City leaders, advocates and formerly incarcerated organizers packed a Brooklyn forum on Thursday to press Albany to move hundreds of millions of dollars tied to the state's "Raise the Age" rollout into community programs that work with young people at risk of gun violence. They warned that outreach teams, peer mentors and violence interruption programs are stretched thin just as shootings involving children climb. Speakers argued the money could help scale what they described as proven local work instead of sitting unused in state accounts.
At the forum, held at a community space in Boerum Hill, Department of Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards, the first formerly incarcerated person to lead the agency, praised community workers for building the relationships that keep young people out of the system. "What they do is develop trusting relationships that express to young people that you are loved, you are not thrown away by us, like, that’s not happening," Richards said. Organizers and city officials also cited police data showing 29 people under 18 have been shot so far this year in New York City, and argued that redirecting Raise the Age money into community grants would put resources where they are needed most, as reported by The City.
Most state cash still sitting on the shelf
State budgets have set aside recurring sums for Raise the Age implementation, but much of that pot has not reached community groups. A May 2025 analysis from the Office of the State Comptroller found the state had appropriated $1.71 billion through State Fiscal Year 2025, including $1.55 billion in local aid, yet had disbursed only about $658.8 million by the end of SFY 2025. The comptroller's data show the annual "Aid to Localities" line has been $250 million since 2019, but approved county plans and the timing of reimbursements have left large sums idle.
Why New York City cannot tap the cash
To qualify for reimbursements, counties must adhere to the state property tax cap or be granted a hardship waiver, and the comptroller report notes that "New York City does not participate in the State’s RTA reimbursement program." The Office of the State Comptroller explains that this requirement has left the city outside the reimbursement stream that many counties use to pay for probation, detention and some youth services. Advocates at the forum said that structural gap is why a dedicated grant pathway would be needed to get money to New York City programs.
Advocates want an annual $50 million grant pot
Speakers and several lawmakers are proposing that the state carve roughly $50 million a year out of the existing Raise the Age appropriation and create a grant program that city organizations could apply to directly. The idea, often described as a Youth Justice Innovation Fund, would let trusted local providers apply for up front grants instead of fronting costs and waiting for reimbursement. That proposal appears in budget priority materials circulated by groups such as Families Together in New York State.
Where the money has gone so far
Watchdogs and reporting show that when money has been disbursed, a large share reimbursed counties for probation, placement and detention costs rather than prevention programming. In many of the state's highest arrest counties, reviewers found approved plans that funneled the bulk of approved spending toward placement and detention instead of community based alternatives. That pattern has been documented in reporting by The Imprint and cited by several advocacy groups.
Supporters say success will require action during budget negotiations or new legislation to create the grant track and change reimbursement rules that have frozen money out of city programs. Advocates and community providers will be watching Albany this spring to see whether lawmakers and the governor will revise the rules so local organizations can access the funds they say are needed to keep young people safe.
