Advancing the Kingdom

113

hapter

our

‘Y

hall

ave

the

oor

ith

lways

’ (1978 – 2002)

a person with a BA degree as a teacher. We

lost what [teachers] we had and for years

were unable to replace them. To this day, our

main level of staffing possess the AA degree.

Although we have some BAs, it is less, and

harder to attract and keep them. It also

put us in a different relationship with state

funding. Federal standards of Title XX were

set aside (no more Title XX monitors). The

state Division of Family Services was now

our main contact. They were forced into not

upholding as high a standard because they

didn’t have the money. Also, we experienced

a series of shorter-term crises in state

funding. There were times when enrollments

were frozen for a few months at a time to

match state funds available. This was all

very disruptive and detrimental to providing

quality care. But block grants are here and

we have had them for more than 20 years I

guess. Still doesn’t make me like it…

According to Section 10, which

describes the program, “Title XX of

the Social Security Act, also referred

to as the Social Services Block Grant

(SSBG), is a capped entitlement

program. Thus, States are entitled to

their share, according to a formula, of

a nationwide funding ceiling or ‘cap,’

which is specified in statute. Block grant

funds are given to States to help them

achieve a wide range of social policy

goals, which include preventing child

abuse, increasing the availability of

child care and providing community-

based care for the elderly and disabled.

Funds are allocated to the States on the

basis of population. The Federal funds

are available to States without a State

matching requirement.” Title XX was

created in 1975 (Public Law 93-647);

“however, it was [the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act] OBRA 1981 (Public

Law 97-35) that amended title XX to

establish a ‘block grant to States for

social services.’ The entitlement ceiling,

or cap, was cut from the fiscal year 1981

level of $2.9 billion to $2.4 billion for

fiscal year 1982.”

Title XX Social Services Block Grant

Program serves:

…to provide assistance to States to

enable them to furnish services directed at

one or more of five broad goals: Achieving

or maintaining economic self-support to

prevent, reduce, or eliminate dependency;

Achieving or maintaining self-sufficiency,

including reduction or prevention of

dependency; Preventing or remedying

neglect, abuse, or exploitation of children

and adults unable to protect their own

interests, or preserving, rehabilitating or

reuniting families; Preventing or reducing

inappropriate institutional care by providing

for community-based care, home-based

care, or other forms of less intensive care;

and securing referral or admission for

institutional care when other forms of care

are not appropriate, or providing services

to individuals in institutions. States are

given wide discretion to determine the

services to be provided and the groups

that may be eligible for services, usually

low income families and individuals. In

addition to supporting social services, the

law allows States to use their allotment for

staff training, administration, planning,

evaluation and purchasing technical

assistance in developing, implementing,

or administering the State social service

program. States decide what amount of the

Federal allotment to spend on services,

training, and administration.

The nationwide recession of the late

1970s and early 80s in combination with

state and federal funding retrenchment

hit non-profit agencies hard; some

cutbacks in programming at Kingdom

House had to be made. Florence Shinkle

of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote in

an article titled “Right Here”:

Kingdom House Day Care Center on

South 11th Street used to have a yoga class

for children 2 to 5 – the magic years when

muscular response is a trifle sluggish, but

imagination is more active than it ever will

be again.

At 3 and 4, the world is still a place of

infinite possibility, even to kids from housing

projects, and faithfully, twice a week, the

class transformed a bare gymnasium into a

garden and themselves into wriggling bugs

or leaping frogs.

‘Be a puppy,’ the yoga lady said, and they

were, panting and bouncing.

…The class had a serious purpose, of

course. The teacher wrote in her requests for

funds how yoga calmed disruptive children

and stimulated tired ones and improved self-

discipline and concentration….

…Still, with all the harsh realities of city

life – crime and poverty and neighborhood

decay – it is hard to convince a businessman

the importance of a yoga class for tots, an

exercise in make-believe.

‘The program does not foster the

economic skills of the group,’ one company

wrote in refusing a request for funds.

‘The appeal is to too small a segment

of the city’s population,’ another company

explained.

And so the small population had their

last yoga class a few days ago, were lions

with furred claws one more time before the

jungle turned back into a gymnasium and

fantasy back into routine…

he nationwide

recession of

the

late

1970

and

early

combination

with

state

and

federal

funding

retrenchment hit

non

profit

agencies

hard

;

some

cutbacks

programming

ingdom

ouse had

be made