Proposed funding cuts to the federal Community Services Block Grant program would have a dramatic effect on Northwest Montana residents living at or below the federal poverty rate, the Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana said this week.

The agency, formerly known as Northwest Montana Human Resources, serves Flathead, Lincoln, Lake and Sanders counties.

It could lose as much as $427,000 that had been earmarked for the funding cycle that began in January and runs through June 2012.

Block-grant funding has been declining in recent years and now is threatened with elimination in the budget sent by President Obama to Congress on Feb. 14, said Galen Amy, development director for Community Action Partnership.

"This [block-grant] program allows us to operate all of our programs and create new programs to best serve community needs and do needs assessments," Amy said.

Among the local programs that could be eliminated or drastically cut are low income energy assistance, weatherization, homeless prevention and rapid rehousing, housing counseling, homebuyer education and in-home care serves for senior citizens and disabled citizens.

While there are numerous federal programs that address poverty in a piecemeal fashion, the block-grant system is the only investment exclusively focused on reducing poverty, she said.

"The block grants allow communities to strategically target the root causes of poverty on a local level," Amy said. "It's a common sense strategy that effectively uses a powerful mix of federal, state and local resources, with partnerships to address the problems that lead to systemic poverty."

The agency also uses block-grant money to seed new initiatives and leverage other resources and support programs such as the popular Free to Choo$e financial mentoring program.

Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana provided services to 15,705 area residents last year with the support of federal block grants. Of those served, 37 percent were children, 19 percent were seniors and 69 percent live at or below the federal poverty rate.

Amy said Congress is expected to decide on March 5 whether to extend a continuing resolution that extends fiscal year 2010 funding. Community Action Partnership is asking for community support in contacting state legislators and Montana's congressional delegation to remind them of how important block grants are to this area.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com