The state Senate is advancing legislation as part of its budget proposal to restore funding to residential centers for juveniles, including a measure to keep the Auburn Residential Center open.

The legislation was part of the Senate Finance Committee's report completed on Tuesday evening.

This proposal goes against the executive budget, which called for closing five residential centers in the state and reducing the number of beds in a sixth.

The state Office of Children and Family Services has said the centers are underpopulated and have been operating at great expense to the taxpayers.

The Auburn Residential Center, a non-secure facility on Pine Ridge Road for girls from 13 to 17 years old, was informed in January 2008 that it would be closed on Jan. 11, 2009, along with five other facilities in the state. The facility only had two residents in March, and they were scheduled to go home on Wednesday, March 12, when their time was up. The 24-bed facility employs a staff of 25 who will continue to receive their salaries and benefits until the January 2009 deadline.

The Center got caught up in a push by the New York State Public Employees Federation, a union representing 58,000 professional, scientific, and technical employees, which embarked on a publicity campaign that included placing advertising in local papers as well as drafting a letter on its Website to be sent to legislators.

Union officials said the state was manipulating the number of residents at the centers in order to bolster their case.

For more on this story, read Thursday's edition of The Citizen.