Budget must protect the needy
“It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”
– Hubert H. Humphrey
Not long ago, the citizens in Illinois were up in arms over the closing of state parks and historic landmarks by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Locally, protests were held over the closing of Castle Rock and Lowden parks. Auditoriums were packed as citizens confronted politicians about the closings, protests were held at the parks, and people cheered when they were reopened.
But now, as the future of Illinois’ most vulnerable citizens is being gambled by the state legislators and governor, these same citizens turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the fears of those of us who will be impacted by the “doomsday budget.” Why are we not packing auditoriums to demand that politicians set aside their issues and come up with a budget that protects the services these people need most?
According to information provided to child welfare agencies by the Department of Children and Family Services, under the current budget, foster care workers will see their caseloads go from 15-20 families up to 50. How can any agency keep children safe when workers can’t see them because of impossible caseloads? How many kids could be hurt or killed because the worker couldn’t get to them because there just wasn’t time?
Foster parents will see payments they receive to help cover supporting another child (which isn’t nearly enough as is) reduced up to 50 percent. How many foster parents will keep caring for children when they can’t afford to feed and clothe them?
Counseling services to children and families would be eliminated. Adoption preservation services, which help keep families together and prevent children from being returned to DCFS after adoption, already have been eliminated.
Where will these children end up? Back in their abusive and neglectful homes? In prisons or hospitals? On our streets? Imagine if you couldn’t care for your children and they had to be placed in a foster home. What kind of care would you want your child to receive?
People say, “We don’t want to pay any more taxes. We pay enough. Let the government eliminate wasteful spending first.” I agree that wasteful spending needs to go, but there isn’t time now to fix that problem. This “doomsday budget” is set to go into effect.
It’s not about what we pay, but rather when we pay. We can pay now to keep funding for services to families and children, the disabled, the mentally ill, the addicts, and our senior citizens. Or we can pay later for more crime, more prisons, more homeless shelters, more medical care, and more generations of dysfunction.
We have a choice. This is about doing the right thing, not the most popular thing.
I write this as an employee of a child welfare agency but not as someone who stands to lose her job because my position is not tied to state funding. I care about the children we and all other child welfare agencies around the state serve. I care about the future of our communities, our state and the long-term consequences of this budget.
Please contact your state representative, your state senator, and the governor and ask them to come together and craft a responsible budget and to stop using our most vulnerable citizens as bargaining chips.
Note to readers – Jennifer Mitchell is an adoption case manager for Children’s Home Plus Aid, Rockford, with programs serving Lee, Ogle, Carroll and Whiteside counties.
