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Economy pushes family assistance levels to new highs
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The slumping economy in Geauga County has pushed the number of families seeking help from the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program to an all-time high.
In April, there were 873 clients enrolled in the WIC program, the highest level in six years, according to Peggy Scherer, director of the WIC program and personal health services for the Geauga County General Health District.
Geauga County Job & Family Services (J&FS) records reveal similar increases in food stamps, medical and other kinds of family assistance over the last five years.
"We have clients from every one of the townships," Scherer said. "Even though we are one of the wealthiest counties in the state, we still have those in need -- there's just more of them."
The program's clientele has been growing because of the economy and increasing unemployment caused by the closing of Johnson Rubber and layoffs at KraftMaid Cabinetry in Middlefield.
"People who were gainfully employed in the construction industry, who used to do well, are having problems right now, too. So, it's an across-the-board problem," she added.
The WIC program is a state-administered, federally-funded nutritional supplement and educational program offered by health departments throughout the state. It provides supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age 5 who are found to be at nutritional risk.
The problem has been exacerbated because state funding for the WIC program has been reduced, although Scherer noted the source of the funding comes from the federal government and is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Those receiving program coupons for foods also are having to make it stretch farther because the increasing costs of key foods such as milk, eggs, baby formula and any foods made from wheat, Scherer said.
"When you consider the general increase in the price of food, feeding a low-income family with young children or pregnant mothers is getting really expensive," she added. "It's just another reason we think more people are applying for WIC."
The increased clientele also is stretching the work of one full-time and two part-time dietitians. They see clients at the health department and part-time clinics in Middlefield and Chagrin Falls Park, a low-income neighborhood in Bainbridge Township.
The health department clinic in Chardon is crowded Monday through Friday. The Chagrin Falls Park clinic is open only one day monthly and the Middlefield clinic one day a week, because of the small WIC staff.
"We don't have the people to spare, but we're talking about trying to add another day to Middlefield because the caseload has grown so much out there," Scherer said.
The Middlefield caseload mostly includes non-Amish clients. The parents of some Amish infants in need of special baby formulas do come to the clinic, however. WIC pays only a portion of the cost of the special formulas, which are "astronomically expensive," but that does make it more affordable for the Amish and non-Amish clients, she added.
Even regular baby formulas cost a fortune, she said.
WIC funding is based on the federal poverty level and depends on the number of people in a family and the family's income. A family of three, for example, is eligible if they make up to $32,220 a year. When a woman is pregnant, federal program regulations include the unborn child as a member of the family, Scherer said.
Health district statistics reveal the number of people on the WIC program has been tied to economic conditions and seasonal fluctuations in employment. Those statistics reveal 809 people were WIC clients in February 2005, the highest number for that year.
The number dropped to 747 in February 2006 and fell again in April 2007 to 699, the months during which the highest number of WIC clients were reported those years, she said.
This year's high -- 873 clients -- was recorded last month, but could conceivably increase, Scherer said.
Geauga County J&FS Executive Director Tim Taylor compared the number of clients receiving food stamps, medical and other kinds of assistance in the last six months of 2003 with those served during the last half of 2007.
The number of households receiving federal food stamps jumped from an average of 584 per month in 2003 to an average of 785 per month last year.
"When you look at this, it is a 34 percent increase in the number of families getting (food) stamps, which is pretty significant," Taylor said.
In addition, the total amount of food stamps paid out jumped from $110,955 per month in 2003 to $164,247 per month last year.
The amount of food stamps paid each household during the six-month periods in question also increased from $190 per month to $210 per month, a 2 percent increase each year, Taylor added.
There also was a significant increase in the JF&S Prevention, Retention and Contingency Program, which prevents job loss, helps job retention and provides low-income families contingency funds. The contingency money is available for car repairs and payment of late rent and utility bills.
The number of clients increase from 5 1/2 per month in 2003 to 15 per month in 2007. Payments made to the clients jumped from a monthly total of $2,730 per month in 2003 to a total of $10,069 per month in 2007, Taylor said.
In addition, the total number of J&FS clients receiving medical benefits through Medicaid increased from 997 during the last six months of 2003 to 1,177 clients during the same period in 2007, he added.
