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With Governor Andrew Cuomo preparing to deliver his FY2012-13 budget message this afternoon, the Human Services Council of New York (HSC) has just released a report blasting the negative economic impact of more than $800 million in budget cuts over the past two years.
According to A Lose-Lose Proposition: The Economic Impact of Lost Human Services in New York State, New York State cut a total of $800 million in funding during FY 2009-10 and FY 2010-11 for such vital programs as child care and child welfare, youth and after-school programs, senior services, health programs, employment training and assistance, supportive housing, services for the homeless, and programs for people with disabilities. The impact of these cuts, says HSC, has fallen not only on the people who relied on these services but on the state’s overall economy and its citizens as a whole.
HSC estimates that 27,000 human services sector jobs have been lost. For instance, 13,265 Summer Youth Employment slots that would have helped young people gain valuable experience have been eliminated, along with approximately 1,300 part-time jobs.
The report shows how human services programs are an economic engine in New York’s communities, providing nearly 1.25 million jobs and supporting local economies through the purchase of more than a billion dollars in goods and services. Human services like child care, after-school programs, and elder programs are also essential job supports, enabling parents and other caregivers to work and keep their jobs.
“This report demonstrates that human services matter to everyone,” said Michael Stoller, Executive Director of HSC, “whether it’s the people who need assistance or the local economies that benefit from the employment and business that human services programs generate. Our state cannot afford more service reductions. We need government to continue to look for alternative cost-saving and revenue-generating reforms that will move us toward a balanced budget and prevent further erosion of funds for human services.”
The report provides details about how human services programs are suffering from:
- The deferral of more than $150 million in cost-of-living adjustments for the human services workforce, which results in higher turnover and affects the stability of service delivery;
- An astounding drop of close to 90% in funding for Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) initiatives—from $216 million in 2010 to $25 million by 2012—which includes the loss of work supports for struggling families;
- $2.7 billion in spending reductions in state Medicaid funding; and
- The shift of human services costs amounting to $160 million from the state to localities that are forced to assume the burden.
“Health and human services is a major component of economic development, and ensuring its viability is critical to the overall economy. Continuing to strip its resources hurts economic growth and every New Yorker,” said Gwen O'Shea, President and CEO, Health & Welfare Council of Long Island.
“The budget cuts to domestic violence services over the last few years have been devastating—over 300,000 victims have been unable to access services,” said Michele McKeon, Chief Executive Officer of the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Local domestic violence programs served over 63,000 people last year, and with the need increasing, we won’t survive another round of budget cuts.”
Click here to download a copy of A Lose-Lose Proposition: The Economic Impact of Lost Human Services in New York State".
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