Consistent cuts leaves groups wondering

The cuts just keep on coming.

With state tax revenues taking a major hit because of the recession, every week seems to bring an announcement of further cuts in state spending.

And for those local organizations that rely upon a revenue stream to the state to deliver social services, those cuts present the daunting challenge of trying to do the same job with fewer dollars.

"I believe in balanced budgets," says Ruth Ann Widman, executive director of Jay-Randolph Developmental Services. "That's how you should operate your home. That's the way you should operate your business. But budget balancing on the backs of some of our most vulnerable people is a pretty insensitive way to do it."

Historically, Jay-Randolph has contracted directly with the state to provide a variety of services to those with developmental disabilities.

The size of the contract depended upon the number of people being served and the scope of services being provided.

But that all changed under the Mitch Daniels Administration.

"They privatized what used to be case control," says Widman. About two years ago, a new system was put in place that has private case coordinators determining a budget for each individual in need of services, then Jay-Randolph contracts to provide each individual's services.

The change might seem minor, but it has in some cases changed and has often complicated the relationship between Jay-Randolph and its clients and their families.

"You try to make (their wants and needs) work within the budget," says Widman. "But as budgets decline, well ..."

Currently Jay-Randolph serves about 200 clients in the two counties. Though it is a United Way agency and has received grant support from The Portland Foundation and local donors, 89 percent of its total revenue comes from state and federal support.

"Privatization hasn't worked out well," Widman says. "People we serve and their families have to struggle to keep Medicaid certified. It's a difficult maze to navigate."

But Gov. Mitch Daniels argues that privatization has long played a big role in the delivery of social services in Indiana, with 93 percent of all social services delivered by private companies and not-for-profit organizations like Jay-Randolph.

Still, Gov. Daniels, interviewed recently in Portland, admits, "There's never enough to do everything we want to do even in the best of times."

One concern facing Jay-Randolph is a series of audits of group home support from the state going back several years.

The state, says Widman, is adjusting rates retroactively on payments that were made under past contracts and seeking the adjusted dollars on a current basis.

"To me, that's an act of desperation," she says.

But state officials for the Family and Social Services Administration are unapologetic about the aggressive approach to audits.

"The question," says Marcus Barlow, director of communications for the FSSA, "is, 'Were you using this money appropriately?'"

Barlow says the state did 800 different audits in 2008 and another 930 in 2009.

"It's not trying to retroactively change an agreement we had before," Barlow says. "You bill under certain codes. ... Are people billing state dollars correctly or are they misusing state dollars? ... I think that's our responsibility. What's wrong is wrong."

Widman, however, notes that the issues being raised now have been OK'd by prior audits. "It makes you wonder about their auditors," she says.

Group home support is not the only area under fire.

"They've made further cuts in our waiver program amounting to about 7 percent," Widman said. The waiver program allows developmentally disabled adults to live in independent apartments in pairs.

In addition, there are services - such as transportation - that have simply been dropped.

Despite the financial squeeze, Widman says, she has the "full expectation that we can continue to deliver services as pledged."

To squeeze out extra dollars, Jay-Randolph is computerizing its client documentation system, considering establishing waiver apartments with three clients rather than two, seeking more philanthropic support in the form of grants, and continuing its contract work for companies like Createc and Hartzell Fan.

"You could get bogged down by these difficult times," says Widman. "But I truly believe there are opportunities in difficult times. You just have to see them."[[In-content Ad]]