Patricia Martellotti
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A draft of President Trump’s budget proposal for the upcoming year has local organizations in Santa Barbara County concerned about programs that will likely be cut as a result.
Leaders of CommUnify in Santa Barbara say the proposed budget bill threatens to slash more vital programs in the county. They say the proposal does not allocate any money towards Head Start, Community Development Block grants (CDBG), or the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP).
The CommUnify team is urging the community to take action by reaching out to state officials in order to save these programs.
“We need to hear your voice… congress needs to hear your voice… we’re asking everyone to reach out to congressman Carbajal… Senator Schiff,” said CEO Patricia Keelean of CommUnify.
“This means that our families will have to make tougher decisions between paying their gas or electric bill, putting food on their table or actually buying medicine,” said director of community services Kimba Lawrence of CommUnify.
The Communify team says these programs help the most vulnerable members of the community, and will be eliminated should this budget pass in the next few weeks.
From CommUnify:
Proposed “Skinny Budget” Bill Threatens to Eliminate Vital Programs in Santa Barbara County including Head Start, CDBGs, and LIHEAP.
Leaked document reveals the administration’s FY 2026 funding blueprint which includes budget cuts recommended by the Heritage Foundation and put forth in the “Project 2025” plan.
Two key programs which have received bipartisan support for decades and help the most vulnerable members of the community are on the chopping block.
A White House draft budget proposal was recently leaked and does not allocate any money towards Head Start, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), or the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and lists them among the many programs to be eliminated should this budget pass in the next few weeks.
Head Start operates in all 50 states and employs more than 250,000 people at 18,000 centers nationwide.
The loss of Head Start would impact more than 1 million parents who rely on the program and wouldn’t be able to go to work or would be forced to choose between their livelihoods and a safe, reliable place for their children.
These closures cut off childcare for hundreds of thousands of low-income families, for whom a day without work is often a day without pay.
“This proposal does not reflect fiscal responsibility. It reflects a divestment in our future,” said Yasmina Vinci, executive director of National Head Start Association. “Eliminating funding for Head Start would be catastrophic. It would be a direct attack on our nation’s most at-risk children, their well-being, and their families. Head Start is more than just a preschool program. It provides whole-child essential support – from early learning to parenting services to nutritious meals and health screenings – for nearly 800,000 children and helps level the playing field for children who might otherwise fall behind before even starting kindergarten. Many Head Start children are in foster care or are homeless so these cuts affect those who need these services the most.”
In Santa Barbara County, CommUnify’s Head Start program serves nearly 600 children and their families including infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, at 20 centers across the county.
Since 1967, Head Start has served 55,000 residents countywide and more than 200 staff are employed by the program. These Head Start centers also provide over 160,000 healthy meals to the children each year.
“Without Head Start, families who are already struggling financially could experience even greater economic burdens as they would have to spend funds they don’t have on childcare, or forgo working in order to stay home with their children,” said Patricia Keelean CEO for CommUnify. “This would in turn impact local workforces across our nation and in our county, and could create other negative outcomes such as increased homelessness, food insecurity, mental health challenges, and unsafe/unlicensed childcare settings.”
In addition to purging Head Start, the Trump administration’s proposed FY 2026 budget would also eliminate Community Services Block Grants (CSBG) which provide funding to Community Action Agencies across the nation to address the root causes and conditions of poverty by supporting a wide range of services including emergency assistance, education, job training and other resources.
A third program to be eliminated by the proposed funding cuts includes the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which provides utility bill assistance to struggling families and seniors.
LIHEAP plays a crucial role in helping 6 million income-constrained families afford energy costs, preventing 2.75 million utility disconnections annually, and improving energy efficiency in 60,000 households, enhancing the overall well-being and safety of vulnerable households.
And the percentage of income spent on utilities is wildly disproportionate. Low-income families spend 22.8% of their income on home energy as compared to the 2.9% spent by the highest income families.
In the last 12 months, 27% of Americans reduced or went without basic needs such as food and medicine so they could pay their energy bill.
“Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy should be ashamed of this budget because they are proposing to take money out of the pockets of six million very poor families so the well-off can get even bigger tax breaks,” said Mark Wolfe, CEO of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. (NEADA), which works closely with the LIHEAP program. “These residents may have to go without heat or air conditioning if this budget gets passed, and people will die or have big health consequences because of it. At a time when families are fighting to make ends meet – and tariffs are poised to drive prices even higher – it’s unconscionable to rip away this help offered to people in need,” Wolfe said. “A $500 energy grant might not matter to (upper income residents), but it could literally mean life or death for families facing extreme winter cold and summer heat.”
In 2024, CommUnify provided utility payment assistance through LIHEAP to 3,984 individuals across 1,641 households throughout Santa Barbara County. These residents included vulnerable seniors as well as families grappling with astronomical rents and rising utility bills.
“The elimination of the LIHEAP program could mean that our seniors and struggling families have to choose between keeping their lights on or buying lifesaving medications and food,” said Kemba Lawrence, Director of Community Services for CommUnify. “Incomes are not keeping pace with the cost of living – particularly here in Santa Barbara County – and these essential programs give families and seniors the support they need on their path to self sufficiency.”
For a complete description of all 16 of CommUnify’s programs and services please visit the websitewww.CommUnifySB.org.
Click here to follow the original article.
