7/20/10: From the Oregonian
Oregon legislative leaders announce plan to restore some cuts to senior, disability programs
Published: Monday, July 19, 2010, 8:02 PM Updated: Monday, July 19, 2010, 8:05 PM
Legislative leaders have reached an agreement to blunt budget cuts affecting seniors who receive in-home care as well as programs helping people with disabilitiesThere's broad consensus among lawmakers to restore $17.1 million in cuts that were part of the 9 percent across-the-board budget cuts ordered by Gov. Ted Kulongoski last month,Rep. Peter Buckley, an Ashland Democrat and co-chair of the Legislature's Ways & Means budget committee said Monday.
That means Medicaid programs providing at-home services to more than 11,000 seniors, people with physical disabilities or mental illness will be continued through June 2011.
Under the plan, Oregon Project Independence will also be saved -- at least through February. The popular program provides some 2,000 seniors with housekeeping, shopping and other help to keep them living independently. Respite care and other support for families caring for a child with disabilities will also be continued through February.
The announcement comes just days before some of the programs were scheduled to be eliminated and after the Oregon Department of Human Services had sent thousands of letters notifying people that the state could no longer afford the care they were receiving.
Layoff notices had also gone to case managers who work with those clients.
Most of the cash to restore the programs comes from a $30 million account set aside for Human Services and under the control of the Legislature's Emergency Board. The board, which makes budget decisions when the full Legislature is not in session, is scheduled to vote Thursday on the plan.
"This buys us time on some programs," Buckley said.
In the meantime, he said state officials will look at Oregon Project Independence as well as the other restored programs to "see if there are ways we can save money that we haven't focused on before."
"We're holding these things together," Buckley said. "But we have to look at any way to reduce costs."
Oregon state government must close a $577 million hole in the second year of its current two-year budget. State law gives the governor authority to order only across-the-board cuts in a budget passed by the Legislature, but allows the Legislature to carve out exceptions.
Even with this latest plan, Human Services must still slash spending this year by more than $140 million. That means many of the agency's announced cuts are still moving forward.
For example, elderly Oregonians may still see cuts in services they receive because the Emergency Board is planning to restore only $17 million of the $44 million affecting state programs serving seniors and people with disabilities.
Job training and assistance will be cut for parents who are out of work and receiving welfare payments from the state. Day care subsidies for very low-income families will also be reduced, if not eliminated, later this year.
"This is an important step forward, but it certainly doesn't fill the gap for many families," said Stephanie Tama-Sweet, a public policy advocate for the Oregon Food Bank and co-chair of the Human Services Coalition.
"We have tremendous needs in our communities that are not going to be met by these buybacks," Tama-Sweet said. "We need to have a larger conversation as a state on how we prioritize and fund these services in the long run."
--Michelle Cole