Title
Urging the restoration of the proposed devastating 20 percent cutbacks to the State human service budget by Governor Tom Corbett.
Body
WHEREAS, Philadelphia citizens attended a May 1, 2012 community forum to demonstrate their strong opposition to Governor Tom Corbett's proposed 20 percent cutback in State funding for county-administered human service programs as well as their opposition to the Governor's proposed block grant to allocate such funding; and
WHEREAS, A subsequent State Senate-passed budget proposal partially restores funding but, in any event, has not yet been considered by the State House and has not been approved by the Governor; and
WHEREAS, We remain concerned that any consideration of funding reduction in this area is not focused on the mutual objective of eliminating "waste, fraud and abuse," but will instead result in the elimination of services for persons with significant and legitimate need; and
WHEREAS, A funding cut to Philadelphia would result in the loss of $42 million for mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, addiction, homelessness, and child abuse service programs for some of the most vulnerable and least fortunate among us; and
WHEREAS, Despite the steady rise in Department of Public Welfare's overall budget in the past decade, the county-managed funding streams slated for these cuts have already been consistently cut over the previous ten years, eroding our capacity to respond to a growing local demand for services; and
WHEREAS, Governor Corbett's proposed cuts break a State promise made when Harrisburg State Hospital was closed to provide sustained funding for community-based mental health services as an alternative to higher-cost institutional care; and
WHEREAS, It has not yet been determined if the block grant approach will cause Philadelphia and other counties to inherit legal and financial responsibility and liability previously held by the State under Pennsylvania's Mental He...
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