The county finance department is starting to assess the impacts of further budget cuts coming from the State as a result of the newly passed budget. For FY 2010-11, the gap for Orange County is expected to be $7-8 billion, with some estimates putting the gap as large as $15-20 billion. The estimated gap assumes that the economy will start to rebound in the fourth quarter and the state will not have a deficit at the end of the year.
In addition to outright cuts, there are also policy changes for health care programs which reduce the number of eligible people and reduce services.
At signing, Governor Schwarzenegger used the line item veto to remove more funding from the budget fill. The areas impacted are:
- Child abuse lost $80 million
- Medi-Cal lost $60 million for eligibility services
- Healthy Families, low cost health care for children in families that don't qualify for Medi-Cal, lost $50 million
- AIDS prevention lost $52 million
- Open space funding thru the Williamson Act lost $28 million
- State parks lost $6 million, causing some state parks to close
The impacts to Orange County overall are currently estimated to be $100 million. In Orange County government, the General Fund will lose $37 million, OC Parks lose $4.1 million, OC Libraries lose $3.1 million, and the Flood Control District loses $5.3 million. The total cuts to Orange County level government is $49 million.
CalWORKs has been slashed by $375 million overall. Money for direct welfare to work services and childcare has been cut. Also, the number of consecutive months an adult may receive a cash grant is cut. In Orange County, the Social Services Agency (SSA) loses $12,742,145, Health Care Agency (HCA) loses $967,378 for public health nurses serving CalWORKs clients, and Cal Learn loses $925,480. Mental health and substance abuse services are cut by $3,966,962. All automatic cost of living (COLA) adjustments have been eliminated. Additionally, the funding for maintenance and operation of the CalWINN system has been cut by about $236,883.
In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) were slashed in the state budget. All IHSS for recipients with a functional index (FI) below 2 were cut and all domestic services were eliminated. The estimated cut for Orange Count IHSS is $578,397.
Child Welfare Services are being cut by $5 million, about a 10% cut.
Foster Care Assistance is cut by about $1,476,294, which can lead to the closure of some placements and limit services.
Transitional Housing Program Plus, designed to help foster youth successfully transition from foster care to a life as an independent young adult, is losing $313,877.
Medi-Cal has been cut by $60 million
Healthy Families now has a cap on enrollment. Families who need coverage will go on a waiting list until a space is available. The estimated cut to Orange County is $1,806,145.
Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) is cut by $470,066.
Dental disease prevention for children is cut by $240,219.
Adolescent Family Life Program for pregnant teens and teen parents loses $550,762.
The county AIDS/HIV program is cut by $2,246,383.
Mental health care funding is cut by $4,313,800. Currently, Prop 63 funding is available to fill the cut.
All Prop 36 (drug court) funding has been eliminated. Offender Treatment Programs have been cut. In Orange County, the Health Care Agency (HCA) loses $328,483, the District Attorney loses $328,483, the Public Defender loses $328,483, and the Probation department loses $1.1 million.
Additionally, redevelopment money is being siphoned off by the state with a promise to be repaid with interest. The first two quarterly payments of the Prop 42/ Highway User Tax Account (HUTA) money re deferred until May 2010. Six monthly HUTA payments will be deferred until sometime after January 2010. The deferral will have an estimated $8.5 million impact for Prop 42 and $9 million for HUTA.
Prop 1B Local Streets and Roads Account can be used to backfill Prop 42 deferred payments under terms of the budget. The county can use the money that is supposed to go for roads to fill the General Fund.
And, the budget does not say if the State will reimburse counties for the May Special Election.
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