Federal cuts could hurt Head Start and senior services - 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio -

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - With less than 36 hours away from the deadline to stop automatic federal spending cuts, Valley agencies that depend on at-risk funding are bracing for impact.

Teacher and administration layoffs, programming cuts and shutting down locations are all on the list of potential cuts for the MYCAP Head Start program for pre-schoolers.

"Those families that would be counting on having their children in our program, so that they can go to work, they would not have child care," said Lois Clark, Director of Head Start.

If the sequester cannot be averted, the program will see up to $600,000 sliced out of its $7.2 million budget. It's already extensive waiting is expected to grow longer.

Clark says meetings are ongoing as they narrow in on what will be cut first. The Area Agency on Aging in Niles assists senior citizens. Its administrators have hit the pause button, waiting for the final word from Washington on Friday.

"We've held specific programs harmless, specific services harmless and one is nutrition," said Joe Rossi, agency CEO. "We're not going to be able to do that anymore; there will be cuts in the nutrition program."

Rossi is told he should expect up to 10 percent chopped out of the agency's budget.

If that's the case, the agency would be forced to serve up to 22,000 fewer meals and cut the number of rides through its transportation services by more than 6,000.