Posted by (+2890) 11 months ago
Heather O'Laughlin, Co-Director, of the Montana Budget and Policy Center, wrote this opinion published in the Billings Gazette, March 14, 2018:
"Since the start of the regular 2017 session, the legislature has cut nearly $100 million from health and human services. State general fund reductions to health and human services trigger a loss of federal funds. When totaling up all funds, we estimate that Montana families have lost more than $200 million in health services.
Nonprofit organizations across the state have announced layoffs and the reduction or elimination of services. These are the groups that help abused children, at-risk moms and people with disabilities. To keep going, many organizations are turning to their communities for donations. In the worst-case scenarios, some are simply shutting their doors. Story upon story paints a picture of families grappling with how to access the help they once had and need.
The long-term results of these cuts will ripple throughout our broader economy. When jobs are eliminated, people spend less, which hurts businesses. Productivity suffers when workers have to take time off to care for family who lost services. When people are forced to operate with uncertainty around their health, their job or their family’s welfare, they pull back from their involvement in schools, volunteering and community activities. When those suffering with mental health or addiction disorders don’t have services, they often end up in crisis, putting pressure on emergency rooms, firefighters and police officers. Children can end up in foster care, which costs the state additional resources for child and family services.
Read the rest of her article at:
http://billingsgazette.co...fd6b8.html
"Since the start of the regular 2017 session, the legislature has cut nearly $100 million from health and human services. State general fund reductions to health and human services trigger a loss of federal funds. When totaling up all funds, we estimate that Montana families have lost more than $200 million in health services.
Nonprofit organizations across the state have announced layoffs and the reduction or elimination of services. These are the groups that help abused children, at-risk moms and people with disabilities. To keep going, many organizations are turning to their communities for donations. In the worst-case scenarios, some are simply shutting their doors. Story upon story paints a picture of families grappling with how to access the help they once had and need.
The long-term results of these cuts will ripple throughout our broader economy. When jobs are eliminated, people spend less, which hurts businesses. Productivity suffers when workers have to take time off to care for family who lost services. When people are forced to operate with uncertainty around their health, their job or their family’s welfare, they pull back from their involvement in schools, volunteering and community activities. When those suffering with mental health or addiction disorders don’t have services, they often end up in crisis, putting pressure on emergency rooms, firefighters and police officers. Children can end up in foster care, which costs the state additional resources for child and family services.
Read the rest of her article at:
http://billingsgazette.co...fd6b8.html