SEAL BEACH : $90,000 Grant Will Fund Social Services

The city will get a $90,000 boost from the federal government next fiscal year with funds from the Community Development Block Grant Project.

The council announced receipt of the funds on Monday although the money will not be available until after Oct. 1. In recent years, the city has only received about $50,000 in block grant funding.

Interval House, a Seal Beach-based shelter for women with abusive husbands, will receive the bulk of the money in a $40,000 grant. The council originally requested $80,000.

The city’s day-care assistance program, which aids moderate-income to low-income families with child-care services, will receive a $20,000 grant. The same amount will also go toward housing rehabilitation assistance for moderate- to low-income families.

Seal Beach youth service programs, which provide after-school and summer recreation programs, will receive $10,000.

Councilwoman Marilyn B. Hastings voiced some concern over how the youth services grant would be used. She said she would rather have seen the money go toward providing a coach or recreation coordinator as opposed to child-care programs.

Earlier this year, the city revised its fiscal budget, cutting thousands of dollars from the Recreation Department budget. The cuts meant that the city would not be able to hire part-time recreation coordinators during the summer months.