Greenwich’s Kids in Crisis blasted by funding cuts

Kids in Crisis Executive Director Shari Shapiro Kids in Crisis Executive Director Shari Shapiro Photo: / Contributed Photo Photo: / Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Greenwich’s Kids in Crisis blasted by funding cuts 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Kids in Crisis, a non-profit organization based in Cos Cob that provides emergency shelter and other services to young people in need, is facing a major budget shortfall following the latest round of state budget cuts.

The organization has put out an appeal following the loss of its state contract expiring Nov. 20, totaling $750,000. The facility lost $900,000 in state aid three years ago.

The most recent loss comes at a time when demand for the organization’s services is growing.

“It’s really quite very alarming,” said Kids in Crisis Executive Director Shari Shapiro. “A loss of funding means we may have to reduce the number of beds. And we’re at 80 percent capacity right now. It may mean we’re turning children away, which we’ve never had to do.”

The Cos Cob facility has 20 beds for short-term stays. The state also cut funding to a facility in Stratford.

“This cancellation of the Kids in Crisis contract has effectively eliminated all state-supported beds south of New Haven,” according to Shapiro. Young people in need of immediate assistance could have to go to facilities upstate.

Gov. Dannel Malloy cut $63.4 million from the Department of Social Services in the budget, and more cuts have followed, impacting Kids in Crisis and other service providers.

Benjamin Barnes, the governor’s budget director, defended the cuts in state social-service spending as a necessity.

“The budget contains difficult, but necessary choices,” he said of the state’s spending plan and the modifications it made to the Department of Children and Families.

In recent years, the state’s agency for kids facing troubled homes has focused on moving them in with relatives, and out of residential programs.

Shapiro said the need for emergency beds was clearly evident in the number of kids who come through the doors in Cos Cob. “Every day, every couple of days, we have kids coming in,” she said, and the facility is now housing a 1-year-old and a 17-year-old, along with children in between.

Most of the agency’s funding comes from the private sector — about 60 percent. Government support totals about 37 percent with United Ways providing the rest. Shapiro said the organization is looking at restoring state funding through legislative measures, as well as ramping up efforts to raise private donations.

“We can’t let kids be out on the streets or stay in a crisis situation,” she said.

After an emergency stay in Cos Cob, kids are routed to other family members or foster care or residential programs. Kids in Crisis in Greenwich also offers counseling and other programs for young people facing domestic abuse, homelessness and other severe difficulties. It serves the communities of Fairfield County.

A local supporter of Kids in Crisis, Joe Kaliko, said he was disturbed by the latest cuts.

“There is more than just budget cuts going on here. Different philosophies on care and even politics are muddying the water. And kids will suffer,” he said.

According to Kids in Crisis, the agency provided more than 3,000 bed-nights of emergency shelter for Fairfield County children in the past year, an increase of 16.5 percent from the previous year.

In the past year, the agency responded to 900-plus calls to its emergency hotline (203-661-1911), and served more than 6,000 children and families, according to Shapiro.

Robert.Marchant@scni.com