Esteban Parra

The News Journal

The Administration for Children and Families released more than $10.7 million to help low-income families in Delaware with their heating and cooling costs.

The assistance, more than a half-million dollars less than the previous year, is aimed at helping homeowners and renters who are at 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines. The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, the state agency that receives the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding, said it was too soon to tell what impact the 5.2 percent cut would have, especially since they needed to look at overall heating costs.

Despite the drop in funding, Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Rita Landgraf said she was grateful for it.

"This funding allows us to support thousands of vulnerable Delawareans in paying their heating bills this winter and keeping them and their families safe," Landgraf said.

For more information on the program contact a Catholic Charities location near you: For New Castle County visits the office at 2601 W. Fourth St., Wilmington or call (302) 654-9295. The Kent County office is located at 2099 S. DuPont Highway, Dover or call (302) 674-1782. The Sussex County office is located at 406 S. Bedford St., Suite 9, in Georgetown or call (302) 856-6310

The funding helps low-income individuals and families with energy bills from Oct. 1 through March 31.

The funding, also known as LIHEAP, assisted more than 15,000 Delaware households last year. Of those households, 14,361 received heating benefits only.

That was a drop from 2014 when LIHEAP supported more than 16,000 Delaware households, of which 14,864 received heating benefits only.

The 2016 report has not been completed.

LIHEAP funding assists households with meeting home energy needs, including vulnerable households with very young children, individuals with disabilities and older individuals.

"Unsafe indoor temperatures are unacceptable conditions for anyone to live in, especially for seniors and families with young children," said Jeannie Chaffin, director of the federal Office of Community Services. "With these LIHEAP funds helping households in Delaware with limited incomes pay their home heating and cooling bills, these families and individuals can use their income to pay for other critical necessities such as food and medicine."

The state Division of State Service Centers administers this program on a contractual basis with Catholic Charities Inc.

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.

For more information on the program contact a Catholic Charities location near you:

For New Castle County visits the office at 2601 W. Fourth St., Wilmington or call (302) 654-9295.

The Kent County office is located at 2099 S. DuPont Highway, Dover or call (302) 674-1782.

The Sussex County office is located at 406 S. Bedford St., Suite 9, in Georgetown or call (302) 856-6310