Children from nearly 50 countries fill the hallways at Hillcrest School. They come to Lawrence with their parents, many of whom go to school or work at Kansas University. English is their second language.

For most, learning the academic and social ropes in a foreign land can be quite an adjustment.

As natives of Mexico who speak English as a second language, Hillcrest School students Rafael Torres, 9, left, and his brother, Charlie, 7, work with WRAP social worker Emily Dorothy in all areas of academics. Dorothy meets with the Torres family once a week.

But for families like the Torreses, who came here from Mexico, Hillcrest’s Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities social worker has made the transition easier.

Emily Dorothy meets once a week with the Torreses and their three children Charlie, Daisy and Rafael to teach the parents how to help their children with homework.

“The children’s comfort level with the things that we have been working on has increased,” Dorothy said. “The most important piece of it is they are enjoying doing academics at home.”

This year, WRAP, now a nearly 5-year-old program run by Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, expanded its reach into nine Lawrence, Eudora and Baldwin elementary schools with the help of $803,000 in federal funding obtained through U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore’s office.

Expansion to lower grades meant workers could concentrate more on prevention rather than catch-up work on older children with more pronounced problems.

Workers have formed after-school groups to confront issues like anger management and making friends. They also work one-on-one with children and their families, dealing with problems as seemingly minimal as head lice all the way up to physical and sexual abuse.

But after a year of progress, the program may have to take a step back as the recent economic downturn puts the scope of WRAP’s future in question.

“We’ll continue the program. We’ll do whatever we need to do,” said Charlie Kuszmaul, program coordinator. “If we have to make it smaller, we will.”

Unlike the school district, WRAP can accept money from local governments and private sources, Kuszmaul said. In addition to federal dollars, WRAP receives funds from the school districts, the city, the county and Bert Nash.

“We need every nickel we can get,” Kuszmaul said.

The district this year contributed roughly $140,000, about 15 percent of the program’s budget, he said.

“While it’s useful, it’s not make or break,” he said. “But as we’re trying to find money from a variety of other sources … it’s much easier when we can say this local school district puts money into the program. I don’t need as much money from them as they’ve given in the past, but I need some.

“It’s just like playing poker; you’ve got to ante up.”

That ante will amount to $70,000 next year. The Lawrence School Board in mid-March voted to cut WRAP funding in half as part of a multimillion dollar fee increase and spending cut plan.

Even alternative funding sources are less plentiful this time around. The federal funding that enabled the program to grow this year will be cut back substantially. The most WRAP can expect is $200,000, said Pat Meinhold of Bert Nash.

The state is talking about slashing funding to Bert Nash, and city and county officials are no less pressed for cash.

If cuts in the WRAP program must be made, elementary schools likely would be the first places to see them.

“In difficult times, it’s always difficult to convince people to pay for early intervention,” Kuszmaul said, referring both to policy makers and taxpayers. “But if you don’t pay it now, you will pay it later.”

Students who get attention from WRAP workers have problems economic, psychological, sociological that prevent them from engaging fully in the educational process, he said. Once they start to fall behind, they have fewer resources to catch back up.

“You want to cut corners? They’ll cut corners on you,” Kuszmaul said. “These are the ones that will be taking care of you in the nursing home. They’re the ones that will be driving the engine.”