Central Islip Needs Statement

July 12, 2012

Written by: Marcos Maldonado, Director
Development, Mentoring Partnership of L.I.

Central Islip A Community in Demand for Services

The community of Central Islip, NY, centrally located on Long Island, has a long history as a
working class community, whose residents struggle to keep ends met and where children deal with
adverse conditions on their way growing up towards adulthood. Central Islip today is a multiracial,
multicultural, diverse community of nearly 35,000. Residents who call Central Islip their home are 52%
Hispanic in origin, 25% Black, and 19% White, according to the 2010 population counts from the U.S.
Census Bureau. These distributions differ significantly from the state-wide averages of 17.6%, 15.9%,
and 58.3%, respectively. Central Islip is also home to a disproportionate number of non-English
speakers. A majority (52.8%) of residents speak a language other than English in the home. This is in
stark comparison to the 29.2% state average. Culturally speaking, the case can be made to refer to Central
Islip as a Melting Pot of cultures, practices and ideals. From an international perspective, these can be
promising statistics. However, according to data from the Census Bureau, the NYS Report Card for the
Central Islip Union Free School District, the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, the Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Town of Islip Data, and research from the National Council
on Crime and Delinquency, and the Children of Promise Foundation, refer to Central Islip as a
community where children live without parents due to incarceration, communication is difficult due to
cultural and linguistic differences, youth crime is high and prevalent, school performance continues to not
meet the needs of its students, and families struggle to eat due to economic factors including low-wages
and unemployment. The socioeconomic picture presented by these findings depict generations of youth
who are at-risk for poor decision-making and bad consequences as a result.
Youth in Central Islip are predominately Hispanic and Black in origin, and according the latest
NYS Report Card, are not being served adequately by their school district. In the districts 2011 report,
the school district was cited as not making adequate performance gains with both Hispanic and Black
students with respect to English/Language Arts and Math, and graduation rates. The report also states
that the Central Islip Union Free School District (CIUFSD) graduated 61% of Hispanic students, and 68%
of Black students, which is significantly lower than the state-wide average of 80%. The Central Islip
Union Free School District graduated 55% of its students with disabilities or other special education
requirements. This fact is especially concerning given that according to a report from the Office of
Children and Family Services; Central Islip has among the highest number of children (41) in foster care,
and the 2011 NYS Report Card Financial Supplement; Central Islip UFSD spends nearly three times
($72,507 versus $26,888) the state average on educating youth with disabilities or other special education
requirements. Hispanic and non-English speaking students are especially vulnerable; in addition to a
majority not making adequate yearly progress in the aforementioned subject areas, more than a quarter of
the student population is designated as limited English Proficient. This disproportionately high number of
limited English speakers hinders educational remediation attempts.
Central Islip youth do not complete high school in large numbers. According to the NYS Report
Card, 632 Students entered into the district at 9th grade, with 318 completing high school. Moving to
another district could be one determining factor for the nearly 50% drop-off, but with Suffolk County
reporting 148 non-completers from grades 9-12 and the NYS Report Card reporting 42 non-completing
seniors alone, this number is an accurate representation of a huge fall-off. Graduation from high-school is
an important and necessary step in the growth and development of Central Islip youth, and can lead to
greater financial outcomes for the individual and a better quality of life for all residents. As of 2010 only
72% of Central Islip residents have a high school diploma or greater, which is below the state average of
84%. Currently the per-capita income for a resident of Central Islip is $21,925, with a large
number (15%) living below the poverty line, and is twice the county average Additionally the 15 year
old male and female youth are the most impacted by these lack of funds in Central Islip. Over 25% of the
individuals are living under the poverty line, and more than 50% of the youth living below the poverty
line are 15 years of age. The per-capita income is more than $9,000 less than their state-wide counterpart,
and equates to about $800/month less of disposable income for that individual. Over a ten year
comparison, the average resident in Central Islip will have $90,000 less in purchasing power to help drive
the local economy. In total, according to Outreach House research, there are over 3,500 persons living in
poverty in Central Islip.
Central Islip youth are also disproportionately in risky home environments, and are being arrested
more than similar communities of their size. For years Central Islip has lead Suffolk County in a number
of negative youth indices, and this year is no different. The Outreach House, an alcohol and drug
rehabilitation facility in Brentwood NY reports in its research that there are over 1000 (1031 as of 2009)
single-parent households in Central Islip, one of the highest numbers in all of suburban New York
State. A report from the Suffolk County Youth Bureau titled Indices of Youth Needs in Suffolk County
designates youth in Central Islip as some of the highest impacted youth in the entire county. Currently,
Central Islip either leads or is in the top three of the following negative indices; Temporary Assistance
Cases (TANF) (405), reported cases of child abuse and maltreatment (399), juvenile offences (118), JD
cases on probation (15), and Persons In Need of Supervision (PINS) (7). These findings support data
from the NY Division of Criminal Justice Services that suggest that minority youth are arrested almost
twice as often as whites, are six times likelier to be detained awaiting trial and are five times likelier to be
confined to custody afterward. Gang affiliation and participation within the middle school and high
school cohort has been documented and reported both anecdotal and structurally. According to the
Indices of Youth Needs, Central Islip youth account for 17% of all gang-related robberies. High-profile
murders and arrests have brought Central Islip to the forefront of comprehensive gang control. Currently,
a number of local elected state senators and other elected officials are working on gang legislation that
will directly deal with the documented gang-related issues of Central Islip. These gang-related issues do
not stop only with the youth. There are many youth in Central Islip who have incarcerated
parents. According to the Children of Promise Organization; children with parents who are incarcerated
are an invisible population. While there are more than 105,000 minor children with a parent in the New
York State jail and prison systems, there is no information collected on them in a systematic fashion and
there are no public policies or government agencies in place to address their needs. Neither the police, nor
the criminal court system routinely inquire at the time of arrest or at sentencing whether a prisoner has
children.
The Central Islip community is in high need of a comprehensive program that will keep children
safe, keep them educated and fed, and provide them with healthy, non-risky choices that will empower
their lives, make them more productive and better earning adults, and create an attachment to their
community that will encourage them to reinvest in, live with, and mentor other youth from the
community. The youth of Central Islip are in demand for a set of programs which will put them on parity
with their state-wide counterparts, and provide them with a path they could follow towards success. The
community itself requires a program that will help lower drop-out rates, reduce the amount of youth
precipitated crimes, elevate Central Islip out of the negative indices in which they lead, and promote
positive living.

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