Tentative Cuts Made in Missouri's Social Services Budget

The reductions come at an early stage in the budget process — meaning they are subject to change — although legislative rules will make it difficult going forward to add funds that were cut.

The cuts were approved on party-line votes and elicited strong emotions from committee members and an over-capacity audience of state social-service officials, providers and their lobbyists.

“Some of the cuts we’re making are potentially life-threatening to the people we serve,” said Rep. Kiki Curls, a Kansas City Democrat on the committee.

Rep. Anne Zerr, a St. Charles Republican, nearly began to cry while speaking about the difficulty of making the cuts.

Other members of the Republican majority, however, emphasized the financial necessities driving the reductions.

House budget leaders worry that revenues may fall short of projections in the coming year and have asked for 5-percent cutbacks across the board from the budget proposed last month by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

The cuts outlined Tuesday affect the departments of Mental Health, Social Services and Health and Senior Services and total $59.8 million — approximately 2.5 percent of those departments’ budgets.

“As responsible legislators, we have to be proactive in this,” said Rep. David Sater, a Cassville Republican and the committee chairman.

Among the dozens of programs and services affected are federally qualified health centers, domestic violence assistance and child care subsidies.

The cut to health centers totals $9.25 million, their total state appropriation for the year. The centers, which include Swope Health Services and the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center in Kansas City, receive a majority of their funding from federal sources and will continue to operate.

But services will be seriously affected, said Joseph Pierle, CEO of the Missouri Primary Care Association.

“People are going to lose access to care,” Pierle said.