State budget cuts are impacting local public health programs. The legislature and the governor have been unable to meet the July 1 deadline for passing a new two-year budget. They are giving themselves an extension by passing a one-week interim plan, setting funding levels at 30 percent less than what agencies are currently getting.
These budget problems are not new, we have been hearing various proposed cuts in grant and state funded programs for months now. We have had to give layoff notices to all four of our Help Me Grow (HMG) service coordinators, a program serving low income families with children birth to three. Originally, we were told that a 45% funding cut was in the house version of the state budget, then three weeks ago, the senate version of the budget was released with no HMG funding for at-risk children.
The HMG grant is supposed to start the new funding year on July 1st, but we still don’t know if there will be any funding available.
The Head Lice program which helps families treat their children for head lice, and instructs them on proper steps to eliminate lice from the home and prevent recurrences, will end on June 30th due to the reallocation of the funding by the governor.
We have applied for a new grant funded program, which is supposed to start July 1st, but we have not received any notification from the state about if we are getting the grant, or what level of funding would be available. By the time we get notified, fill the positions, and get up and running we will have lost at least a month of service delivery.
Almost all funds that come from the state general fund, or federal funds that can be diverted by the state, are being reduced. Cuts of over $400,000 for the next 12 months are likely.
The legislature needs to take a little old school health advice, “It’s better to just rip the Band-Aid off instead of pulling it off slowly. Either way is painful, but at least you get it over quickly.” Make the hard decisions now, and let’s move forward.
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