Bush budget worries youth agencies

Programs that serve troubled teens are protesting the governor's proposals that would drastically reduce their funding.

By BABITA PERSAUD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 26, 2003

TAMPA -- Ashley Berra, 15, had a few words Tuesday for Gov. Jeb Bush. "Don't do it."

Berra, a former runaway, is a student at the PACE Center for Girls, one of several youth programs facing budget cuts next year.

"I love PACE," Berra said at a news conference at the Children's Board of Hillsborough County. "Every day I walk in the room, they acknowledge me. They say, 'Hello, how are you?' If we lose PACE, a lot of girls will have nowhere to go."

Representatives from PACE and other youth help groups are circulating petitions, phoning state officials in Tallahassee and urging the public to write and e-mail letters to save their programs, which they say help thousands of kids.

"Children can't lobby for themselves," said Luanne Panacek, the Children's Board executive director. "We are their lobby."

In January, Bush proposed what he calls his "tough cuts," many of which target preventive and educational programs. The governor said he prefers to put money into programs that deal directly with public safety -- juveniles who already have committed crimes.

He wants to allocate $5.6-million to repair juvenile detention centers and $2.3-million to open several new facilities, including a 50-bed jail in Okeechobee County for young sex offenders and a 15-bed secure detention in Monroe County.

Child care advocates say this is the wrong approach. They say preventive programs are working, pointing to a lower juvenile crime rate as proof.

"To take away programs that are working will force more teens deeper into the juvenile justice system or out on the streets," Panacek said.

PACE, which currently serves 40 teenagers, would lose $464,000 under Bush's proposed spending plan. That's about two-thirds of its annual budget, said director Nikki Daniels.

Hillsborough County Children's Services would lose about 55 percent of its funding, which would eliminate family counseling programs in Brandon and West Tampa, said Richard Tribunella, the organization's director.

The Tampa Marine Institute is another local program that would be hard hit. Director Michael Thornton said the institute has provided alternative educational services for troubled teens in its 31 years of operation. About 80 students are now enrolled.

If Bush's plan passes, the program will lose $500,000 of its $900,000 budget. "It will totally wipe out our program," he said.

Tim Emerson, 16, a former student, credits the institute with turning his life around.

"They taught me about leadership, helped me with my job, helped me with my education. They helped me get my GED," Emerson said.

Now his aspirations are high.

"I hope to someday join the Coast Guard and become a rescue diver," he said.

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