Illinois women who rely on state services are among those most affected by the nearly year-long state budget impasse.
Nonprofit organizations that deliver state-subsidized help to struggling mothers and their children, as well as victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, have been frozen out of the haphazard funding system that's emerged during the stalemate.
Programs serving low-income women seeking college tuition grants, intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, home visits for teen parents, and prenatal and family care management have been underfunded.
So has breast and ovarian cancer screenings that usually get $13 million in state money. Without a state budget it's operating with about $6 million in federal funds. The state is supposed to match that federal money but hasn't yet.
