Severe state budget cuts are serving to reverse great strides we in South Carolina have made in critical areas: education, public health, welfare reform and social services. At a time of increasing needs for our most vulnerable children and families, resources and services are being cut and eliminated.

For more than 10 years in South Carolina, and 30 years nationally, local Communities in Schools organizations have been connecting needed community resources with schools and families to help young people successfully learn, stay in school, and prepare for life. Communities in Schools is not a for-profit program that fights turf battles with egos and self-serving policies. Rather, it is a process owned and guided by local communities.

Concerned citizens from diverse backgrounds serve unpaid on local Communities in Schools boards, united by a desire to give back to their communities and in their understanding that a community's youth are its future. They help identify needs, find the available resources to meet those needs and connect them to schools and young people. Last year, Communities in Schools leveraged over $15 million in resources and brought more than 3,000 volunteers into schools to provide more than 70,000 hours of services to local families and their children.

Recently, the South Carolina Department of Social Services, a key partner in our efforts to help young people, eliminated all support and funding for Communities in Schools after-school programs that serve over 20,000 children and parents in 50 school districts and 32 counties each year. The programs were intended to provide comprehensive "wrap-around" services for middle school students during after-school hours when research tells us they are most vulnerable.

The decision was not related to the accountability or effectiveness of the programs. Communities in Schools has a thorough system of quality assurance procedures to ensure maximum and appropriate use of resources. A comprehensive evaluation process has documented dramatic improvements in students' academic performance, attendance and behavior. The decision was based on budget cuts: Federal funds needed to be redirected for other purposes.

The loss of these after-school programs is traumatic. Thousands of children with the greatest needs will be denied safe places to learn and grow. They will join a growing army of "latchkey" kids, unsupervised during after-school hours, when the likelihood of becoming involved in unhealthy and dangerous behavior is at its highest. Community coalitions that have worked tirelessly and cooperatively to design, develop and support these programs are feeling frustrated, angry and, worst of all, hopeless. The effects of our inability to meet their needs will be felt for generations.

During this time of severe budget and service cuts, schools, local social services and other public agencies need Communities in Schools more than ever to help maximize resources and bring people together. We are regrouping in an effort to minimize the impact on our children, parents, schools and staff. We will continue to provide some level of service in every community. And we will continue to advocate for after-school programs because we know they work, and we know they are an excellent way to maximize resources while addressing multiple needs.

We understand the wrenching decisions that are being made by DSS and other agencies due to our state deficits. We appreciate the trust in Communities in Schools, and the tremendous investment that was made to intervene with middle school students at a very pivotal time in their lives. But even in the leanest times, budget decisions should be based upon priorities. And we must get our priorities straight. We must stay focused on the needs of our children and our most vulnerable families as we make tough budget decisions. As Nina Brook stated so well in her recent column, we pay now for prevention and early intervention, or we will pay much more later, not only in economic but also social costs.