Restore funding for human services

BREAKING NEWS: The Illinois General Assembly passed a package of bills in September that will restore funding for addiction treatment and other human services that were cut from the state budget by Governor Blagojevich in July.  Thanks for your participation in this campaign!

It is now vitally important that we put pressure on Governor Blagojevich to sign the bills and immediately begin the process of restoring funding for programs that began shutting down or cutting back on services in August.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Support Fund Sweeps to Restore Human Services Funding

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Please sign SB 790 (Fund Sweeps) and SB 1103 (Supplemental Appropriation) as soon as possible and immediatley restore funding for addiction treatment and other vital human services.

The $55 million cut in substance abuse programs also means that Illinois will lose an additional $55 in matching funds from the federal government.

Failing to make an adequate investment in substance abuse recovery services is poor public policy for several reasons: 1. The costs--both to state government and to the private sector--that are associated with untreated addiction are many times more more than the dollars spent on treatment. A University of Chicago study suggests that a dollar invested upfront in substance abuse prevention and treatment saves $7 in longer-term costs associated with domestic abuse, other crime, medical costs, increased insurance costs for everyone, and lost productivity of workers. And that doesn't even count the human tragedy of lives lost to drivers under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. 2. The cut of $55 million in state funds for substance abuse prevention and treatment also means that the State of Illinois will forfeit $55 in federal matching dollars. At a time when the state is so strapped for funds, it is unwise to leave so many federal dollars in Washington that could be used here in Illinois.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
September 05, 2008


Background Information

The following message from the President/CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) describes the impact of the current budget cuts on LSSI alone. As devastating as those cuts are, keep in mind that LSSI is just one of many recovery treatment providers whose services are being cut.

 

Governor Blagojevich cut $55 million from substance abuse treatment and prevention, primarily from existing programs that rely on existing revenue streams, hurting individuals and families from all walks of life.

  1. The cuts will cost Illinois $55 million in matching federal funding, for a total of $110 million, a reduction of 43% from the previous budget.
  2. Blagojevich’s cuts will force more than 42,000 people to go without treatment.

These cuts don’t balance the state budget, they force it further out of whack.

  1. Every dollar cut from substance abuse treatment costs taxpayers $7 down the road, in increased costs for prisons and law enforcement, HIV/AIDS treatment and Medicaid, unemployment and homelessness, and a host of other social ills.
  2. The cuts also have immeasurable human costs: drunk-driving fatalities, drug overdoses, families torn apart by addiction, escalating gang violence, and neighborhood decay.

The Governor’s cuts mean that nearly 1 in 5 people served by Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) will be turned away, and those who remain will lose crucial supportive services that jeopardize the effectiveness of their care.

  1. LSSI will be forced to eliminate Project Safe, which provides treatment for mothers of children in the DCFS system.  These cuts undermine family stability, placing children at risk, and increasing the burden on the child welfare system.
  2. 1 in 3 individuals will be turned away from our Detox Program, increasing the burden on local hospitals and the likelihood that these patients will end up depending on the state for homelessness services, unemployment and Medicaid, or in the criminal justice system.
  3. LSSI’s Halfway House and Residential Rehabilitation programs will serve roughly 500 fewer patients, a cut of nearly 30 percent.
  4. Our outpatient and community outreach programs will experience significant cuts in supportive services including community outreach and teen education, early intervention and case management, undermining cost-effective efforts to combat addiction.
  5. The Governor’s cuts reduce DASA funding for LSSI by 30 percent ($1.4 million), forcing a total of 30 lay-offs of our treatment staff.

November is too late, the State must act now!

  1. A supplemental appropriation will be too late once agencies begin closing programs, laying off staff, and closing facilities.
  2. People that are addicted to drugs or alcohol want and need treatment now, and they can’t wait until November; the damage caused by three more months of untreated addiction may be irreversible.

 
Powered by image