A group of nonprofits that has filed a court challenge to the Trump administration’s freezing of grant funds filed a declaration in court on Sunday, telling the story of how it has affected a small center in West Virginia that assists people with disabilities.
For 40 years, the five-employee center has helped people with disabilities “to live in their own homes, instead of having to be placed in far more expensive and far more isolating institutional settings,” according to a declaration filed in the case by the center’s board president.
According to the declaration, 70% of their funding comes from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living, which is part of the nationwide network of “Centers for Independent Living”.
The center, whose name is redacted in the filing, can only “draw down” federal funds to pay immediate bills, and these must be spent within three days.
“In essence, we follow a federally mandated paycheck-to-paycheck budgeting system.” “When the flow of funds is disrupted, we quickly enter crisis mode,” the board president’s declaration states.
That happened with the freeze, which was challenged in court on Monday by the National Council of Nonprofits, American Public Health Association, Main Street Alliance, and SAGE. A judge cited the center’s situation as justification for a decision she’s expected to issue later Monday.
The center had enough money to pay outstanding bills and payroll on Friday. However, they did not have enough money to cover another two-week pay period with full staffing.
The board voted Friday to lay off three out of five employees and drastically reduce customer services, creating a dire situation for those in immediate need.
The agency provided three examples. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the employees transport an 86-year-old woman to dialysis treatments, which are her only source of life support.
According to the declaration, on Monday, the center will “job coach” a 19-year-old man with intellectual disabilities who recently graduated from the foster care system as he begins a new job at Goodwill.
“We will help train him in life skills like budgeting, cleaning his house, and managing his employment,” the board president stated. “He also relies on us for food pantry support and transportation to his new job.”
On Tuesday, the agency plans to assist a 63-year-old woman with orthopedic, hearing, and intellectual disabilities. “She also looks after two adult sons with disabilities. “We would assist her with budgeting, cleaning, and looking for better housing,” the board president explained.
The center listed a variety of medical conditions that its customers have, including auto accident survivors, multiple sclerosis, paraplegics, quadriplegics, diabetes, amputations, blindness, hearing loss, seizures, heart disease, learning disability, muscular dystrophy, stroke, spinal cord injury, and many others.
“On Friday, the Board recognized that if federal funds do not begin flowing again in the next two to three weeks, we would have no option other than to lay off the remaining two employees and cease all services,” the statement said.
The state informed the agency that it will receive two allocations of grant funds from state agencies, and that it intends to use that money to immediately reinstate two of the three laid-off employees, the board president stated.
This will allow them to operate with a 20% reduction in staff for six to eight weeks, but the board president stated that state grants cannot be relied on indefinitely.
“This has only bought us more time, but if the freeze is not stopped, we will shut down and the people we serve will be helpless,” the board’s president stated.
“They could end up in much more expensive facilities such as nursing homes or group homes. They may end up homeless on the streets. “Or worse,” the president stated. “I am desperate to bring attention to our situation.”
