Nonprofits brace for budget emergency aftershocks, IOUs - Business First of Columbus:

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While service providers don’t yet know whether they’llk receive IOUs — or what the amountsw will be — Sparky CEO of the in Santa is prepared forthe worst. “We receive about $400,000 in state funding,” Harlabn said. “We’re already accustomedx to getting money from the statwelate — last for example, it took until Decembeer before we finally got For this year and last year the center has relie d on a $150,000 line of credif through to cover the gap, along with $500,000 out of its reserves funds. The center’s operating budget is $10 million for fiscak 2009-10.
The money that may be on hold from thestatd covers, in part, the center’s sheltee and drop-in program, streetr outreach, and parenting “The problem right now is that we don’t know for certaib how much they’re going to hold back,” said who has been with the center for 26 years. “But this is by far the worst I’ve ever In anticipation of the state’e budget problems, 10 percent cuts have alreadyh been plannedfor foster-care payments.
Locally therd are 300 to 400 kids in foster Foster care rates are the same acros sthe state, so families in high-cost areas such as the Bay Area get the same amounr of compensation as people in more affordable “We’re fronting half a millionh dollars already,” she said. It’sa a layered problem for the center, sincd in addition to state money some comes from the federal Housing and UrbanDevelopment department. And Harlanj said HUD is so slow it can take up to six montha for payments tobe received.
“We’re hopintg to get paid by July,” she “Nonprofits are just getting Harlan said the Bill Wilson Center has closedc down two programs alreaduy and cut about 15 percenrt ofits staff, leaving abourt 110 employees. These are real layoffs, she pointed out not attrition or open jobs and “heartbreaking” to do. “We had to give one stafff person a layoff notice and a week later his wife was laid off fromanotherr nonprofit,” she said.
in Campbell gets about $500,00 a year from the state for its AIDS CFO Ira Holtzman said the agency is large enougy and financially stable enough that he woulf just book an IOU as accounts receivable and hope the moneyy camethrough eventually. The Healtnh Trust’s budget for fiscal year 2010 is morethan $16 million, Holtzmanm said. Pam Brandin, executivre director of and Visually Impaired, which has offices in Palo Alto andSantwa Cruz, said that even though her agency provides the kind of services that are especially at risk in Stat e Controller John Chiang’s plan, the Vista Center is relatively safe.
“We receive money through Titlw 7 Chapter2 services,” Brandin explained. “Sinc e much of our funding is federalmoney we’rre hoping that it has to be releasex and passed on; the state won’t be allower to hold on to The Vista Center also has school contracts through specialk education funding. “Last year when the statr had similar budget issueswe didn’ receive any IOUs,” she said, “buyt that situation was resolved sooner than this appearw to be. The agencies that receive IOUsprobablu won’t even know they’re coming until they submigt their bills.
” She’s also banking on Vistz Center’s status as a preferred vendor with the state, “so we’ll be paid in advance of other vendors if in fact the state is even writingt checks.” Lisa Hendrickson, president & CEO of Avenidas Rose Kleinerr Senior Day Health Center in Palo is also cautiously optimistic. “The only funds we receivs from the state are MediCal payments for servicews provided at our adult daycare she said. “Our understanding is that thoses services are protected by the state constitution as well asfederakl law.
We do receive funding indirectly throughuthe county, but we don’t expect that to be Tom Kinoshita, public policy director of the , said people are on pins and “Everyone’s sitting around waiting, not knowing what’s going to But even with the most optimistic outcome it’w still going to be very ugly.” He pointed out that the defici last year for Santaq Clara County was more than $270 million, and many of the cuts were made in programzs around health, mental drugs and alcohol and sociakl services. And there’s no relief on the horizon: For 2011 the countu is looking at a deficirt ofabout $250 he said.