EBENSBURG — The Cambria County commissioners relinquished grant funds for the AmeriCorps foster grandparent program by a 2-1 vote Thursday with the hope of rebuilding the program under another organization’s leadership.

According to President Commissioner Scott Hunt, the county was notified in June 2025 that the AmeriCorps foster grandparent program was under federal review. At that time, it was uncertain whether funding for the program would continue beyond the current grant period, he said, noting the county concluded the program June 30, 2025, when the funds were fully expended.

Two employees who had long administered the program decided to retire at that time, leaving the county with no current staff to rebuild the program after AmeriCorps approved a new three-year funding opportunity to renew the program later last year, Hunt said.

“After careful consideration and several months of evaluation, the county has determined that given the retirement of the program’s staff and the need to rebuild the operations from the ground up, the program would be better positioned under the leadership of another organization,” Hunt said.

Hunt said the commissioners explored the possibility of transferring the existing grant directly to another qualified organization. But they were advised by AmeriCorps that such transfer would not be permitted, he said.

In order for another organization to assume responsibility for the program, the county had to relinquish the grant, Hunt said.

“While it is not my preference to relinquish the grant, doing so represents the only feasible path forward to ensure the program’s continuation in our community,” Hunt said.

Commissioner Tom Chernisky, who opposed the decision, said the program has provided services since the 1960s. Foster grandparents work one-on-one with children who may struggle in school, helping with reading, homework and learning skills, he said.

The program also benefits seniors by keeping them active and engaged, reducing isolation and giving them a purpose to serve, Chernisky said.

“We’re turning money back and we’re hurting people,” Chernisky said. “There’s more pros than cons in this federal program.”

Mandi Paronish, founder of the Small Town Hope childcare center in Northern Cambria, said she agrees with Chernisky that the program provides important benefits for seniors, some of whom are widows looking to transition their life in a new way by helping children.

“There’s a whole bunch of really healthy things that happen when generations of people are under the same roof for the same reason,” Paronish said.

When funding for the program was cut last year, Paronish said the center’s three foster grandparents transitioned to volunteers and remained at the center. Under the program, the foster grandparents were given a small stipend for their work.

Paronish said she’s hopeful the foster grandparent program will make a comeback in Cambria County one day so current volunteers can get back into the program. The center currently has four participants serving as volunteers, she said.

The stipend makes a difference for many of the volunteers because they’re living on limited budgets, Paronish said, adding the program forms a sense of community and gives participants a deeper purpose to life.

“I think our foster grandparents really miss being called foster grandparents,” Paronish said. “It really gave them their title within our space.”

Leah Spangler, president of The Learning Lamp, said the commissioners’ vote doesn’t impact the nonprofit organization because they don’t have any foster grandparents currently.

In the past, whenever funding was administered and the program was staffed, foster grandparents were in preschool and childcare classrooms assisting teachers, Spangler said.

“What was really nice about the program was it was an extra set of hands in the classroom, and when you’re managing, in the case of a preschool classroom, 10 or 20 children, having an extra set of hands makes a really big difference,” Spangler said.

Spangler said she understands the county has difficult fiscal restraints with its declining population and tax revenue, but the program is beneficial and should be reinstated, she said.

By not continuing with the grant, the county has opened up the door for other nonprofit organizations to apply, and The Learning Lamp will closely follow when that grant opportunity opens, Spangler said.

After the vote, Hunt clarified he thinks the foster grandparent program is a great program.

“It’s just the fact of where we’re going to have to rebuild from and we have no current staff in there,” he said, adding he knows of at least two organizations that are willing to apply for future competitive grants through AmeriCorps.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.