Nonetheless, these are financially desperate times in state government, so programs that provide even very critical, life-saving services have been forced to accept austerity measures. We have long endorsed shared pain on the budget-cutting front on the premise that tough decisions now are necessary to avoid a meltdown later. What makes no sense, however, is why in the worst budget situation in memory, state government would actually hike funding for programs that research has shown provide less bang for the buck and may do their clients less good over the long haul.
That seems to be what's happening in the fight for limited funds between community-based social service programs such as those offered by Peoria's PARC and state-run institutions for the disabled, of which there are eight spread across Illinois. If the governor's proposed budget would cut millions from the former - already hit harder than most over the last couple of decades, while having to wait forever for payment for services they've already provided - it would throw more dollars at the latter.
There are reasons for this, few of them justifiable. Politically, the voice of these community-based programs and those they serve isn't as loud as others. To those not directly impacted by a disabled family member, these are invisible people. They don't have a powerful union like AFSCME to go to bat for them.
We appreciate that Gov. Quinn made a promise to AFSCME that he wouldn't support any layoffs or closure of any institutions where its members work through July 1, 2012 - in return for budget concessions, to be sure, but also for arguably his own political benefit during a hotly contested election campaign last year. We condemned that at the time. We don't blame AFSCME for looking out for AFSCME members; we do fault any political leader who would sell out another, very vulnerable constituency in making that deal.
We're accustomed to Illinois not being on the cutting edge of anything, but at some point state government has to get smarter about how it delivers services. If the trend nationwide has been toward community-based residential programs for the disabled that arguably do a better job of providing the same services at a fraction of the cost, Illinois ranks near the top nationally in the number of people institutionalized - at a reported $190,000 per individual annually - while sitting near the bottom in its spending on community services that keep folks out of those institutions. There may always be a need for some larger facilities to house those few who cannot be accommodated elsewhere, but Illinois is way out of balance here.
And when that institutional care comes at the expense of some really important local programs - like respite care for stressed, exhausted families who just need a break every now and again and a clear conscience in knowing their kids are in a safe environment, like group homes that have waiting lists to get in - it's regrettable and then some. Families in these situations need resources close to home, not half a state away for their loved ones, for whom it's especially unhealthy to be uprooted: "Everything they know has changed," said Charlotte Cronin, director of The Family Support Network based here in Peoria and herself the mother of a severely disabled young adult son. "Can you think of a hell bigger than that?"
From where we sit, the priorities here are upside down. This fails the fairness test. In the few days left in this legislative session, we hope the Legislature can correct this imbalance, and begin bringing social service delivery in Illinois into the 21st century.
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