Rally backs children’s programs

More than 100 people rallied on Tuesday in support of two prominent programs that serve hundreds of abused and neglected children in Eastern Washington but will face significant state funding cuts next month.

At Partners with Families and Children, a Spokane center that specializes in the care of children exposed to drugs and domestic violence, representatives of law enforcement, local government and the medical community spoke at the center in support of the two programs.

“The big story is that Spokane’s leaders took time out for this little program,” said Mary Ann Murphy, executive director of the center.

Officials with the state Children’s Administration proposed that the center’s next six-month contract, which begins on Jan. 1, be reduced to $142,000 – a 54 percent cut. The agency also proposed eliminating $72,000 a year for the Martin Luther King Family Outreach Center in southeast Spokane.

Ken Kraft, regional administrator for the Department of Children and Family Services, said the agency was forced to make the cuts because its regional budget has been reduced by nearly $6 million in the past two years.

“I realize there are some cuts, and they are painful,” Kraft said.

He said the contract with Partners specifies that it serve 15 to 25 children a month. Murphy said her nonprofit has used the state funding to leverage support from private medical centers, as well as the federal and local government. That allows Partners to serve hundreds of children each year, Murphy said.

“We will treat as many kids as we have the capacity for,” Murphy said.

The Martin Luther King Jr. center, a nonprofit that serves 1,200 families and children each year, will lose about $72,000 a year, according to executive director Austin DePaolo. The 35-year-old center, formerly the Southeast Youth Center, provides before school and after school programs for children, as well as educational programs for adults. DePaolo said the center will remain open despite the cuts.

State officials are reviewing thousands of contracts held by the Children’s Administration, which overspent its budget last year by an estimated $12 million. Last spring, Gov. Christine Gregoire criticized the agency’s fiscal management.

In a letter to the agency, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, expressed concern about the funding cut and said she believed the budget crisis had been resolved last spring.

“I do not believe the Legislature anticipated further service cuts were needed to close budget gaps,” Brown wrote.