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A special assistance program for military families funded partly by taxpayers on a volunteer basis is only now starting to come together, despite being enacted by Gov. Kathleen Blanco almost two years ago.

The Department of Social Services has been slow to claim the program as its own—even though the law places oversight firmly in its camp. And thousands of dollars intended to help soldiers’ relatives have been held hostage.

The Legislature created the Louisiana Military Family Assistance Fund in 2005 to award need-based grants to families of Louisiana National Guard and Reserve forces called to active duty since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

More than 11,800 residents and their 12,000 or so dependents are eligible for the program, which also benefits guard units tapped for natural disasters.

Not a single dollar has been dispensed, and DSS missed a Jan. 1 deadline to submit a report on the program to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. DSS still can’t point out any benchmarks, and a board created to oversee the process is now looking to the attorney general’s office to serve as a third-party administrator.

“Reading between the lines, I think DSS wasn’t sure that they were the ones to kick this thing off, but it falls under the law,” says Sen. Reggie Dupre, D-Houma, who authored the original legislation and serves on the board. “We are all tied together at the hip.”

The program is simple enough.

Taxpayers have the option to dedicate all or part of their returns to assist the state’s military families by checking off a box on forms for individual income, corporate income and franchises. Private donations have also been collected. The fund provides bridge money, or emergency cash, to families who have lost a source of income because of military service.

Applications can be made for something as simple as new tires or rent; the initiative was engineered to reach as many people as possible and concentrates on the smaller complications of life in the guard.

More substantial allotments are also available for casualty cases. A payment of $2,500 is supposed to be offered to soldiers who are killed in action, missing in action or taken prisoner.

Blanco formed an oversight board for the fund earlier this year, as required by law. The board met for the first time last month, and Dupre says it is discussing the possibility of pairing with the attorney general to serve as the third-party administrator to award claims to needy military families.

The fund contained about $10,150 last month, based on records released by the state treasurer’s office. But Dupre says board members were told that almost $100,000 had been collected. Dupre says there could be some private donations that have not been added to the tally.

DSS spokesperson Cleo Allen referred all questions regarding money to the state treasury. But this much is certain: Guidelines have only recently been adopted for the disbursement of the money, and it could be several more months before applications are accepted.

Neither Blanco nor her legislative director returned phone calls regarding this story. But Allen says the 2005 hurricanes extended the program longer than expected, and there was a slight hold for more money to come in.

“We did experience some delays with Katrina and Rita,” Allen says, “but remember that the whole point is moot without the money.”

The original legislation was part of Blanco’s 2005 policy package, had a slew of co-authors and faced no opposition. The governor described it as an “opportunity to add something substantial to … prayers and support.”

The program is modeled after a military assistance fund set up by Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. At least 14 other states have similar initiatives, and at least 12 more are considering legislation. The Illinois legislature jump-started its program with a $5 million gift and raised an additional $1 million through check-offs and corporate donations.

There was an effort by Sen. Joe McPherson, D-Woodworth, to have Louisiana match dollar-for-dollar what the fund raises annually, but it was shot down in 2005 amid talk of tight budget years ahead. Based on interviews with state officials and a look at bills pre-filed for the spring regular session, there seems to be little movement for a revival.

“We should have been done with this by at least mid-2006,” Dupre says. “This just should have gotten off the ground sooner.”