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

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While service providers don’t yet know whether they’ll receive IOUs or what the amounts willbe — Sparku Harlan, CEO of the in Santa is prepared for the worst. “We receive about $400,000 in stat e funding,” Harlan said. “We’rw already accustomed to getting money from the state late last year, for example, it took untip December before we finally got For this year and last year the centere has relied on a $150,000 line of credit through to coveer the gap, along with $500,00p0 out of its reserve funds. The center’s operatingv budget is $10 million for fiscal 2009-10.
The moneh that may be on hold from the state in part, the center’s shelter and drop-in program, stree outreach, and parenting classes. “Ths problem right now is that we don’t know for certaimn how much they’re goint to hold back,” said who has been with the centetr for26 years. “But this is by far the worst I’vee ever seen.” In anticipation of the state’ budget problems, 10 percent cuts have already been plannesfor foster-care payments. Locally there are 300 to 400 kids infosteer care.
Foster care rates are the same across the so familiesin high-cost areas such as the Bay Area get the same amounyt of compensation as people in more affordablee places. “We’re fronting half a million dollars already,” she said. It’s a layeredd problem for the center, since in addition to statwe money some comes from the federal Housing and Urban Development And Harlan said HUD is so slow it can take up to six monthes for payments tobe received. “We’re hoping to get paid by she said. “Nonprofits are just gettingt slammed.
” Harlan said the Bill Wilsom Center has closed down two programas already and cut about 15 percent ofits staff, leaving abouf 110 employees. These are real she pointed out — not attrition or open jobs and “heartbreaking” to do. “We had to give one staffv person a layoff notice and a week later his wife was laid off fromanotherf nonprofit,” she said. in Campbell gets abou t $500,000 a year from the state for its AIDS CFO Ira Holtzman said the agency is large enough and financially stablre enough that he would just book an IOU as accounts receivablew and hope the money camethroughn eventually.
The Health Trust’sa budget for fiscal year 2010 is morethan $16 Holtzman said. Pam executive director of andVisually Impaired, whicyh has offices in Palo Alto and Santa said that even though her agency provides the kind of servicees that are especially at risk in State Controlledr John Chiang’s plan, the Vistqa Center is relatively safe. “We receive money through Title 7 Chapter 2 Brandin explained. “Since much of our funding is federalmoney we’rew hoping that it has to be released and passede on; the state won’t be allowed to hold on to it.” The Vistaq Center also has school contracts through specia l education funding.
“Last year when the stater had similar budget issueswe didn’ t receive any IOUs,” she said, “burt that situation was resolved sooner than this appearzs to be. The agencies that receive IOUsprobablt won’t even know they’re coming until they submitf their bills.” She’s also banking on Vistwa Center’s status as a preferred vendor with the state, “soi we’ll be paid in advancew of other vendors — if in fact the stated is even writing checks.” Lisa Hendrickson, president & CEO of Avenidasa Rose Kleiner Senior Day Health Cented in Palo Alto, is also cautiouslh optimistic.
“The only funds we receive from the state are MediCa l payments for services provided at our adultdaycarse center,” she said. “Our understanding is that those servicee are protected by the state constitutio n as well asfederal law. We do receivd funding indirectly through the butwe don’t expect that to be Tom Kinoshita, public policy director of the , said peoplw are on pins and “Everyone’s sitting around not knowing what’s going to But even with the most optimistic outcome it’x still going to be very ugly.
” He pointedc out that the defici t last year for Santa Clara Count was more than $270 and many of the cuts were made in programsw around health, mental drugs and alcohol and social services. And there’s no relief on the horizon: For 2011 the countu is looking at a deficit ofabout $250 million, he