Funding may drop for social services

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LEWISTOWN - Anticipated funding cuts could hinder the efforts of area social service agencies and programs to assist needy members of the community, some local officials say regarding the state's 2009-2010 budget debate.

United Way of Mifflin-Juniata Executive Director Marie Mulvihill said the organization does not receive state funding, but many of the other community agencies and programs it supports -and their clients - will feel the impact if the Legislature moves forward with a number of its proposed budget cuts.

One of those agencies is the Mifflin-Juniata Special Needs Center in Lewistown. Executive Director Beth Zong said the center and other partner agencies, such as Juniata Valley Tri-County Mental Health/Mental Retardation and its Early Intervention program, could face significant cuts.

"It's hard to tell what the impact is going to be on us locally," she said.

Zong said there are people waiting for services the center provides, and some of those services are particularly important for parents of children with disabilities.

"These are critical services," she said. "(Parents) depend on day programs so they are able to work."

The center has been contacting state legislators to make its needs known, Zong said, adding that it's hard to plan for next year because there are so many unknowns.

"I just hope that the legislators do the right thing," she said.

Programs run by the center include sign language courses and disability awareness programs. The center also provides sports recreation as well as recreation for teens and adults, according to its Web site, www.mjsnc.org.

Chris Wysocki, assistant administrator for the Juniata Valley Tri-County Mental Health/Mental Retardation program, said he doesn't know for sure how much funding will be cut.

"We're anticipating at least a 2-percent cut," although it could be more, he said.

Wysocki said if the program is limited to a 2-percent cut, no services would have to be reduced. However, if the program faces as much as a 7- to 12-percent cut, there would be a pretty significant impact, he said.

"We just don't know," he said. "That's the bigger issue."

The MH/MR program serves Huntingdon, Mifflin and Juniata counties through administering public mental health and mental retardation systems. It functions through early intervention, mental health and mental retardation service providers, according to its Web site, www.hmjmhmr.org.

Child Care Information Services Mifflin County Director Lori Artman said she has not yet received any information regarding potential budget cuts. If there are significant cuts, the state-funded CCIS would start scaling back on the lower-need families first, Artman said.

"We would start (with) the families that have the lower co-pays," she said.

The average family on CCIS's child care funding program pays $20 a week, which covers all children in the family, Artman explained. CCIS administers federal and state-funded money for child care subsidiaries, and is known as the "hub of child care information for the county," she said.

Currently, CCIS serves about 325 families in Mifflin County. Many of those families are on a waiting list for child care funding, with an average waiting time of about six months, Artman said.

Allison Fisher, director of the Mifflin-Juniata County Human Services Department, said if department funds were cut by 10 percent, it could mean a decrease of nearly $25,000 for Mifflin County and nearly $12,000 for Juniata County.

"While those sums may not seem like much in a government that is used to dealing (with) millions and trillions, that sum is a lot to a small rural community like ours," Fisher said. "That would mean we could not help nearly 120 families. We are already prioritizing and serving who we think are the most needy."

Fisher said if 120 families had to be cut, it would be a very tough decision to choose those who would not receive help. The human services department serves a wide variety of people, from single mothers trying to make ends meet to area residents who were recently laid off from their jobs, she said.

"(Would we cut) the almost-senior citizen who had lost her job and was out of fuel? We assist with food and referrals for a variety of services," Fisher said.

"Or the family whose mom had scheduled surgery, and then two weeks later, the dad had a severe unexpected injury and also had to be off work for months?" she continued. "These folks stated they had never had to ask for any kind of help and were now embarrassed to do so. We were able to assist with not only fuel, but food and budgeting assistance until both parents can go back to work."

Fisher said the department also works with homeless individuals as well as those overcoming drug problems.

"I know I wouldn't want to choose not to serve any of these folks or any of the others we have been able to assist this year," she said. "We need to value funding (for) programs such as these that help our neighbors, and possibly someday ourselves."

The local human services department, funded by a variety of state and federal grants, aims to meet the needs of the community and empower individuals and families to be self-sufficient through the provision of accessible and responsive human services, according to its Web site, www.co.mifflin.pa.us/hs.

According to a Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development report comparing House Bill 1416 - which is supported by Gov. Edward G. Rendell and many Democrats - and the Republican Senate Bill 850, among the services facing cuts are mental health services, early intervention programs, child care services and assistance, and assistance for the homeless. Additionally, neither bill proposes funding for services to people with disabilities, the report states.