Committee ratifies Byrne grant to be passed through to Big Brothers Big Sisters, approves small pretrial and overtime funding

Warren County’s Criminal Justice, Public Safety and Emergency Services Committee voted June 23 to accept a $431,150 Byrne Crisis Intervention Program award from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and to pass those funds through to Big Brothers Big Sisters, while also approving smaller probation budget actions including a $13,140 pretrial services grant and a $1,000 transfer to cover possible overtime.

The Byrne award — applied for in November in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters and neighboring counties — will be administered through the county’s grant contract with the state before funds are contracted to Big Brothers Big Sisters, committee members were told. “It’s gonna increase their footprint tremendously,” a probation representative said, noting the nonprofit’s prevention services and an existing wait list of roughly 200–250 children last year.

The committee also ratified a routine “13‑a classification” pretrial services grant from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services in the amount of $13,140 for the July 25–June term. A probation speaker described that funding as “pretrial services funding that we get from the state. Not a lot of money, but it does help support our pretrial services.”

Separately the committee approved a $1,000 intra-departmental transfer from a regular salary line to an overtime line in the probation budget to cover potential overtime related to staff attending peace officer training. The probation representative explained the transfer was precautionary: new staff in training are building compensatory time that may be difficult to schedule off, so the department wanted an available overtime line rather than requesting funds after the fact.

Committee members asked whether the Byrne award would require ratification by the other participating counties; the probation speaker said the program includes neighboring counties but that they would confirm whether separate local approvals are required. Supervisors also asked how much of the Byrne funding would go directly to program services versus administration; the committee was told the funds are a pass-through and “it goes to the funding for Big Brothers” and that any administrative fees would be minimal.

All three probation items were approved by voice vote. The committee’s action authorizes county staff to finalize the state contract and proceed with local contracting and budget amendments as required.

Details: The Byrne Crisis Intervention Program award is $431,150; the pretrial DCJS grant is $13,140; the probation overtime transfer is $1,000. The Byrne application was previously submitted with a resolution on Nov. 19, 2024, and includes regional partners.