Missouri: Catholic refugee agency complains about
cuts to their federal funding, by Ann Corcoran, 10/13/18.
Here is my solution for those doing Christian
‘charitable’ work for refugees—find more VOLUNTEERS!
Do
Catholics have to be paid by taxpayers to do their religious charitable work,
it sure sounds like it!
Everywhere
I turn there is a new story about how that mean ol’ Donald Trump is cutting the
funding to ‘non-profit’ ‘humanitarian’ groups who place refugees in your towns
and cities. There are so many now I don’t post most of them.
This
story, however, from Columbia, Missouri had a few nuggets of information, one
in particular was new to me.
Refugee and Immigration Services, operated by Catholic Charities of Central and Northern
Missouri says
it is being paid $4,000 a head per refugee it places. Yikes! That is almost twice any
number we have ever seen for the per head payment.
From
the Missourian: Cuts to refugee admissions hit Columbia resettlement
agency
The
staff at Refugee and Immigration Services has been under increasing pressure,
given the caps President Donald Trump has placed on the number of refugees
allowed to enter the country. Those diminishing caps result in less federal money for agencies that
serve refugees.
The
budget from fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2018 fell from $1 million to around $625,000,
Dan Lester, director of Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri,
said. The local office also went from staff of 11 to seven, with only four
being full-time. That means more duties for fewer people.
I just had a look at a recent Form 990 for
this Catholic agency and yes they did receive a million dollars of taxpayer
money and approximately $793,000 of it went to salaries, benefits, and pension
plans for employees!
The agency, which is funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement under
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has traditionally received
about $4,000 per refugee to provide services during
their first six to 12 months in the country, Lester said.
Agencies
must help provide: Payment for their first six months of rent. Clothing, food
and all daily household items.
Assistance
in finding a job. Access to English classes.
Access
to social programs they may need, such as counseling or SNAP benefits. [Other welfare—ed]
Orientation
into an entirely new culture. It
seems to me that most of that list could be handled by volunteers and private
donations!
The Missourian continues…While
the agency still gets its $4,000 per refugee, that funding doesn’t factor in those who came
to Columbia in previous years and still rely on local services, Finn said. [That is funny because we are told repeatedly that refugees are
self-sufficient and on their own in under 6 months. Hmmm!—ed]
“We just don’t have the time and energy to give the refugees that we used
to,” Finn said. “Everyone has a lot more families to work with.” “Time and
energy” sounds like something they could get for free from volunteers! More here.
By
the way, Catholic Charities are usually under the umbrella of their
primary federal contractor—The US Conference of Catholic Bishops—for their
refugee allotment each year.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
No comments:
Post a Comment