Budget Proposal Harmful to Nation’s Disadvantaged

Social workers oppose cuts and reductions that hurt their clients

WASHINGTON – Just as the nation’s most vulnerable populations will suffer from the FY 2006 budget bill that President George W. Bush signed yesterday, such families and communities will face even greater obstacles to care and services if President Bush’s FY 2007 budget is passed.  With 37 million people in the United States living in poverty, the proposed budget severely reduces or cuts essential services to those who need them the most.

“Social workers strive each day to provide resources and services to our clients, many times the most vulnerable among us,” says Dr. Elizabeth Clark, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).  “Cutting or limiting funding for such important programs is a great concern to social workers and our clients.”

NASW, representing more than 153,000 professional social workers, is opposed to several of the proposals in President Bush’s FY 2007 budget, since the reduction or lack of funding for these and other programs will negatively affect clients and the services social workers can provide for their clients:

• The Child Welfare Program Option could limit services to more than 500,000 children in the child welfare system.  By creating a block grant for child welfare services, states would be required to fill the gap in funding that was previously fulfilled by the federal government, putting much needed services for children at risk.
• Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act’s (CAPTA) community-based prevention grants are tagged for a $1 million decrease.  This is an unfortunate cut considering that states report that 43 percent of confirmed victims of child maltreatment do not receive needed services to remediate the negative consequences of abuse and neglect.
• According to the Head Start Association, the proposed budget for Head Start could result in the equivalent of closing enrollment to at least 19,000 children in fiscal year 2007. This budget leaves some services to children and families without the resources needed to do the job of ensuring that children are safe and protected.  We do, however, commend the Administration for proposing an increase of $40 million in mandatory spending for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program.
• Medicaid and Medicare are facing serious cuts over the next five years, according to the proposed budget.  The $14 billion in cuts to Medicaid will severely limit health care opportunities for low-income people, including many seniors, children, and people with disabilities.  Medicare is facing an even more drastic $36 billion cut, reducing services for seniors and individuals with disabilities.  This cut includes a reduction in funding for case management services that alone totals $1.2 billion over five years.
• For the fifth year in a row, President Bush has requested no funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program.  This grant program provides desperately needed counseling and mental health services for students.
• With the nation facing the aging of the largest generation of Americans, President Bush has proposed a $28 million cut to the Administration on Aging budget, limiting their reach to older Americans.

“NASW is speaking out on behalf of social workers and our clients to oppose proposals that cut funding to some of the most essential services available – education, protection for our children, and health care for our nation’s poor, elderly and disabled,” says Ikeita Cantú Hinojosa, associate counsel for legislative affairs at NASW.

Social workers know that the problems of poverty and social injustice are not individual problems.  They are societal problems that directly or indirectly affect everyone.  The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, and these vital services help ensure vulnerable people’s ability to survive.

For more information, please contact NASW Communications at 202-336-8228 or media@naswdc.org.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social workers with 150,000 members. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well being of individuals, families, and communities through its advocacy.