Pennsylvania State Budget Cuts $105 million in Philadelphia

[JPZenger]

Why should Corbett care? People in Philadelphia don't vote Republican. Many don't vote at all. Therefore, they are politically invisible.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20120222_Harm_to_Phila__from_Pa__budget_cuts_will_extend__say_local_officials.html

The article also describes how the School District is faced with $14 million in additional new pension costs, beyond what is funded by the state.

Excerpts:

"Corbett's new budget proposal would cost the city $42 million in mostly mental health and addiction treatment funding, but city officials say the impact will be worsened by ensuing needs for emergency shelter, child welfare, and other services...Beside the cuts in aid to the city government, the Philadelphia School District faces an additional $21 million reduction in state support...

Massive cuts in higher education - the biggest a proposed 30 percent, $42 million cut in state aid to Temple University - would likely reduce the number of Philadelphia-based jobs, as well as raising tuition, the city said. The biggest direct impact on the city budget would be a projected $33 million reduction in state aid to the city's Department of Behavioral Health.

Without the money, "the department anticipates an increase in homeless and criminal justice populations, especially those with addictions [and] an increase in people living on the streets," Dubow said... The city Health Department faces an additional $7 million in state cuts. That would reduce the number of beds in the city nursing home and cost hospice beds for AIDS victims, officials said. Some of that money is also used as matching funds to secure $24 million in federal aid for HIV testing and other AIDS-related services, the city said."

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http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20120222_Philly_bracing_for_big_cuts_in_Pa__budget.html

Excerpts:

"More than 400 community residential beds would be eliminated, as well as case-management services for people with chronic severe mental illness and those with substance-abuse issues. Homeless-outreach services would be reduced, and detoxification, residential-rehab inpatient and outpatient treatment would be eliminated. Additionally, there would be a loss of hospice beds for those with AIDS; a reduction in nursing-home beds and maternal- and child-health services, including those for families with children of special needs; and prenatal care for the uninsured.

"What that means is, people who would be institutionalized will lose a lot of their supports, and people who have serious substance-abuse issues won't be able to get treatment in a timely fashion," said Donald Schwarz, deputy mayor ... The cuts could jeopardize $24 million in federal funds for the city's HIV/AIDS programs, may lead to an increase in homeless and prison populations, and more costs for the Department of Human Services and more demand for emergency shelter.

"If Philadelphia crumbles, or sectors of the Philadelphia system crumble, it doesn't impact the city by itself but the entire region," said state Sen. Vincent Hughes, adding that he and other Democrats are fighting to restore the cuts by pushing the Corbett administration to pull federal money from other line items."

[JPZenger]

1. Chicago Sheriff: Mental Health Budget Cuts Result in More Prison Inmates and Much Higher Costs

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/22/10477042-chicago-sheriff-mental-health-cuts-mean-more-prisoners

Excerpt:

"Tom Dart, The Cook County Sheriff, told The Chicago News Cooperative on Monday that of those 11,000 prisoners, about 2,000 have some form of serious mental illness. But he fears the situation could get much worse: Chicago has plans to shutter half of its 12 city-run mental health centers by the end of April in a bid to save $2 million, and that could leave many mentally ill patients without the treatment they need.

“It will definitely have a negative impact on jail populations,” Dart told The Chicago News Cooperative. “It will have direct consequences for us in my general jail population and some of the problems I have here, because a lot of the people with these issues act out more, as you would expect, so that’s a direct consequence.”

Without resources to treat them, those with mental health issues are more likely to have run-ins with the police, the Sheriff said... It costs about $143 per day to house a typical detainee at Cook County Jail, the media organization reported. To house a detainee with mental health issues costs two to three times as much, the sheriff said."