Programs operated by Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services have been impaired by the federal budget sequester imposed earlier this year…That’s according to the Cabinet’s Executive Director for Policy and Budget Beth Jurek. She says the Congressional stalemate that triggered the cuts reduced funding to the Cabinet by about five percent…
"These reductions by themselves might not be that difficult…we have had to make state budget reductions, and you have these reductions on top of those. Over a period of years the cumulative effect is having a negative impact as families, and as agencies, scramble to try to fill holes as best they can." - Cabinet’s Executive Director for Policy and Budget Beth Jurek
Jurek says one of the areas where the impact may be most noticeable is in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. She says if it’s a bad winter, money for LI-HEAP could run out quickly and families may be forced to choose between paying their utility bill or their rent.