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Advocates urge more RHY beds, higher per‑bed rates and baselined housing navigators after testimonies
Summary
Providers and advocates urged the council to baseline funding for peer and housing navigators and raise per‑bed rates for runaway and homeless youth programs, citing operation costs and successful local housing navigation pilots that moved dozens of youth into stable homes.
Advocates and providers who testified during the Children and Youth Committee hearing pressed the city for additional baseline support for runaway and homeless youth (RHY) programming and for higher per-bed rates to cover service costs.
Safe Horizon, Anthos Home and other providers described recent local pilots and navigation programs that helped youth and young adults transition from shelters into stable housing. Anthos Home cited more than 150 youth moved into stable homes since September 2023 and urged the council to fund school-based housing navigation pilots and to baseline funding for peer and housing navigators.
Advocates and providers asked the council to: (1) increase RHY bed rates (many providers are seeking an increase from roughly $50,000/bed to $70,000/bed to account for staffing and program costs); (2) baseline peer navigator and housing navigator funding (advocates asked for specific baselines, for example $1.6M each for baseline navigator staffing across the city); and (3) expedite the RHY RFP so providers have stability and clarity on contracts.
DYCD said it had added 100 beds in the FY26 November plan; 50 were operational at the time of the hearing and the remaining sites were working through OCFS certification and facility approvals. DYCD officials said they are reviewing per‑bed cost assumptions, coordinating with NICHE/NYCHA and working with OMB on procurement timetables.
What’s next: Council members asked DYCD to provide a borough‑by‑borough accounting of RHY beds, a breakdown of older‑versus‑younger‑youth placements and follow‑up on navigator baselining proposals. Advocates asked the council to preserve navigator funding in the final FY27 adoption.
