DOE Substance Abuse Counselors Slam Budget Cuts that Will Gut a
Program Protecting City School Children

Union representing 500 workers in DOE's School-Based
Prevention/Intervention Programs says, "Don't Balance the Budget on Our Backs!"

Albany, N.Y. — Today, several hundred New York City Department of Education substance abuse counselors, who service some 1.1 million school children at 1,400 schools, traveled to Albany to warn lawmakers that proposed state and city budget cuts would gut an important program, put city school children at risk and result in the layoff of some 300 experienced drug counselors.

Over 500 counselors in the DOE school-based Substance and Alcohol Prevention/Intervention Services program (SAPIS), stand between thousands of city children, from elementary to high school, and the negative effects of alcoholism and substance abuse.

Veronica Montgomery-Costa, president of Local 372 of District Council 37, which represents SAPIS workers, said today's Lobby Day was critically important for city school children and their parents, "Children, including those whose parents are touched by physical, emotional and substance abuse and, even homelessness, bring these problems to school. Often they manifest in poor academic performance, disruptive and sometimes violent behavior and substance abuse. SAPIS counselors are trained, vetted and certified by the state to deal with these complex issues. What's more they, generally live in the communities they service. Children often trust them more quickly and for that reason SAPIS workers are well-positioned to help break the cycle of drug abuse in our communities.

"Since 1989, the number of SAPIS has been steadily eroding, despite a constantly growing increase in the population. Today, there is only one SAPIS for ever 2,200 students. Assigning only one SAPIS to cover two or three schools hampers our ability to get the job done," Montgomery-Costa added. "But, even more of a roadblock is the plan by the Office of Substance Abuse and Alcohol Services to slash $2 million from the $19 million SAPIS budget while diverting another $8 million to nonprofit organizations that demand none of the safeguards called for by the DOE."

DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts called the plan deeply flawed. "This is just one more example of an attempt to gut government services," Roberts said. "The plan to downsize SAPIS and contract-out its services is similar to other examples of the unregulated, fiscally irresponsible contracting-out cited in our report, "Massive Waste At A Time Of Need," that describes the shadow government of private contractors and outside consultants that undermine the accountability and transparency people deserve from government."

District Council 37 is New York City's largest public employee union, with 125,000 members and 50,000 retirees.