I am a little bit disturbed today as I read an article from yesterday's local newspaper. However, this article sites exactly what our ministry is all about. When you cannot depend on the government officials and law enforcement agencies to protect the children and families who are abused, they must have somewhere to turn. This is why our ministry focuses on the abused. These are the individuals who need the most help from us… Keep reading and you will understand!
The article in the Sandusky Register says that Governor Ted Strickland's proposed budget, if adopted by legislation, will seriously cut resources for the Erie County Department of Job and Family Services.
11 social workers who work for the county's abused or neglected children, will lost their jobs.
Strickland is also planning on cutting $62 million allocated for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds.
Due to the lack of staff, many children's abuse cases will go unattended such as the little three year old boy who died in 1990 when his mother's boyfriend put him in a bathtub of scalding water. The boy's family had been previously investigated; however he was placed back into the home after investigations were completed by social workers.
When this situation happened, Erie County Social Workers were handling up to 60 cases a piece. There is no way that children can be kept safe when there are this many cases assigned to one social worker. It is impossible. I am disgusted that a government official thinks that of all places to cut money, this would be one of the options on the table.
Right now, Erie County Social Workers only have a caseload of 11 cases per social worker. This caseload is manageable… but anything more than this is ridiculous.
The cuts that Strickland is proposing will cut the number of social workers from 27 to 15. This will essentially double each of their caseloads. On top of that funds will be cut from their operating budget, making it even more difficult for them to do their jobs.
Ms. Englehart, who is the president of Public Children Services Association of Ohio, has teamed up with four other groups to try and gain attention from legislators like Representative Dennis Murray, democrat of Sandusky.
It is proven that when there is recession with tough economic times that the number of abuse cases goes up. This is due a lot because of stress and frustration experienced by caregivers and parents, actually having nothing to do with the child or children abused.
Now would be a terrible time for these budget cuts to take place.
It looks like Silent Ministries Recovery Outreach has some letter writing to do in assisting to grab the attention of the lawmakers and legislative officials. Now is the time to act…
Please everyone leave me a comment about this article, I want to know what others think about this issue at hand. Thank you! God Bless, Miranda Rhuda, Silent Ministries Recovery Outreach, Executive Assistant.
Hi. Outreach Pastor Jim Harnage here. I support Miranda for her voice of opposition to these type of cuts by state government.
ReplyDeleteBut what bamboozles me more is the fact that Ohio is accepting and offering it's agencies millions of dollars in stimulus and on top of that it is earmarking over 70 million dollars for children's services.
So why the cuts? We all know it isn't the money. It is about the politics. The feds, the states, and our county and community leaders are all involved in a game of political chess and our children are the pawns. The following is from the Dayton Daily News.
By Margo Rutledge Kissell
Staff Writer
5:04 PM Sunday, April 12, 2009
Ohio will receive $75.6 million in federal stimulus money to help poor and working families with child care and to get more of the underserved population vaccinated.
About $68.1 million of the funding will go toward child care and $7.5 million for immunizations, officials said.
Vice President Joe Biden said the states will share $2 billion to support child care for more families whose children require care while they are working, seeking employment or receiving job training or education.
“I think it’s going to improve access for families in terms of being able to get that child care,” said Deb Downing, assistant director of social services and the income support division at Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services. “I’ve personally heard families say how this has been a real struggle for them.”
States will provide vouchers to families for child care or give access to care through contracts with child care centers. The Recovery Act dollars will support a wide range of child care providers, including child care centers and home-based programs.
Montgomery County Health Commissioner Jim Gross is waiting on more details about how the county’s Combined Health District may benefit from the $7.5 million coming to Ohio for vaccines.
“If they are going to increase dollars for childhood immunizations and looking at ways to enhance how those immunizations are distributed, that can only help our community,” he said.
Most of the funding will be used to purchase vaccines distributed through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention immunization program. Some funding will come in the form of grants to states that show innovative new ways to ensure more people receiving the shots they need.
Gross said immunizations are one of the most effective preventative measures to fighting disease.
Of the 774 million smackers that Ohio is recieving from the stimulus 54 million is being spent on, or, "contributed" to planning and studies. When the planning and studies are over where will the money come from to put shovels and boots on the ground?
ReplyDeleteOhio, just like Georgia and most states, looks at cutting senior services, children and education services when the so-called "going gets tough."
But it seems like in the end someone gets what they want and the rest get it in the end.