The Herald News - Sen. Warren Tells CFC Staff to Brace for a Fight Over Budget Cuts

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By Jo C. Goode

Sen. Elizabeth Warren told the staff at Citizens for Citizens Inc. she was meeting with them today so she can bring back their stories to her Republican colleagues in Washington, D.C., who want to slash funding in fiscal 2016 for the social programs that Massachusetts families depend on.

Warren visited CFC to participate in a roundtable discussion that included the agency's department heads, clients, Mayor Sam Sutter and state Rep. Carole Fiola.

"You're doing the hard, on-the-ground work. It is important you have a good federal partner, and that means the kind of resources that come from the federal government that enables you to do your work," said Warren. "I wanted to talk about the program that you are involved in, partly because I am very worried about the Republican budget that has been proposed in the United States Congress."

Reading from a list of proposed cuts, Warren said the Republicans would slash $600 billion from income security programs, including nutrition assistance that would put the SNAP program in jeopardy. It would also cut funding for heating assistance program that helps 183,000 families in the state stay warm, she said, and eliminate Head Start services for 400,000 children in need, as well as family-planning programs.

"I want to bring attention to this, because this is a budget that would hurt real people here in Massachusetts," Warren said. "It will hurt our economy, it will hurt our communities, but it will hurt families -- and hurt families with children the most."

Pamela Wildnauer, director for CFC's Head Start and Early Head Start programs, said her program helps 445 of the community's most vulnerable children. She said there are, at times, as many children on a waiting list to get into the Head Start program as are being served.

"More funding is so important," Wildnauer said. "We haven't had any quality improvement funds given to our program from the federal government since 2009."

The last time the program received a cost of living increase, it was .013 percent, Wildnauer said. However, the federal government has given them mandates like requiring teachers to hold a bachelor's degree who earn $15 an hour. Many on staff are eligible for the services provided at CFC because of the low wages, she said.

CFC's Director of Family Planning Lynda Sampson said the program serves 3,000 clients and has been able to lower teen pregnancy in Fall River from the fourth-highest in the state to "much, much lower," despite the struggles with funding.

Andrea Kearns told Warren that she was "a benefactor of this wonderful place" and when circumstances in her life changed, CFC was there for her with services.

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