LITTLE ROCK — The state Department of Human Services says it will cut funding to programs aimed at preventing child abuse because of a $2.2 million reduction in federal funding.
The cuts will take effect July 1. They are being made in response to a reduction in the funding the state receives through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, DHS officials said Tuesday.
The agency is confining the cuts to prevention programs so no caseworker positions will have to be eliminated.
“It was not easy for us to give up these programs because we know they have helped thousands of struggling families in Arkansas,” DHS Director John Selig said in a release. “Unfortunately, we have to cut them in order to keep caseworkers who work to ensure the safety and well-being of children.”
DHS plans to eliminate the Human Services Workers in Schools Program, which last year placed workers in 27 school districts and served 15,429 students. The program provides student and family counseling, parent training, crisis intervention and other services to lessen the strain on families and reduce the likelihood of abuse or neglect.
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The agency also plans to eliminate the funding it provides for Family Resource Centers, which served 11,448 students last year. The centers educate parents about child development and appropriate responses to a child’s behavior.
Agency officials said they will reduce funding for the Crimes Against Children Division of the Arkansas State Police, or CACD, and some family support programs.
Last fiscal year, the child abuse hotline run by CACD received more than 50,000 calls and CACD investigated 6,378 abuse cases. The Arkansas State Police will maintain the level of services CACD provides by shifting money from elsewhere in that agency’s budget, DHS officials said.
Making the cuts is “not a decision we are thrilled to make, but we really feel like there is no other better decision,” said DHS spokeswoman Amy Webb.