SDC and sequester impact | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
March 13, 2013
The Social Development Commission (SDC) has made preliminary estimates of the effect of the recently passed federal budget sequester legislation.At its March12 meeting, SDC’s Budget and Finance Committee reviewed a staff-prepared preliminary sequester impact report.
The sequestration impact report begins SDC’s process of preparing the agency for the impact of sequestration cuts on area residents who use SDC programs and services.  The agency estimates that the 2013 SDC programs could realize an estimated $1.2-million in federal funding cuts.
“This report will help SDC plan ahead for the sequester cuts so we can continue to serve Milwaukee County residents,” said Budget and Finance Committee Chair Joe’Mar Hooper.  He thanked the staff for being proactive with the information on the federal cuts’ impact on different agency programs.  The Committee agreed to forward the report for review by the full SDC Board at its March 21 meeting.
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The report identified for the Committee the difficulty in firmly establishing when the cuts will affect services.  Because different programs have different funding calendars, the impact to client services will occur at different times.  One example is that SDC’s Head Start program will continue to operate at its current federal funding level through June; thereafter the estimated 5% sequestration cuts would take effect.
The report identified four SDC program areas impacted most by the sequestration cuts.  They are Head Start, Weatherization’s Lead Hazard Reduction Assistance, Energy Assistance, and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funding which supports a wide range of the agency’s human services programming.  SDC programs funded by state, local and private funding will not see direct cuts by the federal sequestration but will be indirectly affected by overall funding loss.