Human services providers in Southwestern Ohio went on the offensive Thursday, urging state leaders not to cut their funding any further.
The plea came as Ohio Governor Ted Strickland told reporters in Columbus that he has to trim another $2.4 billion in spending to balance the budget.
"My budget framework calls for resizing state government in line with the shrinking economy," the Governor said. "We’re doing that while minimizing the impact of our most vulnerable citizens – especially our children, the elderly and the disabled.”
Moira Weir, director of Hamilton County Job & Family Services, took issue with that statement. So did Job & Family Services directors in Butler and Clermont counties.
"For us, locally, I would say I disagree," Weir said. "We are mandated to do food stamps, child support, children’s services and adult protective services, but we can’t staff ourselves currently to meet the demands that are there.”
Her budget has been cut by $30 million in the past two years – and a similar cut is anticipated in 2010 and 2011. More than 350 employees have been laid off.
Yet, the demand for services continues to increase. For example, the agency served more than 55,000 people in June.
Long lines are the rule, rather than the exception at the downtown office on East Central Parkway, and it’s taking longer to get benefits to clients.
"We typically, prior to this, were able to process an application in 10 days," Weir said. "It’s taking us up to 30 days now to process an application and people need their services right away."
At Lighthouse Youth Services in Walnut Hills, president Bob Mecum watched the Governor online and worried what future cuts would mean for his agency.
"I can tell you that core services at Lighthouse are at imminent risk," Mecum said.
Lighthouse gets $8.6 million a year in state funding right now for residential treatment of abused children, keeping boys and girls out of the juvenile court system, plus assisting young people as they “age out” of welfare and foster care.
Much of that is through service contracts with Hamilton County’s JFS.
Right now, that funding is intact. But, Mecum says there hasn’t been an increase in four years, so he’s leery of the future and who might be impacted.
"Children and families with mental illness, senior citizens, day care centers, abused and neglected children – young people coming into juvenile courts," he said.
Mecum added that as services are reduced, taxpayers would pay an even higher price down the road as children can’t complete school or they get involved in juvenile delinquency.
