By DEBORAH HIRSCH
April 9, 2010


CAMDEN — As legislative hearings continued Thursday on the governor's budget, leaders from nonprofit social service agencies gathered in Camden to lobby against proposed cuts to women's centers, after-school education and other community programs.

As the budget stands now, thousands of people across the state will no longer have access to job training, youth centers, health services, domestic violence support, English as a second language classes and other much-needed programs, they said.

Gov. Chris Christie has defended his spending plan as a painful, but necessary "shared sacrifice." His office did not return requests for comment on Wednesday.

Still, nonprofit leaders argued that slashing programs for poor and middle-class families could end up costing the state more in the long run.

"During this record unemployment, these programs are a necessity," said Elsa Candelario, executive director of the Hispanic Family Center of Southern New Jersey. "They help people become employed, stay employed and stay healthy."

Programs at the center also have proven to decrease rates of juvenile delinquency and violence against women, Candelario said.

Without all of these measures, Candelario said, the state might spend more on "mandated services at the deep end," such as incarceration, unemployment  insurance or welfare benefits.

Adding up all the cuts, Candelario said her agency stands to lose about 20 percent of its budget and would have to lay off 26 full- and part-time employees. About 2,500 of their 6,000 clients participate in programs that would be affected, she
said.

Candelario already shut down an after-school program last month. The proposed state budget eliminates $10.5 million for New Jersey After 3, which served 12,000 children statewide.

"As a parent, especially as a single parent, I'm really at a loss," said Anthony Gilliams, whose toddler had been participating. "It's a godsend to me and every other parent I've talked to. Without it, we suffer. The children suffer."

The proposed budget also would eliminate the state Center for Hispanic Policy Research and Development, which distributed $3.7 million in state grants last year, plus $1.3 million for six women's centers across the state.

Two -- a Hispanic Women's Center operated by Candelario's agency and an Urban Women's Center operated by the Camden County Council on Economic Opportunities -- are in Camden County.

If the cuts go through, the Urban Women's Center would have to eliminate two staff members and turn away more than 500 clients, said program manager Geraldine Taylor.

Oaklyn resident Rossanna Genao said she couldn't believe these centers might no longer exist. She credited the Hispanic Women's Center for helping her land a job and then advance to become a supervisor of 36 other Hispanic employees.

"I can't stay quiet knowing that this is the only place that has helped me to move forward with my life," Genao said. "Without the help of the Hispanic Family Center, I wouldn't have made it this far."

Camden resident Teresa Rufino said the support the center provides is important for people like her, who don't speak enough English to figure out how to further their education or find a job on their own.

"When I first came to the agency, I didn't even know how to turn on a computer," Rufino said. "Now, I'm not an expert, but I can do things I never thought I'd be able to."

Though no politicians attended the news conference, 5th District legislators reached by phone agreed that the cuts to nonprofits went too
deep.

Assemblyman Angel Fuentes, D-Camden, said he and other Democrats support reinstating an income tax rate increase on residents making more than $400,000 a year to cover roughly $1 billion of the state deficit without so many cuts. That concept is also the centerpiece of a budget-balancing plan proposed by Better Choices for New Jersey, which organized Thursday's news conference.

"As long as the money is going to help the most vulnerable, it's justified," Fuentes said.


Originally available at: http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100409/NEWS01/4090334