Welfare Watch - December 10, 2008 - December DHR Board Meeting

At the December Board Meeting of the Department of Human Resources, Commissioner B.J. Walker introduced Mark Washington, the Division of Family and Children Services new chief, to the Board.  He wasted no time in defining his visions, values and agenda for the Division.   He strongly believes in permanency for every child and will commit his efforts to securing them a permanent and safe home.  He will not leave a child or a family without the supports that they need to become a strong and stable family.  He spoke strongly about community partnerships and working with the private stakeholders in the community.  Transparency, shared risks and outcomes will be characteristics of his administration with the ultimate goal of lifelong connections for children and youth that they serve. 

B.J. Walker and Gwen Skinner laid out their plans for the State Psychiatric Hospitals.  They said that the reality is that the hospitals need fixing and there are presently no resources to do it.  The plan is to consolidate some hospitals, shift the front door to the community from the hospitals, and to use privatization to bring in additional resources to build new facilities.  The "push back" from the community about this plan has been, "Why now?" in light of the restructuring of DHR.  The Commissioner's response, "There are several paths to failure. . . doing nothing will not be one of them....the crisis is now, not later."  She reiterated that everything is still on the table.  Plans are still being drawn up.  Waiting is just a recipe for delaying what needs to be done to fix the problem. 

The "scorecard" for DHR was presented.  The impact of the recession, the cuts to services and increased needs of the state are tracking the events of the economy.  Since July, family welfare numbers in some key areas are showing  slight increases.  The numbers and the percentage of rise are shown in the following: children reported to child protected services up 12.1%; number of children in foster care up by 5.5%; adult cases of TANF up by 17.9%; food stamps up by 7.6%; and Medicaid up by 2.8%.  These statistics only go through October and do not reflect the latest bad economy news. 

As the recession continues and possibly gets worse, the demands on DHR and to their private partners will continue to increase. 

Cuts to vulnerable populations during this time will be counter productive.  More resources are needed to address and mitigate these needs, not less. 

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                            Normer Adams, Editor
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