AGENCIES UNDERGO REVIEWS BEFORE FUNDS APPROVED

The Area Wide United Way board of directors has approved funding of all the programs of the agencies it funded last year as well as four new programs.

The approval doesn't mean the programs will receive the full amount requested. Board members won't decided allocations until after the 2000 campaign ends in December, said Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the United Way.

The approval follows agency reviews where a representative of each agency requesting funding presents a report and answers questions before an agency review committee. The United Way funds specific programs rather than providing general funding for agencies.

Jernigan said the funding for the new programs likely will be in the form of grants rather than a long-term agency agreement.

"We want to be really careful about the agencies we bring in," she said. Long-term agency agreements usually aren't offered until after an agency has received grant funding for two or more years.

The agency programs approved for funding are American Red Cross' emergency services; APPLE's paperwork service; Association for Retarded Citizens' case management and food programs; Boy Scouts' Scouting program; Cancer Research's research program; Cape Girardeau County 4-H's youth development program; Cape Public School Children's Fund's emergency services; Cape Senior Center's nutrition program; Court Appointed Special Advocates' juvenile child advocacy and child protective orders programs; Cape Civic Center's after school, Recreation Club, summer camp, Save Our Little Sisters and youth baseball programs; First Call for Help's information and referral network; Gibson Recovery Center's outpatient services and residential services; Girl Scouts' alternative membership, older girl leadership, contemporary issues and PAVE the Way programs; Habitat for Humanities' single family homes; Hoover Eldercare Center's Eldercare/Senior Alive program; Jackson Ministerial Alliance's emergency services; Jackson Senior Center's senior food program and food pantry; Jackson R-2 Children's Fund's emergency services; Lutheran Family and Children's Services' child welfare and counseling programs; RSVP's volunteer program; SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence's consumer assistance/transportation, medical equipment, ramps, prescriptions, utilities and minor home repairs programs; Safe House for Women's Liberty House, counseling, child advocacy and hotline/client services/advocacy programs; Salvation Army's general assistance to individuals, youth programs, disaster assistance and administration; Scott City Nutrition Center's assistance program; and Success by 6's parent education.

Agencies making first-time requests to the United Way that will receive funding, probably in the form of grants, are Community Caring Council's Big Brother/Big Sister mentoring program; Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence's crisis assistance for victims of sexual violence; Family Resource Center's program to bring services to South Cape; and Teen Challenge's substance Abuse Treatment.