Local Program for At-Risk Kids Likely to Lose State Funding

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

A program for local at-risk children has been on a roller-coaster ride during the state’s current budget cycle. The ride will end Wednesday.

In 2003, Child Development Resources took over management of Williamsburg’s Comprehensive Health Investment Project (CHIP) program at the request of Williamsburg and James City County. CHIP of Virginia is a non-profit that oversees a network of about 30 local programs focused on improving children’s health and promoting wellness in low-income families. The Williamsburg CHIP program relies on the state, through CHIP of Virginia, for roughly half of its funding.

CHIP of Virginia was slated to lose 46 percent of its state funding next fiscal year in the Governor’s original budget proposal. The General Assembly restored much of the reduction when they passed their budget to the Governor, only to have the change vetoed by the Governor last week. The funding can be restored again only if the House or Senate votes to override the veto when they reconvene Wednesday.

Since CHIP of Williamsburg is one of the smaller organizations to receive funding from the state organization, it could lose all its state funding, which would amount to $152,000. This equates to about half of CHIP of Williamsburg’s budget.

This cut could severely curtail the efforts of the local program, which served 138 children last year, most of whom live below the poverty level. Of those children, 100 percent were immunized, one of the objectives of the program. All the children also got medical insurance and all have a medical home, which mean the families have a doctor to cover the child’s care rather than relying on a hospital emergency room.

The folks at CDR have a champion in state Sen. Tommy Norment, and they’ll be watching closely to see whether the General Assembly manages to salvage CHIPs funding.

Should cuts happen, “Our focus will be serving those who are at highest risk,” Executive Director Paul Scott told WYDaily in January. “It’s heartbreaking – that the high risk seem to suffer the most. But we’ll keep plugging along as best we can.”