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Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts
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No More Handouts?
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Date: May 22, 2012 05:19PM
Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts
By Fredrick Kunkle, Published: May 21
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/fairfax-county-social-services-agency-facing-cuts/2012/05/21/gIQARKLQgU_story.html
Some of Fairfax County’s most vulnerable people, and the nonprofit organizations and charities that serve them, fear that a key social services agency’s $8 million budget deficit could jeopardize programs for at-risk children and people with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and substance abuse problems.
The widening shortfall at the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, which provides services to thousands of people, has forced the publicly funded agency to freeze hiring and make some modest cuts to programs. But with the deficit expected to grow next year, it is considering more drastic measures, including reducing staff, closing treatment centers and a further scaling back of services.
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.In March, the agency announced cuts to Infant & Toddler Connection, which provides services for newborns and young children who show signs of intellectual delay in development. For the first time in the agency’s history, children are being put on a waiting list, which means that although the program provides assessments of children, they face delays receiving critical therapies, officials said.
The agency, which receives most of its funding from the county, might also close New Horizons, a 16-bed treatment facility for adults with mental illness and substance abuse problems in Mount Vernon, and Sojourn House, an eight-bed residential program for mentally ill girls.
Advocates for the disabled have expressed alarm about proposed reductions to Employment and Day Services, which aids young people with intellectual disabilities after their graduation from Fairfax public schools. Those cutbacks could force more than 60 families onto a waiting list. Agency officials have asked the county to find money to fund programs for 19 young people whose needs are most acute.
“These are vulnerable people in dire need of services,” said Rikki Epstein, executive director for the Arc of Northern Virginia, a nonprofit organization that assists people with intellectual disabilities.
Kymberly S. DeLoatche, executive director of the Autism Society of Northern Virginia, said she is worried that the cuts could force some parents or family members to quit their jobs to provide care that their children would otherwise receive from professionals.
“So that is a huge gaping hole,” she said. “And our families are already on the edge of that hole.”
The agency’s budget problems have prompted heightened scrutiny from the Board of Supervisors, which has had to find more money for the agency at a time when the county’s finances are still feeling the aftershocks of the 2007-09 recession. On Tuesday, the supervisors are to review a plan proposed by the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board to address the budget gap. The county also plans to hold a series of public hearings, beginning June 4, to gauge opinion about how to handle the problem.
The Community Services Board administers social services programs for more than 22,600 people. Much of the work is done under contract by private organizations, but the CSB oversees the services and finances them with federal, state and local funding.
Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts
Text Size PrintE-mailReprintsIn fiscal 2011, the CSB’s expenditures reached nearly $155 million, up from about $139 million the previous year. The county’s contribution, which is about 70 percent of the CSB’s budget, is expected to rise to $100.4 million from $95.7 million.
In the current fiscal year, the CSB has a deficit of about $8 million, which is expected to deepen to nearly $9.5 million in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The red ink forced the Board of Supervisors to establish a $4.2 million reserve fund for the anticipated shortfall.
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.George Braunstein, the CSB’s executive director, blamed the deficits on a rising need for social services after the recession and inadequate revenues to pay for them. For example, overall clientele has risen about 5 percent a year, while the demand for Infant & Toddler Connection jumped 38 percent in the past two years, agency officials said.
The county has slashed general-fund spending for the agency by $15 million over the past four years, according to a memo Braunstein sent March 1 to agency personnel. His memo said that higher personnel costs — “primarily due to cost of increased fringe benefits” — also bit into the agency’s budget.
In an interview, Allan Phillips, director of Infant & Toddler Connection, expressed frustration that the federal and state governments have mandated the program but failed to consistently provide adequate funding. He said early intervention is more cost-effective than a lifetime of intense care.
“This is one of the best programs government ever came up with,” Phillips said. “There’s no one I know that thinks this is a wasteful program.”
Glenn Kamber, a CSB member representing Hunter Mill, said funding problems are not new for the agency, because political leaders at all levels have a tendency to ignore its funding needs until those needs become critical.
“The only time they really listen is when the waiting lists start to increase,” Kamber said. “In addition to all this, the state has put new populations and new responsibilities with the CSB without giving more funds to handle them. That’s our annual dilemma.”
By Fredrick Kunkle, Published: May 21
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/fairfax-county-social-services-agency-facing-cuts/2012/05/21/gIQARKLQgU_story.html
Some of Fairfax County’s most vulnerable people, and the nonprofit organizations and charities that serve them, fear that a key social services agency’s $8 million budget deficit could jeopardize programs for at-risk children and people with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and substance abuse problems.
The widening shortfall at the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, which provides services to thousands of people, has forced the publicly funded agency to freeze hiring and make some modest cuts to programs. But with the deficit expected to grow next year, it is considering more drastic measures, including reducing staff, closing treatment centers and a further scaling back of services.
7
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Ben Pershing 11:28 AM ET
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Read more
.In March, the agency announced cuts to Infant & Toddler Connection, which provides services for newborns and young children who show signs of intellectual delay in development. For the first time in the agency’s history, children are being put on a waiting list, which means that although the program provides assessments of children, they face delays receiving critical therapies, officials said.
The agency, which receives most of its funding from the county, might also close New Horizons, a 16-bed treatment facility for adults with mental illness and substance abuse problems in Mount Vernon, and Sojourn House, an eight-bed residential program for mentally ill girls.
Advocates for the disabled have expressed alarm about proposed reductions to Employment and Day Services, which aids young people with intellectual disabilities after their graduation from Fairfax public schools. Those cutbacks could force more than 60 families onto a waiting list. Agency officials have asked the county to find money to fund programs for 19 young people whose needs are most acute.
“These are vulnerable people in dire need of services,” said Rikki Epstein, executive director for the Arc of Northern Virginia, a nonprofit organization that assists people with intellectual disabilities.
Kymberly S. DeLoatche, executive director of the Autism Society of Northern Virginia, said she is worried that the cuts could force some parents or family members to quit their jobs to provide care that their children would otherwise receive from professionals.
“So that is a huge gaping hole,” she said. “And our families are already on the edge of that hole.”
The agency’s budget problems have prompted heightened scrutiny from the Board of Supervisors, which has had to find more money for the agency at a time when the county’s finances are still feeling the aftershocks of the 2007-09 recession. On Tuesday, the supervisors are to review a plan proposed by the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board to address the budget gap. The county also plans to hold a series of public hearings, beginning June 4, to gauge opinion about how to handle the problem.
The Community Services Board administers social services programs for more than 22,600 people. Much of the work is done under contract by private organizations, but the CSB oversees the services and finances them with federal, state and local funding.
Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts
Text Size PrintE-mailReprintsIn fiscal 2011, the CSB’s expenditures reached nearly $155 million, up from about $139 million the previous year. The county’s contribution, which is about 70 percent of the CSB’s budget, is expected to rise to $100.4 million from $95.7 million.
In the current fiscal year, the CSB has a deficit of about $8 million, which is expected to deepen to nearly $9.5 million in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The red ink forced the Board of Supervisors to establish a $4.2 million reserve fund for the anticipated shortfall.
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Ben Pershing 11:28 AM ET
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Read more
.George Braunstein, the CSB’s executive director, blamed the deficits on a rising need for social services after the recession and inadequate revenues to pay for them. For example, overall clientele has risen about 5 percent a year, while the demand for Infant & Toddler Connection jumped 38 percent in the past two years, agency officials said.
The county has slashed general-fund spending for the agency by $15 million over the past four years, according to a memo Braunstein sent March 1 to agency personnel. His memo said that higher personnel costs — “primarily due to cost of increased fringe benefits” — also bit into the agency’s budget.
In an interview, Allan Phillips, director of Infant & Toddler Connection, expressed frustration that the federal and state governments have mandated the program but failed to consistently provide adequate funding. He said early intervention is more cost-effective than a lifetime of intense care.
“This is one of the best programs government ever came up with,” Phillips said. “There’s no one I know that thinks this is a wasteful program.”
Glenn Kamber, a CSB member representing Hunter Mill, said funding problems are not new for the agency, because political leaders at all levels have a tendency to ignore its funding needs until those needs become critical.
“The only time they really listen is when the waiting lists start to increase,” Kamber said. “In addition to all this, the state has put new populations and new responsibilities with the CSB without giving more funds to handle them. That’s our annual dilemma.”
Re: Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts
Posted by:
DisabilityAdvocate
()
Date: May 22, 2012 05:49PM
Kudos to the Post for giving attention to this frightening issue! I'm terrified for what these budget shortfalls may mean for families in need of services now, as well as those who will be looking for supports in the near future. It is far more cost effective for Fairfax to support these families, thereby allowing them to work full-time and maintain their mortgages than it is to throw them into crisis by yanking services out from under them suddenly. Additionally, numerous studies have shown that spending money up front on services like early intervention save the county 2-7 times that cost in the long-run. If Fairfax doesn’t find a way to provide these services now, the long-term consequences could be catastrophic.
Re: Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts
Posted by:
The big set-up
()
Date: May 22, 2012 05:55PM
The govt deliberately cuts the very programs that will tug at people's heartstrings and get the most publicity, to create the impression that all budget cuts are evil, and to change the public temper from demanding budget cuts to reluctantly accepting no budget cuts.
Of course, there are tons of low-level, behind the scenes things they could cut, but those kinds of cuts wouldn't advance the don't-cut-the-budget scare story.
Of course, there are tons of low-level, behind the scenes things they could cut, but those kinds of cuts wouldn't advance the don't-cut-the-budget scare story.
Re: Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts
Posted by:
Senor Wences
()
Date: May 22, 2012 06:57PM
"Of course, there are tons of low-level, behind the scenes things they could cut, but those kinds of cuts wouldn't advance the don't-cut-the-budget scare story"
yeah right on! you got a $6+ billion budget and it always seems like the same areas are used for potential budget cuts come on its $6 billion
yeah right on! you got a $6+ billion budget and it always seems like the same areas are used for potential budget cuts come on its $6 billion
Re: Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts
Posted by:
The solution
()
Date: May 22, 2012 07:05PM
Seems like the consensus now is that drugs are okay. Make them legal, tax them, and close the treatment centers because using drugs is normal and expected. More income and less spending for unnecessary programs. You'll balance the budget and maybe have a surplus to use for other services or to pay back the taxpayer. Sounds like a win-win for Fairfax. Will anyone have the courage to propose this?
Re: Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts
Posted by:
cost of this
()
Date: May 22, 2012 08:06PM
They are not just closing drug treatment. They are closing mental health as well. How can this be a win-win? More drunk/impaired people on the streets is a win? More people struggling to keep sane with nowhere to turn? Sounds like we'll need to spend more money on police. This is sad.
Re: Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts
Posted by:
The solution
()
Date: May 22, 2012 08:21PM
cost of this Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They are not just closing drug treatment. They
> are closing mental health as well. How can this
> be a win-win? More drunk/impaired people on the
> streets is a win? More people struggling to keep
> sane with nowhere to turn? Sounds like we'll need
> to spend more money on police. This is sad.
I know, that's why if we all agree marijuana is okay, they can close some programs and still survive. Keep the mental health, alcohol treatment, and serious drug treatment programs open. Legalize safe drugs like marijuana and fake marijuana, tax them, and don’t have treatment programs for these drugs because they aren't a problem.
-------------------------------------------------------
> They are not just closing drug treatment. They
> are closing mental health as well. How can this
> be a win-win? More drunk/impaired people on the
> streets is a win? More people struggling to keep
> sane with nowhere to turn? Sounds like we'll need
> to spend more money on police. This is sad.
I know, that's why if we all agree marijuana is okay, they can close some programs and still survive. Keep the mental health, alcohol treatment, and serious drug treatment programs open. Legalize safe drugs like marijuana and fake marijuana, tax them, and don’t have treatment programs for these drugs because they aren't a problem.