YSB feeling the strain

What does the Daniels Administration have against Healthy Families?

That's what officials of the Youth Service Bureau in Jay County are wondering.

While multiple state programs have seen funding reductions - "Our lowest one is seven percent," says executive director Reda Theurer-Miller - the Healthy Families program has taken the hardest hit.

"Right now, we're at 42 percent," Theurer-Miller says.

Unlike most local non-profits, the Youth Service Bureau is almost fully funded by the state as a provider of social services to young people and families dealing with a variety of problems. It hasn't conducted an annual fund-raising campaign or been aggressive in seeking philanthropic support. That may change in the months and years ahead.

Healthy Families, which the Youth Service Bureau operates in Jay, Blackford, and Randolph counties, identifies at-risk families when a child is born and provides counseling, mentoring, and monitoring services in an effort to assist struggling parents and protect children up to age five.

"It's a triage," says Theurer-Miller. "But it's the tool that's been the most effective."

In the 53 sites in Indiana where Healthy Families is at work, 99 percent of the families served have not had an occurrence of child abuse. Ninety-four percent have not had an occurrence of child neglect.

To reduce the amount of money being spent on the program, the state has altered the point system used to determine which families will be served.

Under the old system, Theurer-Miller says, a family with 25 points would be eligible for assistance. Now, it would require 40 points.

"That eliminates eligibility," she says. "With less dollars, fewer people will be served."

Statewide funding will drop from $35 million this year to $27.9 million in fiscal 2011 and $24.7 million in 2012.

While Healthy Families has been hit hardest, "Every program has been cut so far," she adds.

That includes cuts in residential programs for at-risk youth that have been called "arbitrary" and are the subject of a pending lawsuit.

"If we do not find additional funding elsewhere, then we will have to decide" about personnel reductions, Theurer-Miller says. Youth Service Bureau employees have been working under a pay freeze for three years, but staff reductions may lie ahead.

"Social service organizations employ many people. The cuts not only affect the children and families being served but also the people serving them," she notes.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, in a recent interview, defended Indiana's record on social services. "We've been paying foster parents the third-highest in America," he said. "We've paid very well."

The governor also maintains that non-profits are just like any other business when it comes to contracting with the state to provide services.

Theurer-Miller says she's okay with that, but that the state holds all the cards.

"I don't mind being considered a business," she says. "We are a business. My concern is that the contracts put in place are not conducive to conducting a business. They protect the state. ... There's very little consideration to the service provider. ... We have no ability to negotiate. We have no ability to appeal. It's either sign and say you'll do business or you're out of business."

She adds: "It's not a partnership. That's a nice word. But it's not a partnership."

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