Title
BHS State Contract Reductions And Planned Response - Schanding
Body
The Illinois legislature passed a budget that was out of balance (more expenses approved than revenue provided), and the governor vetoed approximately $1.4 billion in expenses in an attempt to balance the budget. Some of these vetoes were intended to be across-the-board reductions for specific departments, and some veto items eliminated specific programs within departmental budgets. The Department of Human Services Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse was disproportionately hit with major budget reductions, with 20% ($55 million) of its $250 million budget eliminated. In the next few months it stands to lose a comparable amount of matching federal funds. Other parts of the Department of Human Services have required an across-the-board contract decrease, typically for reductions in the 1-3% range.
The Board of Health should be aware of several items in relation to this issue. Behavioral Health Services has received a reduction of $45,647 from the Division of Mental Health (DMH) and $878,471 from the Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (DASA). We will make reductions in our staff to accommodate these reductions. Some of the reductions were specifically mandated by either the governor’s office or the state departments. We have had a case management program for approximately 20 years that specializes in working with individuals with severe problems in both mental health and substance abuse services. The governor zeroed out funding for this program. He also zeroed out funds for case coordination we provide for youth who have substance abuse problems and who have been part of the juvenile justice system. The DASA director has required that remaining funds be used specifically for treatment of persons diagnosed with substance abuse problems. More preventive or early treatment for persons experimenting with alcohol/drugs (particularly teens) has been eliminated. It also eliminates the funds we’ve used for 20+ years to have children participate in Women’s Residential Services. You should be aware that no one in DASA is saying that these types of services are not worthwhile. They are simply prioritizing a very bad situation. DMH is more generally requesting that we attempt to limit impact on direct patient services through its much smaller budget reduction.
I have met with key individuals in Behavioral Health and have also met with the Executive Director and Human Resources Director. By the time of the Board of Health meeting we will likely have met with staff persons affected by these budget reductions. Where we have some flexibility internally, we will attempt to make programmatic changes that will have less impact on direct patient care. We have frozen all open positions within BHS and will provide persons notified of the layoff opportunity to apply for those positions. These individuals will also be apprised of open positions within the rest of LCHD and the county.
We’ve heard for several years that the state has been living beyond its means and borrowing from future funds to balance its budgets. This year seems to be one where funds need to be more directly managed. We are amazed that the state has chosen to make massive reductions specifically in alcoholism and drug treatment. While it may not be many people’s favorite topic, addiction leads to challenges in families, society and in the criminal justice system. We have been and will continue to be in touch with our legislators regarding this challenging situation.
The Board should be aware that in line with county policy related to acceptance of outside grants, we are making reductions in expenditures to match the reduction in revenues from the Department of Human Services. Many of our reductions are for specific types of services and thus are outside of our control. Overall we are attempting to minimize the impact on clinical services where possible. We are also in ongoing dialog with state legislators in an attempt to mitigate the severity of these budget reductions through possible restoration of funding during the November legislative veto session.
Suggested Motion
None. For information only.