DECATUR - Starting July 1, Macon County will once again have a full-time attorney to represent people who can't afford one, when the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation receives funding for the first time from the United Way of Decatur and Mid-Illinois.

The organization, based in East St. Louis, will receive $27,500 in undesignated funding for its Family Violence Prevention Project that will allow it to obtain the same amount in matching funds from Decatur Township and staff an office that has been a satellite facility since Oct. 15, 2005.

Bill Brown, former managing attorney for the office, said he is excited about returning.

"The United Way has certain expectations, and my intention is to exceed those expectations by quite a bit," Brown said. "There's quite a lot of work to do in Decatur."

The foundation is among three agencies to receive funding after losing out for the current fiscal year, when the United Way began directing funds to programs that demonstrate measurable improvements to the community's quality of life.

The others are United Cerebral Palsy Land of Lincoln, which will receive a total of $49,738 for its youth development and employment program and its medical support program, and the Lincoln Trails Boy Scout Council, which will get $12,491 for its ScoutReach program for low-income, at-risk youth in Decatur, according to a news release Thursday by the United Way.

"We really took to heart some of the criticism we got last year and paid a little more attention to detail when applying," said Cayla Hittmeier, development director for United Cerebral Palsy Land of Lincoln.

Melinda Hawbaker, executive director for the United Way, said the awards demonstrate the continuing mutual commitment between the United Way and its partner agencies, despite the tough choices required by limited funds.

"We value our partnerships and want to meet the needs of the community," she said. "We believe we've been successful doing both."

Hawbaker put Easter Seals Central Illinois in the same category. Even though the agency did get $16,140 for its medical equipment loan program for the current year, it lost about $80,000 for its former Pathways to Independence program.

For the coming year, Easter Seals will receive $42,150 for speech therapy and $13,290 for the medical equipment loan program.

Lori Brown, director of programs, said Easter Seals would be able to do more community screenings and help more people with speech therapy on a sliding fee scale without getting into budget trouble. "I'm delighted the United Way is funding services we will provide," she said.

Not all of the 22 agencies eligible to share in the $1.72 million in undesignated funds for the coming year will do so, however.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois will not get anything for its mentoring program, nor will Dove Inc.'s domestic violence program for teen services. The Central Illinois Foodbank didn't even apply after being denied funding a year ago.

While expressing appreciation for United Way funding Dove will receive for programs in DeWitt County, Executive Director Ray Batman said he was disappointed and surprised support for a teen/adolescent batterer group and additional teen dating violence presentations in Macon County would not continue beyond one year.

"It will be difficult for us to find the money, but the teen service program has performed well, and we will make every attempt to continue it," Batman said.

Angie Peters, director of development for Big Brothers Big Sisters, declined to comment, as did representatives of several agencies who said Thursday that they had not yet received any information from the United Way about their funding.

Hawbaker said the United Way's board made the funding decisions Tuesday and that letters were mailed to the agencies on Wednesday.

The board allocated $774,000 in undesignated funds for youth development, $516,000 for access to health care and $430,000 for community basics. In addition, donors designated $236,794 to go directly to the United Way's 22 agencies and $117,699 to other nonprofit organizations.

In all, 11 of the 19 agencies awarded undesignated funds will receive more than they did for the current year, five will get less and three will stay the same.

An increase of $9,575 to $70,325 for the Right Track Truancy Initiative will allow Project Success to expand the program to two more elementary schools the year after United Way funding made it possible for Baum, Hope, Parsons, South Shores and Stevenson schools to start this year.

Jane Shade, executive director of Project Success, said the new schools haven't been selected yet but that the choices include Dennis, Franklin and Oak Grove.

Other agencies with increases and their undesignated funding amounts are:

Community Health Improvement Center, $240,140, up $24,000; Catholic Charities, $230,786, up $11,329; Webster-Cantrell Hall, $95,376, up $29,901; and Girl Scouts Shemamo Council, $66,887, up $19,647.

Those that stayed the same are:

Mid-Illinois Chapter of the American Red Cross disaster services, $80,750; Heritage Behavioral Health Center's Oasis Day Center, $51,000; and Partners in Education's Making Right Choices, $42,328.

Those that had funding cuts were:

Decatur Day Care, $223,477, down $15,769; Salvation Army, $101,440, down $27,385; Mental Health Association of Macon County, $25,000, down $20,750; Decatur YMCA, $15,500, down $28,500; and the Decatur YWCA, $15,440, down $11,060.

Theresa Churchill can be reached at tchurchill@herald-review.com or 421-7978.