 When a suburban Chicago center helping disabled people live
independently didn't get its state money quickly, employees waited
three months for a paycheck so clients wouldn't feel the pinch.
And when an Elgin domestic abuse program was left stacks of unpaid
bills and no sign of when the money would come from the state,
workers took four weeks of unpaid furlough days -- especially
difficult for entry-level employees earning $25,000 a year.
They are among the thousands of community groups and charities
making up Illinois' system for providing human services. The state
contracts out the work and agrees to make reimbursements. But as
Illinois' budget crisis worsens and the state lags further behind in
paying bills, those who serve the state's neediest are forced to
make dire decisions, and at times heroic sacrifices, to pick up the
slack.
"The burden of survival for human services has been passed to our
dedicated staff," said Gretchen Vapnar, executive director of the
Community Crisis Center in Elgin, which relies on Illinois for half
of its funding. The center maxed out a line of credit this year
while waiting for funding, leaving employees to take a month of
unpaid leave.
Illinois ranks first nationwide when it comes to nonprofit groups
reporting late payments from the government, according to a survey
last year by the nonpartisan Urban Institute. More than 80 percent
of Illinois groups say their money doesn't come on time.
An analysis of state data by The Associated Press found that the
backlog wasn't as dire for human services as for other parts of
state government, but it still amounted to more than 31,000 bills
totaling $425 million. The Department of Human Services, for
instance, had $105.4 million in bills that were more than a month
old as of early September. They ranged from grants to nonprofit
groups, to food, to burial expenses.
DHS declined to make directors available for an AP interview. In
a statement the agency said late payments are "of concern, but
vendors have generally been patient and understanding during these
tough economic times. ... The department's delivery of direct
services have not been impacted to date."
People in need get less
Groups statewide disagreed, especially at a time when the need is
increasing. More than 14 percent of Illinois' population lives in
poverty, the highest rate since 1992.
"The people who need services are getting less, which leaves a
greater and greater amount of unmet need," said Gina Guillemette, a
committee member of the umbrella group Illinois Partners for Human
Service. "It's a bare-bones approach in services."
The West Central Center for Independent Living in Quincy, which
helps disabled people live independently, is owed three months of
bills. But since it can't get a line of credit, the center laid off
employees and now serves 160 people annually, 40 less than in years
past.
"For the past couple of years, you're just fighting to keep your
head above water," said Glenda Farkas, the center's executive
director.
Illinois officials approved a budget this year that, despite an
income tax increase, continues to cut some key services for people
who are struggling.
Addiction treatment, job training, child welfare -- all will get
less money. In all, DHS is losing 9.9 percent of its money. Gov. Pat
Quinn is also planning to close five institutions for people with
mental disabilities and illnesses, cutting about 1,900 state jobs.
The budget allows the backlog of unpaid bills to continue into next
year.
At Southwest Disabilities Services in suburban Chicago, which
helps the disabled into independent housing, among other things, all
of its $2.5 million budget comes from the state. Since lines of
credit have been exhausted, workers agreed to wait up to three
months for a paycheck.
The same circumstance led the owner of Small World Child
Development Center in Marion, which serves around 115 children, to
go to family for a loan. Around 70 percent of its budget comes from
state money, said center director Rachel Soldner.
"It's important that the state understands when you say you're
going to fund a program, you fund the program and you fund it every
month like you're supposed to, instead of leaving everybody in
limbo," she said.
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For many groups that means tough decisions.
The South East Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center in Chicago is owed
$54,000 by the state and has faced cuts, leading to the end of a
program for adolescents battling addiction.
"I sweat payroll every other week," said executive director Greg
Zyvert. "I have to play God, in this bill gets paid, that bill
doesn't."
He says they've considered closing altogether.
The unpaid bills are trickling down to services. Two case
managers recently left the Chicago-based Inspiration Corporation,
which has helped more than 200 people get off the streets, saying
they couldn't work there with such a shaky financial situation. That
meant the remaining managers more than doubled their caseloads.
It's something that 23-year-old Cafonze Hibbler, his wife and
three children have noticed. The organization helped his family get
housing after a fire displaced them. But now that Hibbler is working
on his GED and applying for jobs, he said he can't get as much time
with his case manager as he needs.
Some groups report that hounding state legislators and writing
letters of hardship when times are dire seems to help; others look
to lobby politicians and make repeated phone calls.
One of the state's largest providers, Lutheran Social Services of
Illinois, with an $118 million operating budget, is owed nearly $10
million and borrows from an endowment, a bank and pays its own
vendors late, but the CEO, the Rev. Denver Bitner, said being in
constant contact is the only effective thing.
"We have consistently had a letter of hardship; that's what you
have to do. That's the only way you'll be paid," he said. "I burned
a lot of miles between here and Springfield."
The Family Service & Community Mental Health Center for McHenry
County, which has served thousands of northern Illinois families,
got an advance from a county board to cover bills, in addition to 3
percent pay cuts in the last fiscal year, unpaid furlough days and
fewer holidays.
The agency is owed almost $500,000.
"They've had to step in where the state has stepped away," said
CEO Lori Nelson. "It's unconscionable."
Illinois' rank for services
Many states face budget troubles that threaten programs for the
sick and needy, but a 2010 report by the Urban Institute found more
problems in Illinois than in almost any other state. Here's a look
at where Illinois ranked:
for
nonprofits reporting problems with late payments (83 percent,
compared with the national average of 53 percent).
No. 1 for
nonprofits borrowing money or increasing lines of credit (42
percent; nationally 22 percent).
No. 1 in
nonprofits reporting a worse experience than the year before (57
percent; nationally 31 percent).
No. 3
when it comes to nonprofits reducing employees (54 percent;
nationally 38 percent).
No. 3 for
nonprofits reporting reduced programs or services (31 percent;
nationally 21 percent).
No. 17 (tied with California)
for reporting reduced state revenues for human services (60
percent; nationally 56 percent).
Source: Urban Institute
[Associated Press;
By SOPHIA TAREEN]
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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