Last week’s DC Council committee “mark-ups” resulted in increased funding for programs that will help residents make ends meet and that will support the healthy development of children, including housing, afterschool programs, and health and nutrition for young children.
During mark-ups, each Council committee gets a chance to change the proposed funding for agencies and programs they oversee. But any increase in funding has to be paid for by cutting other programs or otherwise finding savings or untapped revenue sources.
The committee mark-ups are an important part of the budget process, but not the end! The mark-up results are sent to the Council for consideration at its vote on the full budget, which will take place on May 27th. Further changes to the budget could occur at that point.
Below is a summary of some of the major committee changes that affect low- and moderate-income residents.
Health and Human Services
- Funding was also identified to restore nearly $2 million for grants to afterschool and summer programs for youth through the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation.
- The Council identified $500,000 to provide emergency shelter and family reunification services to parenting/pregnant teens under the age of 18. It also provided $100,000 to add a staff position to the Interagency Council on Homelessness to implement its new Strategic Plan to end long-term homelessness. The ICH currently has just one full-time staff member despite its critical role.
- The Council committed $1.3 million for teen pregnancy prevention and $500,000 to provide housing for people with AIDS.
Housing and Community Development
- The Council added $650,000 to provide long-term housing for formerly homeless individuals. This will help about 50 people through a new program called Targeted Affordable Housing. An additional $1.65 million is needed to fully fund this part of the Strategic Plan to end long-term homelessness.
- An additional $450,000 was allocated to the Office of the Tenant Advocate for two new staff positions. They will work to prevent illegal construction projects and to better enforce tenant protection laws.
Education
- $3.3 million to restore the Healthy Tots program that was eliminated in the mayor’s budget. This program helps early childhood centers provide more nutritious meals and snacks, use locally grown food, and strengthens standards for physical activity at these centers.
- $694,000 to restore cuts to some school budgets within DC Public Schools.
- $266,000 to expand the Community Schools program to an additional site and to evaluate the program’s effectiveness.
- $1.6 million for an early literacy grant program focused on reading intervention services between pre-kindergarten and the third grade.
- $451,000 to the DC Public Library to fund the Books from Birth Act.
- $900,000 to support DC Public Library collections.
- $2 million to increase the allotment public charter schools receive for their facilities.
- The Education Committee added a requirement that the Public Charter School Board submit an annual report on how “at-risk” funds are used by individual charter schools.
Workforce Development
- The Council provided $500,000 to establish a Career Pathways Innovation Fund, to begin testing and expanding new models to blend adult literacy and occupational training. The Council added $1.5 million for FY 2017 and subsequent years to design, pilot, and to implement effective programs that create adult career pathways and to improve the performance of adult education and training programs.
Legal and Domestic Violence Services
- The Council provided an additional $1,000,000 to the Access to Justice Initiative which provides civil legal services (such as housing) for underserved communities.
- The Council restored $133,000 to the District’s Domestic Violence Hotline and added funding to the Office of Victim Services for grants to support victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, homicide, child abuse, assault, and neglect. The Council also directed $719,000 to expand emergency shelter and crisis intervention services to victims of domestic violence.
Stay tuned for more budget updates in the District’s Dime!
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