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Lutheran Services of Iowa tells county board refugee program serving 64 people faces funding cuts
Summary
Lutheran Services of Iowa told the Board of Supervisors it serves 64 immigrant and refugee clients (largely Haitian) and is experiencing reduced or delayed federal funding and canceled contracts, and warned that provisions in H.R. 1 could restrict refugees' access to SNAP and federal health programs.
Nicholas Wuertz, vice president of programs and strategy development for Lutheran Services of Iowa, briefed the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors on April 28 about the agency’s immigrant and refugee community services.
Wuertz said the program is serving 64 individuals, largely Haitian, and described recent operational strains: reductions in federal funding, delayed disbursements and canceled contracts that have affected service delivery. He also raised concerns about potential impacts tied to H.R. 1, saying that provisions in that legislation could result in refugees losing eligibility for SNAP, Medicaid and Medicare benefits.
The board received the presentation during the meeting’s early agenda items; no board action was taken on the presentation itself. The summary provided to the board did not include additional numeric breakdowns of clients by age or household composition, nor did the presenter identify alternative local funding streams during the briefing.
The presentation is part of routine outreach by nonprofit service providers to the county; board members did not debate or vote on county funding for the program during the meeting.
