County Seeks Proposals for 2025-2026 Youth Program Funding Bulletin.
Use this link to navigate to the Dutchess County Grant Portal where you can login to an existing account or create a new account: https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=dc. Please only create one account per organization. You should consider using your organization’s general email and a shared password to be used by anyone within your organization who might work on an application within the grant portal, now or in the future.
The Dutchess County Division of Youth Services administers reimbursable grants for the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (NYS OCFS). There is an annual request for Youth Development Program (YDP) funding, Youth Sports and Education Opportunity funding (YSEF), and Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) funding. The program year for this funding runs from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026 (2025-2026). Programs must be free to all youth.
Funded programs are selected through a competitive request for applications process. The Dutchess County Youth Board and Coordinating Council is responsible for reviewing, scoring, and making allocation recommendations to the county executive for grant applications.
Eligible applicants should be either a Dutchess County municipality or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, community-based organization with a federal identification number and tax-exempt number and must be able to meet the county’s insurance requirements. Programs will be required to demonstrate knowledge of and have staff trained in Positive Youth Development. Agencies will also be expected to show how the program addresses one of Dutchess County’s “Path to Promise” domains/value areas: Family/Social Relationships, Learning, Material Basics, Mental Health, Physical Health, or Safety (https://pathtopromise.net/).
Agencies will be expected to:
Grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 will be awarded in the following categories:
Specific funding eligibility requirements are as follows:
Youth Development Programs (YDP): Programs must serve youth under age 21. The program must provide free, direct services designed to improve youth and community outcomes, as outlined in the OCFS-5003 Program Components-Coding Document, Rev. 3/2018; programs must address one of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services’ six life areas, which are: Economic Security, Physical and Emotional Health, Education, Citizenship/Civic Engagement, Family, and Community.
Positive youth development programs strengthen young people’s sense of identity, belief in the future, self-regulation, and self-efficacy as well as their social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral competence. Youth Development Program (YDP) funding targets services that promote safety, supportive relationships, and other positive assets by engaging and empowering youth.
Agencies must use the following required OCFS Life Area and Services, Opportunities, and Supports (SOS) elections:
Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY): RHY services are grounded in the Positive Youth Development framework and focus on supporting and developing healthy relationships to enhance youths’ existing strengths and resiliency, while incorporating youth voice and leadership into programming. Residential RHY crisis services programs are certified by OCFS to provide temporary shelter to runaway and homeless youth under age 18.The goal of RHY crisis services programs is to support a safe reunification of youth with their guardians, where appropriate.
Grant Portal Instructions:
The Dutchess County Grant Portal will open on Tuesday, March 14, 2025. Applications are due by Thursday, April 3, 2025, by 4:00 pm. Late applications will not be accepted for any reason.
Information on eligibility and how to apply is available in the NYS OCFS Grant Application Checklist for Dutchess County Youth Services.
Please refer to the NYS OCFS Grant application checklist (.pdf) (.doc) for helpful information regarding the application process.
Below is the list of documents needed for funding consideration:
For information about how to apply for 2025—2026 YDP, RHY, and YSEF funding please contact: Doreen E. Clifford, Youth Programs Analyst at doreen.clifford@dfa.state.ny.us.
