August 18th WCHO board meeting with public comments on proposed cuts to CSTS

The Washtenaw Community Health Organization (WCHO) Board met on August 18, 2009. Since the WCHO's last Board meeting, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners met to discuss the possibility of cutting County services, including mental health programs. This is a summary of parts of the Board meeting that relate to that issue:

Patrick Barrie, the WCHO Executive Director, and Board members reiterated that the WCHO has a responsibility to provide services written into person-centered plans for people with developmental disabilities and that, in any case, those services will be provided whether it is through Community Supports and Treatment Services (CSTS) or through other contracted providers.

Washtenaw County is obligated to fund 10% of the WCHO budget, but it has gone well beyond that in the past in supporting mental health programs. It is the discretionary part (above their 10 % contribution) that can be cut.

The Impact Statement of program cuts from Donna Sabourin, CSTS director, is laid out on pages 11 - 22 of this document .

Public Participation:

During public participation at the beginning of the WCHO Board meeting, I noted that Donna Sabourin had presented Washtenaw County with an impact statement of possible cuts to CSTS and asked if there had been any attempt to consider consumers and family members’ views regarding possible cuts? (Board members agreed that they need to improve communication with families and consumers.) After I became aware of the possibility of cuts from the County, I heard more specifically that this could mean laying off 60 people from CSTS jobs in vocational, training, and day programs.

One of my concerns is that these types of programs (day programs, workshops, PACE programs, and enclaves) are easy targets for elimination by the state with support from advocates who would tell you that everyone can work at a paying job and live in the community like everyone else and that these programs are isolating and discriminatory. For people who need these programs, they are a lifeline for both consumers and their families and are a useful and necessary part of the system of care and services.

Another family member commented that contracting out services (which is a possibility if the County makes severe cuts to CSTS) is not always the best plan for the long term. He works for a car company that did that. They found that workers had a lower level of skills and that they saw a general degradation of services. They went back to hiring their own people rather than outsourcing the work.

More information on the WCHO and County and state budgets:

• The WCHO has a fiscal year that begins on October 1st. The County' s fiscal year begins on January 1st. The cuts the county is contemplating would go into effect on January 1st, 2010.
• Everyone is awaiting the State budget. At this time the strongest and most reliable funding will be from Medicaid. The Medicaid match from the federal government will be going up, based on the state’s financial problems. The state will be paid under the old rates until the state files a new agreement with the federal government.
• The state got an increase of $1 billion in Medicaid stimulus money. With state revenues declining precipitously, the state used up the stimulus funds in three months. The state would have been in even worse shape without it.
• Barbara Levin Bergman who is a County Commissioner and WCHO Board member said the WCHO needs a better method of explaining budget problems and offered her phone number for anyone who had questions about it. Here is her email address: bergmanb@ewashtenaw.org .

After the meeting, I asked Barbara Levin Bergman which of the Commissioners meetings are the most important to attend. She said all of them. I will try to attend as many as possible and will pass on what I find out. I would love to have company at these meetings if any of you can attend.

Here are the meetings through the month of September:

• 8/26 Administrative Briefing 5:00 p.m. Administration Conference Room
• 9/2 Ways & Means Committee 6:30 p.m. Board Room, Administration Building
• 9/2 Board of Commissioners 6:45 p.m. Board Room, Administration Building
• 9/3 Board Working Session 6:30 p.m. Board Room, Administration Building
• 9/9 Administrative Briefing 5:00 p.m. Administration Conference Room
• 9/16 Ways & Means Committee 6:30 p.m. Board Room, Administration Building
• 9/16 Board of Commissioners (Annual Meeting) 6:45 p.m. Board Room, Administration Building
• 9/17 Board Working Session 6:30 p.m. Board Room, Administration Building

The other thing that Barbara Bergman suggested for us to do is for anyone with concerns about these proposed cuts to contact their own County Commissioner.

• Here is a map of the County so that you can determine who your Commissioner is.
• Here is a list of all the Commissioners with their contact information.

It is important for the County to understand that these programs, whether or not they are mandatory as far as the County is concerned, are essential for many people with developmental disabilities who have very few options available. Both they and their families are adversely affected by abrupt changes in their lives more than most people.

If you would like more information about the WCHO Board and what it is doing, you may ask to be put on an email list to receive the packet of materials sent out to the Board before every meeting. Email Suzanne Gondek at gondeks@ewashtenaw.org

Jill Barker
jillrbarker@sbcglobal.net