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Panel makes tough funding choices County Commission grapples over which human service programs to support By JONEL ALECCIA Cutting money for programs that help abused children is nobody's idea of a good time, but the five people seated around the health department conference table have taken on the task. Their thankless job this spring afternoon is to pick which of 16 projects - ranging from high school teen-parent programs to a respite center for children of drug addicts - will receive funding through the Jackson County Commission on Children and Families. This year, requests for general projects to reduce child abuse and neglect total $230,000. That's more than four times the $53,000 in funds actually available for that single goal. "It's a bit like Sophie's choice," said Rebecca Orf, a Jackson County Circuit Court judge who serves on the commission panel. "I actually got a bit angry about it driving here." The dilemma the panel faces is this: Is it more important to grant $15,000 to the Personal Safety Clown program that identifies abused children, or $15,000 to the Children's Advocacy Center, which treats them? Should money go to a county program that ensures prenatal care for at-risk pregnant women, or should it be directed toward recruiting and retaining foster parents who take care of kids removed from homes? "This is our most pressured category," said Carin Niebuhr, the commission director. "We're looking at many fewer resources, very limited resources. That's just the truth." The child-abuse programs are only one of four areas of focus for the commission, which will also award grants to reduce teen alcohol and drug use, target juvenile crime prevention and integrate community systems. All told, requests for funds total nearly $730,000 this year. But only between $368,000 and $424,000 will be available, depending on allocations from the equally cash-strapped state of Oregon, according to Niebuhr. Declining state revenues have forced huge cuts in human services - as well as education, public safety and other state-supported areas. That, combined with a flagging economy, a sagging stock market and the economic aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, has made for lean times everywhere. "You're looking at a whole public/private process that is trying to figure out how to move forward with diminishing funds," said Niebuhr, who also sits on the board of the United Way of Jackson County and the Anna May Family Foundation, a private Medford foundation. "It becomes a scramble for all these diminishing pots." Those scrambling the hardest - private nonprofits that provide services to vulnerable clients - say they feel the frustration most. Community Works of Medford submitted 18 CCF grants, more than any other agency. "We don't dare not go after a quarter-million dollars," said Ed Roussell, the agency's development director. But even multiple submissions don't guarantee success. The Personal Safety Clown program, run by Community Works, helps identify victims of child abuse. Every time a "clown" visits a classroom, reported cases of abuse increase. "It certainly reaches the most kids than anything we've done does," Niebuhr told the panel. Yet the commission panel agreed to grant only $10,000 to the program - $5,000 less than requested and about $7,000 less than it received last year. Panelists appeared to agonize over the funding decisions that finally granted $15,000 to the county Vital Links program, $10,500 to the CASA program that provides advocates for children in court, $7,500 to a pilot program for a respite center run by OnTrack Inc., $5,000 to the Children's Advocacy Center and $5,000 to the county First Steps program. "Are we reducing child abuse? Are we getting long-term impact?" panelist Julie Martinez demanded of the group. Not funded were three Community Works programs targeting abuse and teen-parent programs at three county high schools, among others. In the end, the allocation committee was comforted by the fact that CCF funding isn't the sole support for many programs. "There is some hope the other programs will get money," Niebuhr said. "We're not core funding that you can count on forever, but we're not foundation funding that you get once." Final allocations in all categories will be announced May 6. Orf sighed, clearly relieved as the panel disbanded. "You would think it would be fun to give money away," she said. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.