Cuts to have big impact

Ms Higgs said The Salvation Army's free independent financial counselling service was essential and funding cuts would mean it would have to end.

From September 30 the Salvation Army will lose $121,610 in State Government funding for financial counsellors in Morley and Balga who assist families in need.

Ms Higgs said if the Government invested more in financial counselling as a preventative measure, the dividend would be huge.

"The return on investment for government in terms of avoided costs " such as health or housing or breakdown of relationships " would be significant," she said.

Salvation Army spokesman Warren Palmer said in the past year more than 1500 people were helped by financial counsellors from the Morley and Balga |services.

"This equates to more than 4000 people assisted in reality, with the whole family benefiting from the financial advice and advocacy," he said.

Mr Palmer said funding cuts meant that instead of working intensively, their ability to assist families in need would be severely limited to emergency assistance.

"While this meets an immediate need, it does not remove vulnerabilities but actually exposes families to prolonged disadvantage and social depravities," he said.

"Social depravities and an inability to manage financially has a direct impact with mental illness, depression, relationship breakdown, domestic violence and addictions, playing a significant part in the dysfunction of our community."

Child Protection Minister Helen Morton said it was critical the department used funding to support its core business - services promoting the safety and wellbeing of at-risk children and families, with the aim to prevent children going into care.

"Currently, just 1 per cent of the people using the financial counselling services are Department for Child Protection and Family Services clients," she said.

"Figures provided by the financial counselling services show each counsellor sees just 1.3 clients a day for significant interaction. In my view this is inefficient."

Opposition leader Mark |McGowan said the cuts were a "heartless decision from a government that did not care".

"This decision will cost the state more in the long run," he said.

"Now is not the time to be cutting financial counsellors and abandoning West Australians who are doing it tough."

Mr McGowan said with the State Government's next round of above inflation increases to electricity and water coming into effect this week, more and more West Australians would be under financial pressure.