When the "nice to dos" and the "good to dos" and the "should dos" are eliminated out of the budget by previous budget cuts, there is not much that DHS can cut to comply with the Governor's instructions to eliminate 2% out of this years and next years proposed budgets.  DHS in the past three years has cut more than 23% from its budget from $640 million in FY2009 to $487.7 in FY2012.  The fat is gone, the muscle is torn, and the budget process is now down to the bone and marrow.  Only the "must dos" are left.

Precious few "State Dollars" are available to cut without threatening Maintenance of Efforts (MOE) which is required to receive federal matching dollars.  Cuts of one state dollar often means one to two federal dollars being impacted. 

The Governor did exempt the 2% requirement on any service paid for by Medicaid.  Several programs were exempted from cuts because they threatened MOE, or was funded entirely by Federal funds, or was funded through Medicaid or threatened the ability of the Department to meet its State obligations.  Some programs that saw no cuts included Adoption Services, After School Care, Child Care Licensing, Child Welfare Services, Community Services, Elder Abuse Investigation and Prevention, Elder Support Services, Benefits Services, Out of Home Care, Refugee Assistance, and Support for Needy Families.

The most drastic cut in DHR's proposed budget was in Child Care Services of 6.7 million.  Over 5000 children who are now in subsidized day care will be cut from the rolls.  Working poor families will possibly be without day care and may have to leave employment in order to care for their children.

Child Support Services, the office that assists in the collection of child support payments, was cut over $500,000.  DHS Administration was cut over $660,000 and Elder Community Living Services were cut over $800,000. 

In a time when families and children are in need of more services, DHS faces additional cuts to their programs.  Food Stamps distribution has risen from 400,000 to 800,000 families in just three years.  Foster Care is seeing a slight increase in the number of children coming into care, reversing a 4 year trend downward.  In these difficult economic times, families are under stress.  

This proposed budget now goes to the Governor for his recommendation to the General Assembly in January. 

DHS' Proposed Budget Presentation can be found here. 
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