Tell Sacramento County NO to cutting Veteran Services on Tuesday, June 15th at 1pm

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Sacramento County will hold its Budget Hearings for Dept of Human Services. There is a Proposal to CUT Veterans Services in Sacramento County. YOU CAN TESTIFY or at least SHOW UP to support veterans.

PLEASE ATTEND and Stand up for our Veterans ...

June 15, 2010 @ 1 PM - 700 H Street, Sacramento 95814-1298 (Mapquest.com for directions)

Pass the word. Let our 115,000 Veterans in Sacramento County know there will be a hearing ON THIS DAY.

PLEASE PASS ON THE INFORMATION FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES:

From the Director of DHA Sacramento County:

In my most recent update to you, I mentioned that the County has to fill a $120 million budget gap in the coming fiscal year. As part of that effort, DHA has identified the impact of cutting another $7 million from our General Fund.

Deciding which of our remaining and equally critical programs to cut is a very difficult task. To guide my decisions, I relied on the creativity of our staff and management team and on some guiding principles formulated by stakeholders with whom we met earlier this month (see my March 18 update for details).

Meet our mandates first, particularly those that provide cash aid and benefits to children and families and to indigent adults. Our proposals do not cut CalWORKs, Food Stamps, or Foster Care, and they keep in place our ability to meet mandates in General Assistance and CMISP.

Look for ways to reduce overhead costs. We continue to look for ways to reduce our General Fund lease costs. For example, we will be moving some non-General Fund programs to the Senior Nutrition building in West Sacramento, which will save significant General Fund costs and preserve other client services and County jobs.

Reduce and consolidate management – I have proposed deleting 3 management positions – one immediately and two after we fully transition Mather Community Campus and Senior Nutrition to new sponsors, no later than this fall. This is in addition to the Deputy Director position I am deleting on June 1. All Division Managers will report to the remaining Program Deputy.

Cut funding to discretionary programs with the highest General Fund attached. I am proposing to eliminate most of the remaining discretionary General Fund we have left:

• Senior Nutrition Services – I am proposing to eliminate all General Fund support effective July 1, when we expect a new provider to take over the program. (Annual General Fund Savings - $1.3 million)
• Homeless Programs – I am proposing to eliminate all General Fund support effective October 1. We are working to find other funding to pay for the staff needed to complete next year’s funding application for the Homeless Continuum of Care, without which Sacramento County risks losing 3,000 shelter beds. (Annual General Fund Savings - $2.2 million)
• Veteran’s Services – I am proposing to eliminate all Veteran’s Service Representatives in this program. This will be very difficult for the many veterans in our community, but counties are only mandated to have a single Veteran’s Services Officer. We are exploring other possible sources of funding for these positions. (Annual General Fund Savings - $200,000)

Look at flexible mandates – In General Assistance, Food Stamps, and CMISP, we are proposing to provide services in new ways that will allow us to save General Fund costs and still meet our mandates. We will be discussing these changes with your Represented Employee Organizations (REOs). (Annual General Fund Savings - $4.5 million)

Maintain discretionary functions that minimize risks and liability, or that prevent higher costs in mandated programs – GA Employment Services is a discretionary program that makes possible a time limit on benefits, without which our General Fund costs would be much higher than they are. We are proposing changes to this program that will reduce our General Fund costs and still allow us to meet our mandates relative to time limits. Details will follow our discussions with your REOs.

Fund discretionary programs and functions that save General Fund by collecting revenues, reducing liability, or helping people get off aid. - We are proposing changes to Disability Case Management and Sanction Control that will reduce our General Fund costs and still allow us to get clients on programs other than General Assistance. We are also preserving Program Integrity, which does not have significant General Fund cost and has demonstrated cost savings to all of our programs.

Preserve discretionary safety net services for the most needy and vulnerable – We are working diligently to find sustainable service models for our crucial community service programs, with success at Mather Community Campus and with promise in Senior Nutrition and Homeless Programs. We are also exploring alternative financing sources for Veteran’s Services and hold out hope for success.

Below are the details for recommended position deletions, by program. In total, I am proposing cutting 51.4 full-time equivalent positions. We anticipate being able to transfer about 16 others from Homeless Services, Senior Nutrition, Veteran’s Services, and CMISP to various existing programs. We will also be proposing programmatic changes to General Assistance, Food Stamps, GA Employment Services, Disability Case Management, and Sanction Control that will allow us to transfer another 98 or so employees out of the General Fund. We will be discussing these changes with your Represented Employee Organizations.