SPOKANE -- More than 10-percent of the people on welfare in Spokane will be kicked off by the end of February 2011 because of state budget cuts.

Governor Christine Gregoire is cutting $51 Million from state welfare as part of an effort to balance the budget.

The governor said Thursday that lawmakers need to pass a supplemental budget cutting $500 Million before the end of the year and the state budget for the next three years needs to cut another 10 percent.

Unfortunately Pete Casimir, a Work First, administrator says the need for assistance is growing.

“In the last two months, June and July, we've seen a spike that we haven't seen since September, October of 2008,” Casimir said.

Work First spends over $968 Million a year; its a huge and some say unwieldy program with services spread across five state agencies.

“It’s a program to help families in need,” Casimir explained. “To give them income for the month to be able to take care of basic needs like food and medical.”

But new budget cuts announced by the governor slash $51 Million from the program. That means that beginning next February 527 of the 4,300 Spokane Work First families will be effectively removed from welfare rolls.

They'll lose monthly stipends and child care assistance but will still likely receive food stamps and medical care.

“It will make household budgets tighter, they'll have to manage their money much closer,” Casimir said.

It will also force families to decrease their reliance on the state for financial assistance.

“Families will have to be much more careful how they use temporary funds,” he said.

It’s unlikely that the budget cuts slashing through Work First will stop there. Governor Gregoire informed nearly every state agency that they should expect cuts from 4 to 7 percent next year.