By Nicole Falco
"It's a very, very difficult decision to make," said Craig Evans, a Salvation Army spokesman, "because it's ingrained in so much of our history ... with our type of history and legacy, to arrive at this decision is excruciating."
Open since 1935, but with roots that can be traced back to 1880 in Brooklyn, when it was a halfway house for women just released from prison, Wayside is set on a 14-acre campus on Dutch Broadway that includes five cottages, a New York City public school building, an administrative building, tennis court, baseball field and handball court. The girls range in age from 12 to 18. About 75 percent are referred to Wayside by New York City, and the rest are from Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. Wayside can offer residence to more than 70 girls.
The girls are referred to Wayside for a number of reasons. The home accepts girls who are judged delinquent by the courts for such trangressions as marijuana possession or subway turnstile jumping, while others have been ordered there by family court because of neglect or abuse at home. Others have been voluntarily signed in by parents who can no longer control them. The girls are offered counseling and rehabilitative services.
Evans said about a half dozen of the girls have already been placed in programs similar to Wayside's, and the rest will be placed by Dec. 1.
"Obviously there is some disruption to their treatment and socialization -- that's one of the regrettable aspects of coming to this decision," Evans said. "There's no easy transition." He said the remaining girls' school, treatment and activity schedules will remain the same until they are transferred.
New York City's Administration for Children's Services (ACS) -- the agency that has referred 75 percent of Wayside's residents -- released a statement saying that it will work with the Salvation Army to relocate the girls.
New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties reimburse the Salvation Army for providing care for the girls they refer. Evans said the Salvation Army spends $175 a day on services for each girl. Last year it spent $166 per girl, but it increased its operating cost to offer more services to the girls, including enhanced security, additional psychotherapy treatment and a full-time director of recreational services. The additional services were suggested by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services in order to bring the program "up to speed," Evans explained.
He said the city was only willing to reimburse the Salvation Army $157 per day per girl, citing a lack of funds. Because most of the girls are referred by the city, the $18 difference per girl could have resulted in a deficit of approximately $500,000 in its $4.5 million operating budget over the course of the fiscal year.
"Just as the city has had to make some difficult choices in this very challenging, fiscally constrained environment, so have those who contract with the city," read the statement released by ACS regarding Wayside's closure.
Evans said the Salvation Army has not decided what it will do with the property. The facility's 87 employees are also being displaced. Evans said the Salvation Army is working with as many as it can to secure them other employment, possibly within the organization.
