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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

CT Agencies Call for Full Funding of Anti-Poverty Programs

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Friday, March 24, 2017   

HARTFORD, Conn. - Proposed state and federal budget cuts threaten Connecticut's most vulnerable residents. That's the message service providers and customers took to Harford on Thursday.

Gov. Dannel Malloy wants to cut funding for the Human Services Infrastructure Community Action Program by 20 percent. Individuals and families with limited income depend on the agencies for help and referrals for child care, senior services, food, housing and home-heating assistance.

Deborah Monahan, executive director of the Thames Valley Council for Community Action, said that would mean staffing reductions and delays at anti-poverty agencies throughout the state.

"When people are coming in to us, it's usually because they're in critical need, or an emergency or a crisis," she said. "So, if that HSI line is significantly cut, it's going to really hamper our ability to see clients immediately and help them."

Community Action Agencies also receive funding through the federal Community Services Block Grant, which could be eliminated under President Trump's proposed budget.

Michelle James, executive director of the Community Action Center of Western Connecticut, said cutting the block grant, which funds services such as Meals on Wheels and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program, would be a disaster.

"If the funding was cut at the federal level," she said, "we would have to close our doors and we would not be able to provide services to our 25 communities that we service."

James said her agency served about 16,000 people last year and anticipates as many as 20,000 requests for assistance this year. Overall, Community Action Agencies helped more than 357,000 people in Connecticut last year.

Monahan said eliminating those services would have a ripple effect.

"If you do away with that funding, we're not going to be purchasing the food or the weatherization material from our local businesses," she said. "So, there's serious economic impacts on communities if these dollars go away, as well."

Monahan estimated that the state's Community Action Agency Network leverages $140 of additional funding for every dollar of HSI Community Action Program funds.


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