September Edition 2004 - New York Nonprofit Press

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4 New York Nonprofit Press www.nynp.biz September 2004 The Dead Horse Just Twitched EDITORIAL For the past several months, we have been using this editorial space to beat the dead horse of our State government’s absolute fiscal irresponsibility in failing to pass a budget. Every day establishes a new record for failure as our leaders ignore their governance responsibility to agree upon and fund the services which will be provided to New York’s citizens. The effects of this ongoing travesty on nonprofit human service agencies -- and the vulnerable clients they serve – are easy to see. They are the bloody spot where that rock keeps hitting the hard place. On August 12th, the Senate and Assembly followed a course similar to last year’s when they joined to pass their own legislative budget without input or agreement from the Governor. The legislative budget, which exceeded the Governor’s original proposal by over $1.8 billion, was largely seen as a positive by the nonprofit community in that it restored many of his original program cuts. It even added a few new initiatives, like a Tuitition Forgiveness Program for social workers and funding to support higher congregate care rates for NYC foster care providers. Advocates, however, were far from ecstatic since it seemed clear that the Governor would merely veto large portions of the legislative submission. The legislature’s action might best be seen as throwing you know what on the wall which stands in the way of good government. Sure, it was a nice gesture, but the real question is what will stick. On August 20th, the day before we went to press, Governor Pataki made good on his threats and vetoed $1.8 billion in spending increases and borrowing from the Legislature's budget. In the end, the budget still wound up coming in at $101.3 billion, only a few hundred million below the legislative submission, and well above his own January proposal of $99.8 billion. Still, the impacts on human service programs are severe. The Governor’s nearly 200 line item vetoes read like a litany of essential services: $12.5 million for the Nursing Home Facility viability adjustment; $10 million for foster care rates; $4.5 million for mental health community services; $1.2 million for Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention; $1.4 million for “Settlement House Programs” and on and on and on. "The programs that I'm vetoing I love," Pataki said in announcing his cuts. "But the reality has got to set in." Last year, the legislature simply overrode the Governor’s vetoes and pushed virtually their budget into law. This year, that outcome seems less certain. As a result, we are now more than one-third of the way through the fiscal year and no one knows what services, contracts and programs are budgeted and what aren’t. Yes, it would be nice if Albany got real. Dear Editor, We wanted to express our appreciation for your wonderful article on High 5 in the New York Nonprofit Press. I thought you might like to know that we have gotten at least four new youth group customers from the article. A new catalogue with more $5 events will be ready in mid-September and Dear Editor, My advice to your readers is always read the job classifieds to the end. With such a bounty of opportunities for social service professionals, readers may very well find what they're looking for in the beginning or the middle. But don't forget the end. I'm grateful for that one line at two TRaC programs are gearing up for October. Thank you for promoting our services. Ada Ciniglio Executive Director High 5 Tickets to the Arts the bottom that caught my eye and made my day. Thanks, Carl Blumenthal Brooklyn, New York
September 2004 New York Nonprofit Press www.nynp.biz 5 Any business person knows that planning is the key to successful management, and that budgeting is an indispensable part of the planning process. Yet, New York City’s budgeting process routinely prevents not-for-profit providers of human services from following these basic principles, wasting the scarce resources allocated to this vital support system – a reality that is particularly ironic given Mayor Bloomberg’s former role as a highly effective CEO. Unlike most other services funded by the City, much of the City financing to support critical human services is not included in the Mayor’s long-term spending plan. His proposed plan automatically fails to renew or “baseline” funding for some services for seniors, at risk and abused children, youth, immigrants, the mentally ill, the homeless, the disabled, and others at the end of every fiscal year, leaving both the providers and recipients with an unclear picture of the future. According to a spokesperson for Mayor Bloomberg, this funding is “not baselined because the [City] Council’s priorities shift year to year” (Jewish Week, 7/2/04). This statement is baffling to human services providers not only because many such programs were actually originated by the executive branch of City government, but also because these ongoing services are critical to the overall health and safety of the City. Contrary to what the Mayor’s spokesperson would seemingly have us believe, the programs he sees fit to cut were created because of long-term and deep-seated need. POINT OF VIEW NYC's Budget Process Must Protect - Not Politicize- Human Services These comments reflect the point of view of the following organizations: • Catholic Charities BK/ QNS • Child Care Inc. • Coalition of Voluntary Mental Health Agencies • Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies • Council on Homeless Policies and Services • Council on Senior Centers and Services • Day Care Council • Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies • Human Services Council • Neighborhood Family Services Coalition • NYC Employment and Training Coalition • New York Immigration Coalition • United Jewish Appeals-Federation • United Neighborhood Houses The Mayor’s long-term plan, for example, cuts $9 million dollars for child care slots. Though the need for child care will certainly not disappear at the end of the fiscal year, the City is unwilling to make support of this program a permanent part of the City’s budget. Similarly, $7.8 million for services to prevent children from entering the foster care system will vanish at the end of June, despite the fact that these programs save the City millions of dollars by focusing on prevention rather than aftercare. In the case of foster care, a mandated City responsibility, $19.4 million are now automatically eliminated from future budget plans. Other such on-going citywide priorities include, Beacon Schools for youth, food programs for seniors, mental health services, homeless prevention, and more. The exclusion of these and other programs from the City’s budget each year forces providers that contract with the City to devote precious resources and time to advocating City Council members during the highly politicized budgetary process, pulling their focus from management, planning, fundraising, and most importantly, the delivery of services to the poor and vulnera- port their clients. Some not-for-profit providers have had to layoff staff, restrict access to services, or even close their doors because of the budgetary uncertainties they face each Spring. Over the last three years alone more than 600 families in the child welfare preventive system have been forced to change providers or stopped receiving services for some period of time because of program closures resulting from unstable City funding. While campaigning for office, Mayor Bloomberg recognized the insensible nature and harmful effects of this process and promised not to engage in it. Further, after taking office, Mayor Bloomberg claimed that any necessary reductions in the City budget would be made equitably across City government. This year, however, cuts will fall, once again, disproportionately on human services. Providers of human services are alarmed because approximately $180 million in human services funding is already missing from the Fiscal 2006 budget and there is a projected deficit of some $3 billion. Services to the poor and vulnerable are then, more clearly at risk of elimination than those services that have been baselined. The human services sector has united to highlight the impractical nature of this ble. This process severely hampers providers’ ability to develop the strategic budgetary and programmatic plans needed to direct their scarce resources to best meet client needs. Each Spring providers spend countless hours meeting with elected officials to ensure that their funding is renewed so that they may continue to supaspect of the City’s budgeting process and is urging the Mayor to permanently include this sector’s critical programming in his Financial Plan. This effort will be challenging, in part because of the lack of public awareness about these damaging cuts. Last year, for example, the preliminary budget was presented (and reported on) as a “good news” budget despite the glaring absence of funding for several vital human services. The media did not understand that the practice of not baselining human service funding actually left many programs without a guarantee that services would still be funded. It is not only bad business practice to exclude essential human services funding from the City’s long-term spending plan, but also profoundly disruptive. Each program exists to meet a real and often longterm need. Without these services many New Yorkers would have nowhere to turn, swelling the City’s social problems, and gravely impacting the quality of life enjoyed by all residents. Just as we need to maintain roads, fire and police services, we need to maintain human services. They are simply too important to be subject to the yearly political battles that rage each Spring on the steps of City Hall. We respectfully ask Mayor Bloomberg to put all human service funding streams included in the City’s adopted Fiscal Year 2005 Budget in his Fiscal Year 2006 January Financial Plan. Let NYNP Tell Your Story Call NYNP Custom Publishing 888-933-6967 • Annual Reports • Newsletters • Agency Histories
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September Edition 2004 - New York Nonprofit Press

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