Obama Budget Would Eliminate Some Social-Services Programs

The Obama administration’s proposed 2010 budget would eliminate money for some social-services programs that had been staples of the Bush era.

Several other longstanding programs would receive about as much as they do now.

The White House would eliminate spending for the Compassion Capital Fund, which helps charities and religious groups provide social services through the Department of Health and Human Services. The fund received $48-million in 2009.

Mr. Obama sought no money for abstinence education; the government now spends about $133-million on such efforts.

Mr. Obama is, however, asking for $164-million for programs designed to reduce pregnancy among teenagers.

The budget also proposed no money for a program that now offers about $10-million to rural community facilities.

Several other programs to provide services to children and families would receive the same amount as they did in fiscal 2009. Child-welfare services, for example, would receive $242-million — the same amount set aside for such services in 2009.

The department’s Social Service Block Grant program would also remain flat at $1.7-billion. The program supports groups that provide services to low-income families and individuals, including day care, employment counseling, home meal delivery, and transitional housing.

In addition, Mr. Obama’s budget would provide $301-million to the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program, which supports charities and local governments in making homes for poor people more energy efficient. The program received $516-million in 2009.