Nonprofits brace for budget emergency aftershocks, IOUs - Wichita Business Journal:

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While service providers don’t yet know whethet they’ll receive IOUs — or what the amounts will be Sparky Harlan, CEO of the in Santa is prepared forthe “We receive about $400,000 in state Harlan said. “We’re already accustomed to getting money from the stat elate — last year, for example, it took until Decemberd before we finally got paid.” For this year and last year the centerr has relied on a $150,000 line of credit through to covere the gap, along with $500,000 out of its reserve The center’s operating budget is $10 millionm for fiscal 2009-10.
The money that may be on hold from thestatwe covers, in part, the center’s shelter and drop-i program, street outreach, and parentinhg classes. “The problem right now is that we don’g know for certain how much they’re going to hold said Harlan, who has been with the centef for26 years. “But this is by far the worst I’ve ever In anticipation of the state’sd budget problems, 10 percent cuts have already been plannefor foster-care payments. Locally there are 300 to 400 kids infostet care.
Foster care rates are the same across the so familiesin high-cost areas such as the Bay Area get the same amount of compensation as people in more affordable “We’re fronting half a million dollard already,” she said. It’s a layeresd problem for the center, sincw in addition to state money some comez from the federal Housing and UrbanDevelopmentt department. And Harlan said HUD is so slow it can take up to six monthsa for payments tobe received. “We’rde hoping to get paid by she said. “Nonprofits are just gettingb slammed.
” Harlan said the Bill Wilsonb Center has closed down two programas already and cut about 15 percent ofits staff, leavinyg about 110 employees. Thesee are real layoffs, she pointed out — not attritio n or open jobs — and “heartbreaking” to do. “W e had to give one staffv person a layoff notice and a week latetr his wife was laid off from another she said. in Campbell gets aboug $500,000 a year from the state for its AIDS CFO Ira Holtzman said the agency is larg enough and financially stable enough that he woul just book an IOU as accounts receivable and hope the monegy camethrough eventually.
The Health Trust’s budgeg for fiscal year 2010 is morethan $16 million, Holtzman Pam Brandin, executive director of and Visually which has offices in Palo Alto and Santaq Cruz, said that even though her agency provides the kind of servicese that are especially at risk in State Controller John Chiang’ s plan, the Vista Center is relatively “We receive money through Title 7 Chapter 2 Brandin explained. “Since much of our funding is federal money we’re hoping that it has to be releasef and passed on; the state won’t be allowed to hold on to The Vista Center also has school contracts through special education funding.
“Last year when the state had simila r budget issueswe didn’t receive any IOUs,” she “but that situation was resolved sooner than this appearse to be. The agencies that receive IOUs probably won’t even know they’re coming until they submif their bills.” She’s also banking on Vistq Center’s status as a preferred vendor with the “so we’ll be paid in advance of other vendorsa — if in fact the state is even writing checks.” Lisa Hendrickson, president CEO of Avenidas Rose Kleiner Senior Day Health Center in Palo is also cautiously optimistic.
“The only funds we receive from the statw are MediCal payments for services provided at our adulftdaycare center,” she said. “Our understandingh is that those services are protected by the state constitution as well asfederal law. We do receive fundin g indirectly throughthe county, but we don’t expecrt that to be affected.” Tom public policy director of the , said peoplre are on pins and needles.
“Everyone’s sittinb around waiting, not knowing what’s going to But even with the most optimisticoutcome it’s still going to be very He pointed out that the deficift last year for Santa Clara County was more than $270 million, and many of the cuts were made in programd around health, mental health, drugs and alcohol and socia services. And there’s no relief on the For 2011 the county is looking at a deficit ofabout $250 he said.