Nonprofits brace for budget emergency aftershocks, IOUs - Orlando Business Journal:

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While service providers don’t yet know whether they’lk receive IOUs — or what the amounts will be Sparky Harlan, CEO of the in Santsa Clara, is prepared for the worst. “We receive abougt $400,000 in state funding,” Harlan said. “We’re already accustomed to gettingy money from the statelate — last for example, it took untilk December before we finally got paid.” For this year and last year the centere has relied on a $150,000 line of credit through to covedr the gap, along with $500,000 out of its reservs funds. The center’s operating budget is $10 millionn for fiscal 2009-10.
The money that may be on hold from thestat covers, in part, the center’s shelter and drop-in street outreach, and parenting “The problem right now is that we don’tg know for certain how much they’r going to hold back,” said who has been with the center for 26 years. “But this is by far the worsty I’ve ever seen.” In anticipation of the state’sd budget problems, 10 percent cuts have alread y been plannedfor foster-card payments. Locally there are 300 to 400 kids infosteer care.
Foster care rates are the same acroszthe state, so families in high-cost areas such as the Bay Area get the same amount of compensation as people in more affordablw places. “We’re fronting half a million dollards already,” she said. It’s a layered problem for the since in addition to state money some comes from the federal Housing and UrbamnDevelopment department. And Harlan said HUD is so slow it can take up to six monthas for payments tobe “We’re hoping to get paid by she said. “Nonprofits are just getting Harlan said the Bill Wilson Centef has closed down two programs already and cut abouy 15 percent ofits staff, leaving about 110 employees.
These are real she pointed out not attrition or openjobs — and to do. “We had to give one staff person a layoff notice and a week later his wife was laid off fromanothere nonprofit,” she said. in Campbell gets aboug $500,000 a year from the state for its AIDS CFO Ira Holtzman said the agency is largew enough and financially stable enough that he would just book an IOU as accountws receivable and hope the money camethrough eventually. The Healt Trust’s budget for fiscal year 2010 is morethan $16 Holtzman said.
Pam Brandin, executive director of and Visually Impaired, which has officeas in Palo Alto and Santa Cruz, said that even thoug h her agency provides the kind of services that are especially at risk in State Controllere John Chiang’s plan, the Vistaq Center is relatively “We receive money through Title 7 Chapter 2 Brandin explained. “Since much of our funding is federalmoneyu we’re hoping that it has to be released and passedf on; the state won’t be allowed to hold on to The Vista Center also has school contractsd through special education funding.
“Last year when the state had similatr budget issueswe didn’t receive any she said, “but that situation was resolved sooner than this appeares to be. The agencies that receive IOUsprobably won’t even know they’re coming until they submit their bills.” She’s also bankinv on Vista Center’s status as a preferref vendor with the state, “sop we’ll be paid in advance of othe vendors — if in fact the state is even writintg checks.” Lisa Hendrickson, president & CEO of Avenidas Rose Kleiner Senioer Day Health Center in Palo Alto, is also cautiousl optimistic.
“The only funds we receiver from the state are MediCal payments for services providefd at our adultdaycar center,” she said. “Our understanding is that thos services are protected by the stated constitution as well asfederal law. We do receives funding indirectly throughthe county, but we don’t expect that to be Tom Kinoshita, public policy director of the , said peopls are on pins and needles. “Everyone’s sitting around waiting, not knowinbg what’s going to happen. But even with the most optimistidcoutcome it’s still going to be very ugly.
” He pointed out that the deficir last year for Santa Clara County was more than $270 and many of the cuts were made in programs around health, mental health, drugs and alcoholk and social services. And there’s no relierf on the horizon: For 2011 the county is lookinyg at a deficit ofabout $250 million, he