Advocate to restore funding for the Children's Center of Nassau County Family Court

Name: _________________________________

Address: _________________________________

City/State: _________________________________


August 2, 2011

NYS Senator Jack Martins
NYS Assemblyman Chuck Lavine
NYS Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel

Dear Local Legislators:

In 2011 Governor Andrew Cuomo cut one-third of its funding for the Children’s Center at Nassau County Family Court that is operated by North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center. The Guidance Center pledged to keep the Children Center open and fully operative by raising funds ($28,000) from community supporters to keep it alive this year. They achieved their goal. However, if the funds are not restored by the State in 2012 the Children’s Center is in danger of closing to these budget cuts.

According to the New York State Unified Court System, the Children’s Center at Nassau County Family Court is rated among the top utilized Center’s in New York State.

The Children’s Center as Nassau County Family Court offers:
 A quality drop-in child-care services, for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years, while their parents attend to court business; and
 A place where families can learn about and gain access to vital services.

Here are the facts:
 In 2010, the Children’s Center took care of almost 2200 children;
 The Children’s Center was accessible to all families seeking to use the Center 99.5% of the time;
 Ninety-nine percent of families utilizing the Children’s Center have a household income of less than $25,000 dollars annually; and
 The Children’s Center provides a literacy-rich environment for children; it distributed more than 26,000 free books to children, since 2006, as a part of the federal Reading is Fundamental Program.

The result of curtailing this service is:

 Increased stress for at-risk children and their families;
 Decreased family court efficiency; and
 Reduced access to legal services for women.

The Children’s Center at Nassau County Family Court is the only Children’s Center on Long Island that has not had its funding cut by 100% and the only Children’s Center in New York State that did not reduce its days and hours of operation.

We need your help to restore this funding in 2012 and to save the Children’s Center at Nassau County Family Court. We are counting on you!

Sincerely,