The Boulder
County Department of Housing and Human Services (DHHS) announced Thursday that
it is facing a budget shortfall of about $4.5 million and is planning a host of
staffing and service reductions, many of which will hurt the county’s neediest
families.
The cuts come
after a year in which the department has been serving thousands more county
residents than usual, due to the economic downturn, and had successfully
secured federal stimulus funding to extend its services to meet that need.
DHHS Director
Frank Alexander told Boulder Weekly Thursday that the cuts will primarily
affect the Family and Children Services Division and Temporary Aid to Needy
Families (TANF), which used to be more commonly known as “welfare.”
“We simply can’t
stave off the cuts any more,” he says. “But we’re trying to do it in a way that
minimizes the effects on the community.”
The budget
reductions could mean staff layoffs, depending on how many employees take
advantage of early retirement incentives by March 22. Alexander says the
department needs to reduce staffing by the equivalent of 25 full-time
positions, and any layoffs that are necessary will be announced in early April.
“I understand
that staff would like those answers now,” he says, adding that the department
must wait until the employee retirements are identified to determine where the
staffing gaps exist and what adjustments will be made to address them.
He lauded his
staff for their hard work during a period in which the department has been
helping so many more people in the community experiencing financial hardship.
“I think the
staff have performed heroically during the downturn,” Alexander says, adding
that the department has seen a 50 percent increase in the number of families
seeking help over the past year. “They have been doing tremendous work in the
community during a difficult time.”
The county
residents who will feel the pinch of the cuts include those participating in
job training programs with Workforce Boulder County, Alexander says, since DHHS
is reducing its TANF funding for that contract by 20 percent, or $400,000. The
department had seen a 40-percent increase in those participating in such
programs over the past year, he adds.
The department
is also eliminating the TANF funding that has been supplementing child welfare
core services, which Alexander says contributes to efforts such as re-unifying
families and keeping children out of foster homes.
In addition,
childcare subsidies will be reduced by $613,000, and the department is enacting
a hiring freeze.
According to a
news release, the department is also converting contracts into fee-for-service
agreements, placing a moratorium on the purchase of non-essential equipment and
“reducing the length of stay and levels of care provided to children in the
department’s custody where appropriate.”
According to the
release, the department will continue to maintain a level of service consistent
with national standards for providing assistance to children and families.
To generate $1 million in savings
in the last year, DHHS left staff positions unfilled and enhanced efficiencies.
In addition, the department reduced childcare subsidies effective Jan. 1.
“It has been a
difficult process to come to the decisions we had to make this week knowing the
essential safety net role we have in the community,” Alexander said in the
release. “Every measure taken from here on out to reach our savings target will
be even more difficult.”
Alexander told
Boulder Weekly that the need to make the cuts was caused by a variety of
factors related to the recession, including a reduction in state funding and an
increase in the number of clients needing services. In addition, he points to
SB 177, a bill passed in 2008 that forced the county to spend down its federal
funding reserves.
Still, Alexander
says he is proud that the department gained stimulus funds over the past 12
months to boost resources for childcare, food stamps, weatherization of homes
and homelessness prevention. He says the DHHS has been aggressively helping
people gain access to health care and food.
Unfortunately,
he concludes, “We have to live within our means.”
