The executive director of Sheltercare, a short-term group home that provides services to youth in the city’s West End, says she may have to consider cutting staff, services or beds, despite nearly $2 million in funding included in the city’s proposed 2027 budget.
The city manager’s budget fulfills a funding request from the Juvenile Detention Commission of Northern Virginia, which oversees the 14-bed Sheltercare facility. However, the program’s planned budget of $2.14 million is scaled down from executive director Annie Reiney’s initial $2.7 million proposal, which included a 40% increase in funding to pay for extra staffing and building improvements.
Sheltercare’s $2.14 million budget is comprised of $1.8 million in general city funding, $185,026 in fiscal year grants, $150,000 from other revenue sources, and interest income, according to the program.
Cuts from Reiney’s proposal were made possible by not hiring seven budgeted positions, relocating breakfast service and limiting maintenance costs to $150,000.
“I appreciate that the city manager proposed funding our request, but the bottom line is that Sheltercare still has a $335,000 hole in its budget,” said John Lawrence, chair of the Juvenile Detention Commission of Northern Virginia. “If that can’t be filled, then Annie will need to cut staff, services or beds for kids.”
The city has increased funding for the facility annually since 2021 as Sheltercare continues to serve more kids. Sheltercare’s participants have increased significantly over the past five years, jumping from 16 children in 2021 to 94 children last year. The 2027 city budget accounts for an $84,041 increase in Sheltercare expenditures from fiscal year 2026.
Alexandria pays for a majority of the center’s funding, with a small amount coming in from Arlington County and the state. ALXnow has reached out to the city manager for comment.
Per the budget proposal, food at the facility would be prepared in the kitchen of the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center, which is next door to Sheltercare. Additional cuts were made to housekeeping, supervisory staff and maintenance.
“We’ve had to eliminate our kitchen,” Reniey said. “JDC is covering all food expenses for us now.”
Reiney initially requested that staffing increase from 17 full-time staff to 24 staff — the amount she says the city outlined to her. She said more counselors, or case managers, are needed for the kids.
“That’s what the city told me was the number that I needed,” she said. “I am not fully staffed, and I’m not going to be fully staffed.”
As the facility director since 2023, Reiney has helped procure incremental budget increases each year to fix the aging facility. Last year, she secured funding to make an ADA-compliant stairwell, although this year, she is faced with a deteriorating front deck, which she said she doesn’t have the funding to pay for.
Reiney said she is considering bringing in more kids from other jurisdictions on a per diem basis to increase funding. Arlington contributes $412 per day to house a child in the program, which lasts up to 89 days. As such, a single participant can account for more than $36,000 in additional funding.
However, that also means taking a bed away from a potential Alexandria participant — and with a facility waiting list of children without homes, Reiney says that is a difficult decision to make.
“That is one less Alexandria kid,” Reiney said. “I want people to see what we actually do and the services that we provide to these kids. As for the services that the kids get, nothing’s going to change.”
