Quiah, heading up study

POUGHKEEPSIE – Development Without Limits, a group specializing in helping organizations that work with children outside the classroom, kicked off its Youth Census program in Poughkeepsie on Monday.

The program is set up to ascertain how many youth organizations the city has, which ones need funding and what additional programs are necessary.

According to Mayor John Tkazyik, the 2010 budget was amended to include the $38,000 necessary to bring the group in to help the city determine what services the city provides through the recreation department, police juvenile division and through the community development block grant funding.

“A lot of the after school programs are being scaled back or cut,” said Tkazyik, “We don't have a youth center in the City of Poughkeepsie so we really want to understand what programs are out there. There are a lot of hidden secrets out there.”

Development Without Limits hopes to get their final report done by November, according to Senior Consultant Samuel Quiah and will begin visiting sites for different programs starting in June.

“So we want to know how programs are surviving through this recession. What funding streams are they receiving and how can we open up the funding lanes a little bit to get them more support down the road.” said Quiah.

Reading, math and science are among the programs the group hopes to help.