Youth Development Programs (YDP): Reimbursable grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 will be awarded to programs that 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. 

Programs will be expected to:

• Serve Dutchess County youth under 21 years of age during the program year October 1—September 30
• Demonstrate knowledge of and have staff trained in Positive Youth Development
• Demonstrate basic competency in the areas of governance, monitoring and evaluation, partnership, and financial stewardship
• Collect registration data, including participant demographic information as required by OCFS in a manner that allows for accurate reporting of anonymized aggregate data

Youth Sports and Education Opportunity Funding (YSEF): Reimbursable grants in the amount of $5,000 to $25,000 will be awarded to programs that aim to foster educational connections and achievement; physical health and well-being; mental health and well-being; employment; and/or community cohesion. To be eligible for YSEF funding, programs must also meet the following criteria: 

• Provide free structured sports activities for Dutchess County youth ages 6-17 years old during the program year October 1—September 30 
• Demonstrate basic competency in the areas of governance, monitoring and evaluation, partnership, and financial stewardship
• Have a child protection policy in place that includes adherence to local city, agency, school district, and state child protections guidelines
• Collect registration data, including participant demographic information as required by OCFS in a manner that allows for accurate reporting of anonymized aggregate data.

Agencies must use the following required OCFS Life Area and Services, Opportunities, and Supports (SOS) elections: 

• Life area: 2PEH Physical and Emotional Health
• SOS: 0232 Year-round/seasonal activities
• Performance measures:
  • How much: 0232A.1—Number of youth participating (unduplicated)
  • How Well: 0232B.4—Percent of youth completing the program
  • Better Off: 0232C.2—Number and percent of youth who attain/or improve on a skill and/or report an increase in knowledge/awareness. 

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. 

Funded programs are selected through a competitive request for application 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. 

Funding is available in reimbursable grant awards from $5,000 to $30,000  for local, community-based organizations and nonprofit youth-serving organizations that provide free team sports opportunities to youth under age 18. For the purposes of this Youth Team Sports (YTS) funding opportunity, a “ ’team sport’ is defined as an organized physical activity in which groups of two or more individuals compete with two or more opposing individuals.” 

Youth Team Sports funding is grounded in the principles of positive youth development. It is intended to provide support to local team sports programs across New York State in communities where such programs may be scarce or under-resourced. YTS has a sole focus on team sports. 

To be eligible for YTS funding, programs must meet the following criteria:

• Provide free team sports activities for Dutchess County youth under age 18 in under-resourced communities during the program year January 1, 2027—September 30, 2027.
• Demonstrate knowledge of and have staff trained in Positive Youth Development.
• Demonstrate basic competency in the areas of governance, monitoring and evaluation, partnership, and financial stewardship.
• Have a child protection policy in place that includes adherence to local city, agency, school district, and state child protections guidelines.
• Collect registration data, including participant demographic information as required by OCFS in a manner that allows for accurate reporting of anonymized aggregate data.

Agencies must use the following required OCFS Life Area and Services, Opportunities, and Supports (SOS) elections:

• Life area: 2PEH Physical and Emotional Health
• SOS: 0232 Year-round/seasonal activities
• Performance measures:
  • How much: 0232A.1—Number of youth participating (unduplicated)
  • How Well: 0232B.4—Percent of youth completing the program
  • Better Off: 0232C.2—Number of youth who attain or improve on a skill and/or report an increase in knowledge/awareness.