COLUMBIA — Boys & Girls Clubs in mid-Missouri say they could be directly affected by the Trump administration's decision to withhold more than $6 billion in federal grants, including funding for after-school and summer programs, English language instruction, adult literacy and more.
The funding was supposed to go out on July 1. Now, local programs say they are scrambling.
The grant in question is called 21st Century Community Learning Centers. The Boys & Girls Club uses it to help students with reading, math and meals. Losing this money could mean closing programs or laying off staff.
Jefferson City's Boys & Girls Club has one 21st Century grant, which means about $380,000 for the club, according to Wade Middaugh, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Jefferson City. This funding was immediately frozen. In Columbia, nearly $200,000 of the club's budget is now immediately unavailable. The Boys & Girls Clubs of West Central Missouri in Sedalia has three 21st Century grants for the Boys & Girls Club, which services 14 different sites. That's over $1.1 million in frozen funds.
"These funds are an investment for us, and they need to be released," said Martina Hoyt-Vail, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club in Columbia. "And so that first is the call to action, saying let's get these funds released, let's get them to our clubs and to other 21st Century-funded programs across the country, because our kids deserve that."
Officials with the U.S. Department of Education say they are reviewing the programs, the Associated Press reported. Officials said they want to make sure the programs match the Trump administration’s priorities. However, that has caused frustration across the country.
More than 200,000 children nationwide could be affected. In mid-Missouri, that includes kids in Columbia, Jefferson City and surrounding towns.
"For Columbia, we are currently continuing forward as planned, serving the kids who are enrolled," Hoyt-Vail said. "But I will tell you that, ideally, we were planning to grow, to serve more kids, to have more kids in our building. We have a waitlist of more than 100 kids waiting to come and join us, and these funds are the difference in that. They're the difference in us continuing to grow and serve more kids in our community."
The club said it is looking for backup funding. But there’s not much time, as programs are already running.
"I do think that community support is valuable, so any additional financial support can be valuable to our clubs, and it is important to the work that we are doing," Hoyt-Vail said. "But, again, to me, right now the number one is to say these funds were appropriated and deserved by each of our organizations. How do we make sure they get released to support the work we are doing?" Hoyt-Vail said.
The club is asking community members to call lawmakers. They want pressure put on the Department of Education to act fast.
"We will continue all services until we can't," said Patrick Stewart, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of West Central Missouri. "The goal is to keep serving as many families with as minimal reduction to services as possible. But, anything can happen."
Jefferson City's Boys & Girls Club released a statement to parents Friday warning that a federal funding freeze could affect its summer and after-school programs.
Until then, leaders say they are doing all they can to keep doors open.
