how incredible I’m doing and the next hand, take my funding," she said.