Mayor Gray’s proposed FY 2012 budget took an important step forward with a balanced approach that included revenue increases in addition to program cuts recognizing that a cuts-only approach would have undermined the critical investments DC has already made to services that make our city a better place to live. However, when it came down to the budget cuts, Mayor Gray’s budget was not the least bit balanced.
Instead, two out of every three dollars cut from the budget were from programs that protect our most vulnerable neighbors and communities. Mayor Gray’s FY 2012 budget proposes to cut another $130 million from human services and other programs that support low-income residents. Although human service programs make up 26 percent of the locally funded budget, they accounted for 67 percent of the Mayor’s cuts.
These severe cuts come in spite of the fact that this area of the budget has been hit hard during the last three years of budget gap closings. In fact, since FY 2008, human services and other low-income programs have been cut by $340 million. These cuts come during an especially difficult time for many DC families as the Great Recession has led to large increases in unemployment, child poverty, and the number of homeless families.
When people lose their jobs and are unable to provide for themselves and their family, it’s not surprising that they turn to the government for help. Yet at the very same time that families needs have risen, the District has for three years now cuts programs that help get families back on their feet. Since 2008, budget cuts have fallen heavily on programs that serve many of the Districts most vulnerable residents. Some of those cuts include:
- Affordable Housing. Funding for the Housing Production Trust Fund, DC’s main source for affordable housing construction and rehabilitation, fell dramatically in the recession ‘ from $73 million in FY 2008, to just over $14 million in FY 2011. The FY 2012 budget proposes to cut $18 million in new revenue from the Trust Fund. This means that little progress will be made on the many housing projects stuck in DC’s development pipeline.
The FY 2012 budget also proposes to begin phasing out part of the Local Rent Supplement Program, the tenant-based side, by not issuing new vouchers when a family turns theirs in. This weakens the strength of DC’s main affordable housing tool for very low-income families, or those making around $30,000 a year for a family of four.
- Cash Assistance for Vulnerable Families. Since 2008, the District has cut cash assistance for low-income grandparents caring for their grandchildren, low-income families with children, and residents with disabilities.
The Grandparent Caregiver program provides cash assistance to low-income grandparents caring for about 700 children. This assistance helps keep children with relatives and out of foster care. In FY 2011, the District cut funding for the Grandparent Caregiver program by one third, reducing assistance by over $200 per month per family. The FY 2012 budget keeps these cuts in place.
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) provides cash assistance and job readiness training to low-income families with children. In FY 2011 TANF benefits were cut by 20 percent — to $342 (28 percent of the poverty line) — for any family that has received assistance for more than 60 months. This is despite the fact that it is widely known that TANF employment services are not adequate and that the District does not have the capacity to serve all eligible families. The FY 2012 budget proposes to cut benefits further for approximately 6,500 families, reducing monthly benefits to just $257 a month.
The Interim Disability Assistance (IDA) program provides $270 a month to residents with disabilities who have no other income and are applying for federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Cuts in recent years have decreased the number served from 2,900 per month in FY 2008 to a 600 this year. The FY 2012 budget officially suspends the program, likely meaning that current IDA participants will continue getting benefits until they receive a final SSI decision, but no new residents will be helped. Over time, the program will end as current participants leave and their IDA slots are permanently closed.
- Emergency Assistance Programs. The Emergency Rental Assistance program (ERAP) helps low-income families with children, elderly residents and residents with disabilities stay in their homes. ERAP provides one-time assistance for overdue rent if a qualified household is facing eviction. In many cases ERAP allows vulnerable families to avoid becoming homeless and is much more cost-effective and humane than emergency shelter. The FY 2012 budget would cut this program down to $2.7 million, a nearly 70 percent cut in the program since FY 2009. This means hundreds of DC families will not have access to available emergency rental assistance.
In order for the District to truly be “one city rising to the challenge”, as the Mayor’s budget calls for, it is critical that the Council take a balanced approach on the budget cuts in addition to balanced approach towards revenue. At the same time that the recession has increased the needs of DC residents, cutting the very services that keep residents afloat will just end up costing the city more in the long-run. We’ll have more on the long-term costs of making these cuts on Friday.
