Hello All,
This is my first diary. Be gentle. I am an IT professional who works for one of the many non-profit social services agencies in the Chicago area. My particular agency deals with mentally handicapped and developmentally disabled adults and provides them with career services, group homes and community integration in addition to providing their medicine and therapy. I am taking the time to write today because Illinois' state government, along with several other state governments including California and Pennsylvania, have broken down with regards to our budget. Illinois is anywhere from 6-9 billion dollars in the hole based on conflicting budget analysis (which is something that the legislature cannot even agree on.) This has resulted in the beginning of the collapse of the social service network in Illinois.
Yesterday the State Legislature sent a 6 month budget to the Governor who has said he will veto it, which he is set to do at 1:30pm today. Two weeks ago the Governor instructed the Department of Human Services to send new contracts to state funded agencies. These new contracts slashed funding anywhere from 30-100 percent. As a result of the short notice and the size of the cuts many of the agencies which rely on the state funding which impact so many people that are greatly in need – battered women, adults and children with developmental disabilities and mental illness; victims of rape; at-risk youth - will be forced to close their doors and no longer be able to provide services to the most vulnerable populations in our state.
As usual here in Illinois the social service agencies are the first on the chopping block because we have no lobby in Springfield, and don't provide enough monetary compensation for our representatives to give a damn about us.
When agencies asked how to deal with the thousands of people who will be displaced by these cuts, the State's Secretary of the Department of Human Services had no response. The new fiscal year as well as the budget cuts started today.
This morning my fiance was part of a group of staff who were charged with turning clients away from our agency that were in the programs which the state government has cut. These are clients who have been coming through our doors for 10-30 years. I found her locked in her office sobbing after it was over. I want to have my state legislature spend an afternoon in any number of agencies today who are closing their doors and explain to an adult or child suffering from mental illness–self-mutilation, pyromania, dimentia, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorders, sudden onset explosive disorder, anger management etc. that the one place which has been helping them is now closing. That where they have friends is closing. That where they have built a life for themselves is closing.
But our clients are the marginalized, the poor, the ghosts who walk our city streets seen but not heard, acknowledged but not understood, and in most cases roundly ignored and thankfully forgotten by our politicians as soon as they are finished with their photo op at our agencies. They have no lobby and no money and are therefore expendable.
Our clients are not numbers on a spreadsheet. The issue is not that government spending in Illinois is out of control and has innumerable over-funded programs that do not work, this is common knowledge. The issue is not that past administrations have not dealt with adequately funding pension obligations or that unions need to come to the bargaining table in order to reduce cost, these are not the issue. The issue is not the cowardice of the democrats in the general assembly to forgo a tax increase because it makes them politically vulnerable. The issue is the willingness and complete lack of empathy by my State's legislature to play Russian roulette with it's most vulnerable citizens. These people will be tossed out onto the streets with no treatment, no help and no options.
People will die, and no one seems to care.
Our clients in their own words. (Sorry for the video quality, my agency threw this together in a day after we got our budget cut notifications two weeks ago.)
The Illinois General Assembly has adjourned until July 14th under the Direction of Speaker Madigan and Senate Leader John Cullerton. Governor Quinn did not seem to find this objectionable either. I guess they thought the legislature's July 4th celebrations and parades were more important than keeping Illinois' shelters and agencies open. If these people had empathy or remorse over what they have done I think it would have kicked in by now, but you need a conscience for that. Enjoy your BBQ while we are leaving our clients at overcrowded State Operated facilities who will turn them out onto the streets after a day or two because they have no more beds.
Update #1: Thank you citygirl for reminding me to let people know how the process got so convoluted. The Illinois General Assembly is majority democratic. The Illinois State Senate passed a budget bill with a moderate tax increase with the support of Governor Quinn. The Illinois House then voted against the budget proposal and the democrats lost the ability to vote through a budget with just their party. The Illinois house republicans had to then become involved because in order to pass the budget now you need a 3/5's majority instead of a simple majority which the democrats no longer have without a few republicans. The Democrats in the General Assembly have done this to themselves and my state because they did not want to go on record as having voted for a tax increase before their primary challengers are announced for the elections in November. Another reminder from Grumpy Young Man to let everyone reading this know that Illinois ranks 51st in the nation when funding programs for people with disabilities. Thank you citygirl and Grumpy Old Man.
To learn more about the social service agency crisis in Illinois please go to taxpayersforillinois.com.
Update #2: Thank you all for taking the time to read this. And thank you for getting it on the Rec list. For anyone in social services in a state who is facing a budget crisis you have my deepest sympathies as I would not want anyone else to go through this. My only advice to providers who are not facing cuts this year is to organize for the next few years to come. Depending on the good graces and basic human dignity of your government representatives has not served us here in Illinois, and I fear it won't anywhere else either. Thank you again.
Update #3: July 2nd, 2009- My agency started laying people off today in addition to turning away clients. In total we lost 42 staff or about 25% of our agency. Career services, job coaching, case managers, clinicians(therapists), and numerous day program instructors lost their jobs today as well as one member from my IT department. The remainder of the staff, after getting over the shock of entire departments disappearing, will now have to go into crisis mode as more and more of our clients react to the stress of watching the agency that has been their home fall apart. Already underpaid and understaffed to begin with our agency will probably limp along for another few weeks. Unfortunately the state already owes my agency 3 million dollars for services already rendered dating back to February. As a result my agency has been operating on loans from banks to do things like buy supplies, pay rent on our facilities and make payroll. Do to the fact that Governor Quinn has now gone on the record as saying any agency continuing service should be prepared to not get paid, the likelihood of a bank extending our loan or issuing us a new one went from slim to none. Please read this article quoting Illinois Comptroller Dan Hines and his complete lack of understanding regarding how agencies in his state have been funding themselves for the past 4-6 months. Again, Illinois ranks 51st in the nation in the amount it spends on services for people with disabilities.