Local News
REVENUE SHORTFALLS PROMPT CUTS AT COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
A wide-ranging evaluation of the Clatsop County Health and Human Services Department will likely result in some layoffs and program reductions, but will also enable the department to provide service levels more in line with actual funding, county officials say.
In a detailed memo, County Manager Scott Derickson informed the Clatsop County commissioners Wednesday that the HHS department is likely to face continued revenue shortfalls in the new fiscal year, and he offered a list of recommended service cuts and other cost-saving measures aimed at keeping spending levels in line with projected funding.
Among the suggested cuts is eliminating the Healthy Start program, changing clinic operations and increasing fees for various services.
“These moves may cause inconvenience for some of our clients, but in the end we believe the adjustments we’re making now will put the department back on solid financial footing,” Derickson said.
Derickson submitted an official notice to the Oregon Commission on Children and Families on Monday informing it that the county intends to drop the Healthy Start program in 60 days unless the state increases funding or another local contractor can be found to manage the program. Two of the program’s employees have also been given layoff notices.
Healthy Start provides home visits for first-time parents to help ensure healthy, thriving children and nurturing families. New state rules prohibit the county from targeting clients who are eligible for Medicaid reimbursement, with the result that county officials are projecting a $45,000 deficit for the Healthy Start program for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
Derickson emphasized that the cancellation notice to the state can be rescinded if another means of keeping the program operating can be found.
“Staff is going to work hard at finding other alternatives to keep this program in the community,” he said.
Last month the Clatsop County commissioners were obliged to transfer $175,000 from the county’s General Fund to Health and Human Services to make up for revenue shortfalls that left several HHS programs in the red at the end of the 2007-08 fiscal year.
The shortfalls were the result of lower-than-expected reimbursements from the state and client payments for service. Though several cost-cutting measures have been implemented, state funding for many HHS programs is expected to drop this year, resulting in an overall reduction in the department’s budget of almost 20 percent, and the county is anticipating more shortfalls for the new fiscal year unless additional spending cuts are made, Derickson said.
The Health and Human Services Department, with a budget of $4,218,000 for Fiscal Year 2008-09, is funded primarily with pass-through dollars from the state.
“Last year’s shortfall was not the result of the department overspending its budget,” Derickson said. “The department kept its spending within the amounts originally budgeted – the problem was that all the revenue needed to cover that spending did not come in as originally hoped.”
Last fall the county administration assigned Assistant Finance Director Andrea Trenner to the Health and Human Services Department and charged her with improving the department’s overall management and financial systems. Trenner initiated staffing changes that allowed for some reductions in personnel, implemented a new clinic management program designed to increase efficiency, and pursued uncollected revenue, among other efforts. The department has also implemented more stringent inventory control procedures and internal billing procedures.
Not all the anticipated savings were realized, in part because of labor contract requirements that prevented some staff members from being laid off until the end of the fiscal year.
More recently a team of county officials was assembled to evaluate each HHS program and determine if further reductions or restructuring was necessary. The group has also been preparing for an operational audit the county hopes to kick off next month.
“Our goal is to make sure that each of the department’s programs is properly sized to match the anticipated level of revenue,” Derickson said.
Along with the elimination of Healthy Start, other recommendations made by the county team include increasing the number of daily appointments for family planning services and implementing fee increases in the Environmental Health program and reorganizing its staff.
Derickson pointed out that a recent audit by the Oregon Department of Human Services gave the HHS Department passing marks in all but two areas: Title 10 family planning changes and a “cost analysis” program. Health Department officials and other county staff have recently completed a draft document that addresses both areas, he said.
In its report, DHS called the department’s staff “a committed team of professionals who deliver quality public health services to the community,” Derickson noted.
Local Media
Police Blotter
Articles Elsewhere
Recent Comments
The fact that Skinner, the one that …
By Staci from the article Former School Director asks Ethics Commission for investigation.No Doubt you do not get it. …
By No Doubt ? from the article Former School Director asks Ethics Commission for investigation.There is a direct connection between the …
By No doubt about it from the article Former School Director asks Ethics Commission for investigation.Like another said, this simply comes down …
By LEAD BY EXAMPLE from the article Former School Director asks Ethics Commission for investigation.Good correction, forgetting the overlap of the …
By PLEASE READ from the article Former School Director asks Ethics Commission for investigation.Who taught you math? Oly was on …
By ridiculous from the article Former School Director asks Ethics Commission for investigation.Remember Oly and Lauren were not board …
By Another from the article Former School Director asks Ethics Commission for investigation.Not being a big fan of Oly …
By Response from the article Former School Director asks Ethics Commission for investigation.
6 Comments
On Jul 10, 12:21 PM, cdgoldfinch wrote:
Title 10 family planning changes and a “cost analysis” program.
Somewhat ominously prophetic isn’t it?
On Jul 10, 11:16 PM, think about it wrote:
It seems that county is constantly picking up the state’s tab for its failures, from district attorneys to programs that don’t do their job.
[url="http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/abuse/publications/children/abusestat98.pdf" href=http://www.oregon.gov/OCCF/hso/index.shtml>Healthy Start</a> “ ...because babies don’t come with instructions
Parenting is one of the most important and rewarding jobs a person will ever do—as well as one of the most challenging. And, unlike other jobs, most people have no experience or “training” before becoming parents.
All first-time parents in Oregon are invited to receive Healthy Start’s “Welcome Baby” services. Healthy Start is voluntary and it’s free.”
That’s the problem with the state, they think it is FREE. It isn’t free it comes from US. There isn’t anyone working for free in those programs. The person doing the home visits hasn’t volunteered their time. You can bet that at the state level there are five people “administrating” for every person at county level working.
Healthy Start Works!
Healthy Start was established by the 1993 Legislature to assist families in giving their newborn children a ‘healthy start’ in life.
Healthy Start was designed to be for all families with newborns, reaching first-born children at a minimum. As state resources remained scarce, the focus of Healthy Start services has narrowed to serving those families most at risk. Local programs may still provide services for families at lower risk using other resources.
The legislature continues to support Healthy Start as its primary child abuse prevention program, and ongoing research confirms the program’s effectiveness. Healthy Start is accredited by Healthy Families America, a research-based program model.
Healthy Start Saves Money
Healthy Start costs approximately $2800 a year for each family served with intensive home visiting.
This investment is far less than the cost to society of incarceration later in life, poor achievement in school, or involvement with the Child Welfare system. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids estimates that in Oregon alone, child abuse and neglect contributes to the creation of almost 400 new criminals each year. The tragedy is that most child abuse and neglect can be prevented, thus reducing future crime.
* Fight Crime Invest in Kids states “the best available research indicates, based on confirmed cases of abuse and neglect, that in 2004 alone, in Oregon, more than 400 kids will grow up to become violent criminals who would never have become violent criminals if not for the abuse and neglect they endured as kids.“
* Victims of child abuse or neglect, as they grow older, are also two and a half times more likely than other people to attempt suicide.
<a ]Oregon Department of Health Services in 1998 reported:[/url] In 1998, SCF received 31,456 reports of
child abuse and neglect, an increase of
12.3 percent over 1997.
• Of those reports, field assessments were completed for 17,300; an increase of 0.7 percent.
• There were 10,147 child abuse victims in 1998, a 4.2 percent increase from the previous year.
• Incidents of threat of harm rose 17 percent and mental injury rose 23 percent. All other types of maltreatment dropped.
• The number of drug-affected babies dropped for the fourth year in a row and continues a downward trend which began after the peak in 1989.
• In 1998, 6 children died from abuse; 11 died from causes related to neglect.
In 1998, 55 percent of neglect incidents involved children aged 0-5 9.9 percent were infants).
According to Oregon DHS’s 2006 report:
• In federal fiscal year (FFY) 2006, DHS child welfare received
60,746 reports of suspected child abuse and neglect, an
increase of 10.2 percent over FFY 2005.
• There were 12,043 unduplicated child abuse/neglect victims in
FFY 2006, a 7.0 percent increase from FFY 2005.
• In FFY 2006, incidents of physical abuse and mental injury
declined, while incidents of neglect, sexual abuse, and threat
of harm increased. The relatively large decrease in physical
abuse and corresponding increase in neglect is mostly due
to the re-categorization of “Drug Affected Child” as a type of
neglect instead of a type of physical abuse.
• Physical abuse down 28.6 percent
• Mental injury down 8.9 percent
• Neglect up 20.2 percent
• Sexual abuse up 14.0 percent
• Threat of harm up 3.5 percent
In FFY 2006, DHS child welfare reviewed 60,746 reports of suspected child abuse/neglect (some of these were reported to DHS at the end of FFY 2005). In 1997, DHS child welfare reviewed 28,008 reports of suspected child abuse/neglect. This is an increase of 116.9 percent over a 10-year period. This continuing rise in reports, as well as the intensity of family problems, presents a challenge to DHS and community partners to meet the needs of today’s children.
Maybe it is time for DHS to rethink the “Healthy Start” program, or show that it is making some headway. Right now it is like taking iffy herbal supplements. No proof that they are working but you have some crazy ass disease and you are terrified of quitting even though it is costing you a third of your income each month. Is Healthy Start worth the cost being put into it, or is it merely keeping some bureaucrats in a job? How many programs at the state level are only there ensuring that someone at state has a job tomorrow?
On Jul 10, 11:43 PM, think about it wrote:
1993 state population was 3,038,000
2007 state pop was 3,745,555
An increase of 707,555 people. Between April 1, 2000 and July 1, 2007, net migration (people moving into Oregon minus people leaving) is estimated to be 212,062 and accounts for 65 percent of the total population growth. Between 1990 and 2000 that percentage was 73 percent, but in the early 2000s, it dropped to 56 percent.
In the 15 years since the Healthy Start program has begun where are these children now? How many of these children who were first helped by the program have remained out of the prison system? The welfare system and the DHS abuse/foster care system?
How is this program being tracked?
On Jul 11, 6:13 AM, Agatha Sparticus wrote:
It’s just a bunch of hooey from the state to justify their jobs. They just want you to shut up and pay your taxes and maybe a little extra, their ins. is going up and early retirement is coming soon. So we better work harder so they can have it easier. If this area had some industry where young adults could get jobs the abuse and crime rate would drop. It’s all related to economics. No money, no hope for the future. Ya the state will take care of you lol, unfortunately they learned to take care of themselves first and maybe some will dribble down. County State Federal it’s all the same mantra. Time for us to send a message, vote no when they want money.
On Jul 11, 9:23 AM, cdgoldfinch wrote:
County State Federal it’s all the same mantra. Time for us to send a message, vote no when they want money.
Ahhhh..Yes!
A little,snivel, snivel, “whine and cheese” to start the day.
On Jul 11, 10:54 AM, Barrredowl wrote:
The double standards of “Common Sense”. When McGee/Goldfinch voice concerns about the Port or the BOCC commissioners its “justified”, when anyone else voices a concern about anything not on the MG agenda its whining and sniveling.
Just curious, when was the last time county asked for money?
Don’t vote “no” on everything. That’s exactly what “common sense” wants. If you vote “no” on Measure 4-131 Clatsop County will be cut off from the rest of the world, virtually isolated. No cables from technology in, none out. No way to get energy from wind turbines to any of our homes without crossing any of the federal, state and county parks that criss cross and surrounds our county. No way to market any extra energy.
Question why this isn’t a concern of the “Common Sense” crowd? Because they know none of this technology is ready yet, nor will it be ready for 10-20 years and they feel they can reverse Measure 4-131 when time comes closer to one of “their” technologies to be used. Until then, isolating us is exactly what they want.