Wash­ington County Family Classes on the Chopping Block

A pair of programs designed to help families going through tough times is on the chopping block in Washington County.

One program director explains why the classes work.

"They are learning new skills and anytime you learn a new skill, it is going to be helpful in your relationship with children and as a parent," said Cornell Cooperative Extension of Washington County Executive Director Brian Gilchrist.

For the past several decades, Cornell Cooperative Extension's Parenting Skills Workshop has targeted troubled families at risk of losing their children.

"That's open to anyone, primarily the people that participate are court mandated through social services or the court system," said Gilchrist.

Combined with a second class for families going through divorce, the parenting programs reach about 100 individuals a year.

"There is clearly a demand, obviously it is a larger impact [when] they go back to their families," said Gilchrist

Unless the County Board of Supervisors can come up with roughly $35,000, the two classes are now at risk of being cut after a five-year federal grant and state funding dried up.

CCE's budget is now roughly half of what it was a decade ago.

"The income we get from the county through grants and contracts does not cover the cost of doing those programs," said Gilchrist.

"Any programs that keep people out of our jail saves us money, so there is concern there, yes," Washington County Board of Supervisors Chairman James Lindsay

Believing it allows them to reach the most people, Cornell Co-op's board of directors is instead chosing to focus on agricultural and food source education in schools.

"That's what we decided is really Extension's strength. It's what we were built on over 100 years ago," said Gilchrist. "It's not saying one in program is more important than the other, it's looking at public money."

Lindsay expects the Board of Supervisors to vote on a complete county budget by early November.

Both sides say they are hopeful and arrangement will be made that keeps the classes in place.

"The board is willing to listen and to try to do something," said Lindsay.

Gilchrist remains hopeful.

"We are hoping this leads to a dialogue. If these are important to us and those agencies, how can we find it and how can we make it a reality?" said Gilchrist.