Lack of funds means lack of summer jobs for teens

Summer job openings for Long Island teens and young adults have shrunk by more than 1,900 in the public sector this season, compared with last year, because of a precipitous drop in federal and state funding.

In the past week, hundreds of job applicants - 14 and older - have received notice that the $8-an-hour positions they hoped to obtain in early July will not be funded. The notices have jolted students, including many with disabilities, who fear it is now too late to find other employment.

"I was just really disappointed," said Alec DeLise, 14, of Wading River. He had hoped next week to start his first summer job as a custodian's helper in the Shoreham-Wading River school district, but was told last week that funding wasn't available.

Job hopes suffered a major setback Thursday, when the U.S. Senate failed to block a threatened GOP filibuster against a $16-billion federal jobs bill. Along with extended unemployment benefits for adults, the bill would have provided about $1 billion for summer youth jobs. Republicans contended this would add too much to the national debt.

On the Island, the bill's defeat translates into the loss of $4.2 million in federal workforce "stimulus" money, which was used last summer to provide temporary jobs for an estimated 1,330 teens and young adults. Employers included school districts and municipalities, as well as nonprofit agencies.

State and regional officials describe the losses as substantial, not only because they represent as much as 12 percent of total youth employment on the Island, but also because much of the federal and state money is earmarked for adolescents who have disabilities or come from low-income families.

"The federal money from a year ago helped keep many of our youngsters off the streets and out of trouble," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. "Without these funds, there is concern as to how our youth will productively occupy their time."

Ana-Maria Hurtado, commissioner of Hempstead Town's Department of Occupational Resources, says her agency expects to provide about 50 jobs for adolescents this July, compared with 350 last year.

Teens are especially hard-hit now, Hurtado notes, "because they're competing with all those adults who are unemployed."

Additional summer jobs are being lost in another federal program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which also funnels money through states. Funds provide youth employment, along with housing and other necessities for families in financial distress.

This year, Albany is cutting the program's summer jobs money to $15.5 million, from $35 million last year. Aides to Gov. David A. Paterson, a Democrat, say cuts are essential because the state must meet rising costs in other forms of public assistance.

On the Island, these reductions mean a potential drop of more than 50 percent in 1,060 youth jobs provided through the program last summer. Directors of summer programs say losses cannot be counted in numerical terms alone.

"I think it's terrible," said Glenn Kobrin, a special-education staffer in Shoreham-Wading River, who has recently told 10 applicants he has no work for them. "This cuts jobs from those who need it, not just for the money, but also to show they can be successful."