Human Service Cuts in Illinois – Unconscionable!!

I want to depart from my usual blogging focus and speak to something a little closer to home. Although I am sure that what I am about to describe is not uncommon in many states due to the financial emergency, Illinois’ financial crisis has reached a critical stage.

In Illinois, there is a threat of significant budget cuts if the state legislature and Governor can’t agree on a new fiscally responsible budget. In fact, the budget cuts that are being threatened will destroy the statewide human services delivery system which has already been devastated over the last year.

A colleague of mine, David Sharar, Managing Director, Chestnut Global Partners, an EAP firm located in Bloomington, Illinois has been working diligently to get the word out to the EAP Community as soon as possible. He makes the point that, the EAP field needs to get off of the sidelines and make sure that the entire social service delivery system in Illinois is not sacrificed. Quoting David, “As Employee Assistance Program & Work-Life providers, we work hard every day to help employees in the organizations we serve, resolve any personal or family issues that can interfere with work performance and productivity and now is the time to help avoid a crisis that will affect many of our covered employees, their families, and nearly every disadvantaged citizen in our state.”

Currently the state has inadequate revenues to operate and the House, Senate, and Governor have not been able to agree on a tax increase to fund vital human service programs. Funding will be terminated for numerous programs and cut by 75% for others. Illinoisans with developmental disabilities, youth and families in crisis, the frail elderly, abused children and spouses, and those trying to break free of addiction and mental illness will be negatively affected. This approach is shortsighted and ultimately will only serve to increase overall costs.

Many employees we serve and their families in particular are not even eligible for health care benefits or are underinsured. Many are single parents and trying to simultaneously cope with child and elder care issues. These employees and families rely on necessary community-based services such as domestic violence shelters, drug and alcohol treatment, community mental health, and supportive programs for at-risk children and the elderly. Others in the organizations we serve use our services as a critical “safety net” to fill in the gaps when medical insurance is not available or applicable. We have several examples of employees with a family member in need who “hits a dead end” when trying to resolve complex problems via a health insurance benefit alone.

So I urge you and the leaders in the businesses you serve to contact your state representatives and senators. It is especially important to have your organization’s leaders contact them as our political leaders pay more attention when they hear directly from local organizations that are NOT human service providers. If you’d like to get involved, here are some ideas:

• Call or write your state representative and state senator and urge them to support an income tax increase that will ensure that your employees and their families can continue to be served. Don’t know who to contact? Click here to find out. (Just go to the “address” tab, type in your address and you’ll get the contact information for your state representative and state senator.) Then call or write to them at their local offices. Help them understand that costs are exponentially increased in the form of increased ER visits, criminal activity, loss of employment, and other social problems.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining what will happen to your community if we can no longer offer services to people with serious and sometimes life threatening needs.

Now is the time to act or we will all suffer. Like Mr. Sharar, all of us need to work to prevent this from happening. If these human services are cut further, the consequences from an economic and human standpoint will be dire. Believe me, without these services, our costs will rise even further and the current economic crisis will get even worse.

Tags: EAP, employee assistance, illinois budget, productivity, social services