Pa. welfare secretary brings bad budget news to Philadelphia
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The Franklin Flea will open on an underused stretch of Market Street in Center City, inside the ground floor of the old Strawbridge & Clothier department store (Nathaniel Hamilton/for Newsworks)
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Old City resident Mark Vevle, creator of the Franklin Flea Market (Nathaniel Hamilton/for Newsworks)
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The old Strawbridge & Clothier ground floor was once home to the department store's makeup counters (Nathaniel Hamilton/for Newsworks)
Pennsylvania’s Public Welfare Secretary traveled to Philadelphia to warn social service providers about looming federal budget cuts.
Secretary Beverly Mackereth says Pennsylvania is facing $350 million worth of federal budget cuts. And even though the state has a $28 Billion budget, her agency is scrambling to deal with the cuts.
“That’s why were out there trying to get the message out, trying to get the word out talking about what our programs look like. It’s really important in the smaller communities, in Philadelphia everyone knows what to expect. If everyone is coming to DPW saying we need this, we need this, this is not a good year for that,” Mackereth said.
Barbara Severino is director of public policy for the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania. She says her group is bracing for the details.
“It’s concerning but we are looking to hear more from the secretary and the administration and then also from our funded agencies and we’ll see what that means,” Severino said.
The exact impacts won’t be known until Pennsylvania passes its next budget. That must be done by July first.
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