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

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While service providers don’t yet know whether they’ll receivse IOUs — or what the amounts will be Sparky Harlan, CEO of the in Santas Clara, is prepared for the worst. “Wwe receive about $400,000 in state funding,” Harlanb said. “We’re already accustomex to getting money from the state late last year, for it took until December before we finallhy got paid.” For this year and last year the center has reliede on a $150,000 line of credit through to cover the gap, alont with $500,000 out of its reservde funds. The center’s operating budget is $10 milliom for fiscal 2009-10.
The money that may be on hold from thestatw covers, in part, the center’s sheltee and drop-in program, street outreach, and parentinvg classes. “The problem right now is that we don’tf know for certain how much they’re going to hold said Harlan, who has been with the centet for26 years. “But this is by far the worsy I’ve ever seen.” In anticipation of the state’se budget problems, 10 percent cuts have already been plannedfor foster-care payments. Locally therd are 300 to 400 kids infostefr care.
Foster care rates are the same across the so familiesin high-cost areas such as the Bay Area get the same amounf of compensation as people in more affordabl places. “We’re fronting half a million dollarss already,” she said. It’s a layered proble for the center, since in addition to state money some comes from the federap Housing and UrbanDevelopment department. And Harlan said HUD is so slow it can take up to six monthxs for payments tobe received. “We’res hoping to get paid by she said. “Nonprofits are just getting Harlan said the Bill Wilso Center has closed down two programs already and cut about 15 percent of its leaving about110 employees.
Thes are real layoffs, she pointed out — not attrition or open jobs and “heartbreaking” to do. “We had to give one stafff person a layoff notice and a week laterd his wife was laid off from another she said. in Campbell gets abouty $500,000 a year from the statr for its AIDS CFO Ira Holtzman said the agency is largs enough and financially stable enough that he woulc just book an IOU as accounts receivable and hope the moneyt camethrough eventually. The Healtb Trust’s budget for fiscal year 2010 is morethan $16 Holtzman said.
Pam Brandin, executiver director of and Visualluy Impaired, which has offices in Palo Alto andSantwa Cruz, said that even though her agencyt provides the kind of services that are especiallyg at risk in State Controller John Chiang’sd plan, the Vista Centeer is relatively safe. “We receive money through Title 7 Chaptef2 services,” Brandin explained. “Sincd much of our funding is federalmoneyt we’re hoping that it has to be releasedc and passed on; the state won’t be allowedx to hold on to it.” The Vista Centet also has school contracts througgh special education funding.
“Lastt year when the state had similar budgey issueswe didn’t receive any IOUs,” she “but that situation was resolved sooner than this appeards to be. The agencies that receive IOUsprobabluy won’t even know they’re coming unti they submit their bills.” She’s also bankinbg on Vista Center’s status as a preferred vendor with the state, “so we’ll be paid in advance of othed vendors — if in fact the statde is even writing checks.” Lisa president & CEO of Avenidas Rose Kleiner Senior Day Healtj Center in Palo Alto, is also cautiouslg optimistic.
“The only funds we receivde from the state are MediCal payments for services providecd at our adultdaycare center,” she said. “Ourr understanding is that those services are protectedd by the state constitution as well asfederal law. We do receivew funding indirectly throughthe county, but we don’t expect that to be Tom Kinoshita, public policy director of the , said peopled are on pins and needles. “Everyone’s sitting arounds waiting, not knowing what’s going to happen. But even with the most optimistic outcome it’s still going to be very ugly.
” He pointedf out that the deficit last year for Santsa Clara County was more than $270 million, and many of the cuts were made in programs around health, mental health, drugs and alcohol and sociak services. And there’s no relief on the horizon: For 2011 the county is looking at a deficitg ofabout $250 million, he said.