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TESTIMONY TO HOUSE HUMAN SERVICE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE FY’09 PROPOSED BUDGET FEBRUARY 22, 2008
The Child Care Association of Illinois (CCAI) thanks the committee for the opportunity to comment on the Governor’s proposed human services budget. The CCAI is an organization of 70 voluntary, nonprofit agencies that provide child welfare and community services throughout Illinois. Our member agencies provide 85% of the direct care services for the 16,000 DCFS state wards, provide youth services in numerous counties, and provide residential mental health services for children from DHS, ISBE and DJJ.
The Governor’s proposed "flat" budget for human services is flat out fiction.
The "flat" budget gives no recognition of the escalating costs of food and energy needed to care for Illinois’ children:
The DCFS budget gives no recognition to how foster parents will be expected to feed the state’s foster children during a period of rapidly rising food costs. Foster parents are expected to make up the difference in the price of food out of their own pockets.
The DHS budget gives no recognition to how a youth worker is expected to travel on 24-hour call to families in crisis during a period of rapidly rising gasoline prices. Community agencies are expected to make up the difference in the cost of gasoline out of privately raised funds meant to provide other community services.
The DJJ, DHS and DCFS budgets give no recognition to how a residential center is expected to provide good treatment while worrying about how to cover the basic costs of childcare, including the fastest rising food prices in 17 years.
The proposed budget is NOT a flat budget for the providers of care. Our child welfare, youth service and child mental health providers received only one 3% adjustment in 9 years.
The "flat" budget is an erosion budget. The state now relies on individuals, whether they are foster parents or voluntary donors, not just to provide good care but to balance the human service budget. We pay a price for that. The price is fewer foster parents willing to take on the care of the state’s children. The price is fewer voluntary services that help our communities. The "flat" budget is flat out fiction.
The Governor’s budget again highlights the priorities of education and health care. The Governor and General Assembly must remember that all human care programs---education, health care and human services are committed to the same goal: caring for children, families and vulnerable citizens. The very same beneficiaries of education and health care also require human services.
We urge members of the committee to recognize the true costs of human service care. We urge you to support necessary essential funding in the FY ’09 budget. You must insist on a long-term effort to assure regular adjustments are contained in each budget in subsequent years, by supporting and voting for HB 5716.
Respectfully Submitted,
Margaret M. Berglind President/CEO
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