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ATTLEBORO - Federal funds used to help immigrant families learn English have been slashed, forcing an end to the Even Start program run by The Literacy Center.

The program's last day was Thursday after a five- year run in the city. It was operated by the school department for two years and The Literacy Center for three years.

Seventeen immigrant families are affected by the cut, and six Literacy Center workers, two full-time and four part-time, lost their jobs, Literacy Center Director Joan Ricci said.

One of the part-time teachers is still employed in another Literacy Center program, however.

"There are not a lot of federal funds out there for family literacy, so to lose what little there is, is very disappointing," Ricci said. The $175,000 grant represented about 40 percent of The Literacy Center's budget last year, she said.

Ricci said funding was drastically cut nationwide by federal officials who questioned the effectiveness of the programs.

In Massachusetts only four out of 22 programs were funded for the upcoming year, which starts in September.

Cities with populations larger than Attleboro's, and therefore judged to have a greater need, such as Fall River and Lowell, got the funding, she said.

Literacy Center officials knew the end was near because most of the cuts happened nationwide last year, but Massachusetts got an extra year.

"It's very disappointing, but it wasn't unexpected," Ricci said.

She said the center will try to help some of the families in other programs and will search for new grants to make up for the loss in money.

Parents who need childcare while they are trying to learn English will be most affected by the loss of Even Start because of childcare services provided by the program, Ricci said.

The childcare service also helped prepare the children for school.

In addition to teaching English, Even Start helped parents improve "the learning environment" for children at home, Ricci said. It also trained mothers and fathers in parenting skills and provided interactive literacy sessions to get the parents involved in the schools.

Most of the families served by Even Start were Hispanic, but there were also Cambodians and other nationalities, Ricci said.

GEORGE W. RHODES can be reached at 508-236-0432 or at grhodes@thesunchronicle.com.