Suffolk Welfare to Work Commission created to assist the poor to dissolve by end of the month

A Suffolk County advisory commission formed 22 years ago to help lawmakers craft policies that assist people on public assistance in finding employment will expire at the end of the month, despite objections from its members.

The Welfare to Work Commission — a 20-member panel representing a wide range of nonprofits and community agencies — will dissolve at the end of December after lawmakers failed to file a resolution to extend its term.

Richard Koubek, chairman of the commission, and several other speakers urged lawmakers to reconsider during Tuesday’s Seniors & Human Services Committee meeting.

“This makes no sense,” Koubek told lawmakers. “No member of the legislature informed us we would not be reauthorized.”

In a later interview, he called the decision “absurd” and vowed to continue pressing legislators.

Koubek and Ayesha Alleyne, the commission’s vice chair, sent a Dec. 5 letter to members of the legislature defending its mission, reciting some of its accomplishments and urging the body to reconsider so it can “continue making its important contributions to the Legislature and to the people of Suffolk County, especially the County’s too often overlooked, struggling low-income residents.”

Outgoing Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) said in an interview that lawmakers may revisit the commission’s mission next year and “try to come up with something that’s more relevant in today’s world.”

“Maybe they should work on some other mission that could be helpful to the residents of the county,” he said, adding that the panel appeared to be working on “different things” unrelated to its welfare-to-work focus.

Commission members, who are unpaid, defended their work, saying services like vocational training, securing housing and childcare can help people on public assistance obtain and keep jobs.

Legis. Jason A. Richberg (D-West Babylon), the minority leader, said in an interview some lawmakers want to see the commission continue but "it's just a matter of how we do it."

Legis. Rebecca L. Sanin (D-Huntington Station) said she and Richberg are having “active discussions” on ways the legislature can continue to be advised by the nonprofit experts.

“So while we might need to restructure the way that we’re being advised, the voices that make up the commission — the nonprofit entities that do this work every day — are critical voices for us in the legislature as policymakers," she said.

Last December, the legislature reauthorized the commission for one year. At the time, Legis. Trish Bergin (R-East Islip), who chairs the Seniors & Human Services Committee, questioned the commission for presenting a report on housing, which she said strayed from its “welfare to work" mission. She said specific data on welfare-to-work outcomes had not been provided.

Bergin declined to comment Tuesday.

The commission submitted its annual report in March, noting its top priority “is addressing the critical shortage of affordable housing for low-income Suffolk residents which is a major barrier to self-sufficiency for public assistance clients leaving welfare for work.”

The report noted 536 Suffolk County Department of Social Services cases were closed in 2024, of which 266 were clients who transitioned from welfare to work. Another 270 cases were closed due to a client receiving "unearned income" such as Social Security disability income.

Sandra Thomas, who was representing Our Lady of the Miraculous Meda Church’s Roundtable for the Common Good, which advocates for the needs of the poor, told lawmakers the commission has “continuously been advocates for the poor and the voice of the poor to the county.”

Linda Hassberg, a former commission member, said the board’s work “has been exemplary.”

By Joe Werkmeister

joe.werkmeister@newsday.com

Joe Werkmeister joined Newsday in 2022 and covers Suffolk County government and politics. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.

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