Spending billions of dollars to put out the fires of family distress is simply not enough – we only need to look at the current state of affairs to know this.
In order to support this theory, FSI undertook a comprehensive analysis of New Jersey’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget. The study was led by Cynthia Lamy, PhD, author of “American Children in Chronic Poverty: Complex Risks, Benefit-Cost Analyses, and Untangling the Knot.”
The study found that out of $7 billion of state funding, 90% was spent on crisis and distress-related activities and programs for vulnerable children, youth and families – money spent on people already in trouble. Just 10% of that funding was invested into prevention and family support services success, in order to provide families with opportunities to thrive in the future.
This important study is meant to inform stakeholders, decision-makers and the public about the critical need for the transformational shift in policy, funding and action that FSI advocates, in order to better support the futures of our children, youth and families. FSI will continue to analyze state funding for family success.
You can read the full study here.