Federal budget cuts affect reservation programs

By Alejandra Silva
Staff Writer for the Wind River News
On March 1, the federal budget took a hard hit from the sequester that took billions of dollars from programs and services like military operations, national parks, special education and Head Start programs. More than $400 million will be cut from the Head Start programs in the United States, kicking out about 70,000 kids from classrooms. For Wyoming, roughly 100 fewer children will have access to early education. 
Unfortunately, those cuts will also hit the Wind River Indian Reservation, said Joseph Henry, director of the Shoshone and Arapaho Head Start programs.
The programs on the reservation, including one in Lander, prepare low-income children for kindergarten and extend resources to parents. The programs already have seen some changes. 
"Employees are already working only 37 hours a week instead of 40," Henry said. 
That began last week, and Henry said he expects there to be about 20 fewer days per year for the programs. A meeting with the reservation's joint business council is still pending, and from there these cuts and others will be determined.
Henry said one challenge will be figuring out ways to administer the cuts in ways less harmful for families. The programs not only prepare students for the next level of school education but also help parents find employment, educate the whole family on health and nutrition, immunizations, parent involvement, and provide important services like eye exams, which are done by partnering programs. 
"Any cuts to us will indirectly impact us," Henry said about the program in general. "We're all connected — any reductions in funds is going to reduce services, any kind of staff time, child care time and consequently what you do for the children and families." 
More than $100,000 from the reservation programs’ budget is being cut, but Henry said his organization will continue to try and find ways to limit the cuts on the services for their children. 

Others affected
Jamie Stockwell, the executive director of the other Head Start programs in Fremont County, said that any budget cuts will "affect in different levels and different ways." The budget reduction’s effect on her programs has not been determined, but Stockwell said she is sure it will be like a domino effect because other programs are connected with Head Start. 
"Any funds we get we spend directly into our communities," she said. 
The change could also affect parents who have full-time jobs, and job-search assistance itself will be hit. Roughly 6,000 fewer people in Wyoming will receive help in finding a job and get the skills needed to find and secure employment. Also for the state, funding for vaccines will be cut by $16,000, which leads to 230 fewer children getting vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus and influenza. 
The National Congress of American Indians has asked Congress to exempt IHS from any cuts as it serves 2.1 million American Indians and Alaska Natives through more than 650 health care locations on or near reservations. IHS may cut back on employees or outpatient visits after the budget is reduced. The Wind River Indian Reservation’s IHS serves more than 10,000 people. 
"Tribal programs in the Department of the Interior which fund core governmental functions like human services, law enforcement, schools, economic development and natural resources stand to lose almost $130 million," said statement from the NCAI. 
Funding for schools and teachers in Wyoming will also be affected by the sequester.
St. Stephens Indian School was delayed funding recently from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 
Superintendent Michael Hejtmanek said the federal budget cuts may have had a lot to do with it, because St. Stephens is funded through the BIA. 
"We'll have to prioritize," Hejtmanek said. "Next week we'll be going down the list, line item by line item and see where we can save and what we have to change." 
There is already a 5 to 8 percent budget cut toward the school from the BIA, and Hejtmanek fears that any additional cuts will complicate future projects and ideas the school has for academic improvement. 
"It's real," he said. "It's not a scare tactic, (and) I'm worried."
As the BIA and the Department of Interior are affected by cuts, staff numbers will be reduced. Interior secretary Ken Salazar has stated recently that the BIA will see significant immediate impacts, and eliminating some employees will make the processing of applications take longer.