Social Service Programs Fear Budget Cuts

Thelma Sardin |

Community youth programs across Illinois are up for elimination from the state budget for the remainder of FY2011 and FY2012. According to a recent press release, thousands statewide are protesting Governor Pat Quinns budget proposal that would eliminate over 300 youth programs, prevention services and community-based groups that serve over 70,000 teens and adolescents in Illinois. The budget cut will cripple grass-roots organizations affiliated with Chicago Area Project (CAP) and the Illinois Council of Area Projects (ICAP). Groups such as these work directly with at organizations at-risk youth and their families. The eradication of the Community Youth Services grant line would severely diminish or eliminate 55 Chicago Area Project grass roots affiliate organizations and several CAP programs.

These programs, which cost taxpayers less than $500/youth/year, focus on juvenile delinquency prevention, states CAP Executive Director David E. Whittaker. The cost of keeping youth in juvenile detention is estimated to be up to $80,000/youth/year. If the CAP and ICAP programs close down, many of the at-risk youth we serve are in great danger of ending up in the juvenile justice system. If only one percent or 700 of these youth go into juvenile detention, it would cost Illinois $56 million per yearalmost 10 times more than the entire Community Youth Services grant line.

If the budget cut is approved, initiatives funded by the Community Youth Services grant line for this year (FY2011) would cease instantly, leaving youth and their families with no programs or services in high-risk communities and neighborhoods in transition throughout Illinois.

The proposed community youth programs spending slash is not the only social service program that will be affected by Quinns new budget proposal.

According to the Associated Press, on Thursday, Quinn's administration scaled back plans to slash spending on drug and alcohol treatment.

Instead of cutting $208 million, Quinn budget office now says addiction programs will be cut only $100 million next month. Deeper cuts are still likely to take effect this summer.

The switch comes just a week after the Department of Human Services shocked groups that treat addiction by announcing their state funding would end March 15. The groups said it would force them to halt services to 55,000 clients and lay off 5,000 employees.

``I think we're going to try to ameliorate the reductions so that the various agencies have a little bit more money than they were expecting,'' Quinn said at an event in Chicago.

Quinn spokeswoman Kelly Kraft said the department was able to scale back the cuts by canceling plans to hire some new employees and by finding more federal money for the services.

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