Malvern employees, as well as other addiction specialists across the state, have been making our presence known in Harrisburg over the last couple weeks. A new Human Services Development Block Grant has been proposed as part of a state-wide budget cut and frankly we can’t afford it.
Under the new proposal, seven health and human services groups, including drug and alcohol treatment, will be merged into a single Block Grant. The funds to this block grant will be cut by 20% and control of the funds will be turned over to individual PA counties.
These reduced funds then have to be divided among the seven services within each county. The end result is a severe reduction in funding for treatment programs. It’s a guarantee.
Why are We Opposed?
- The proposed merger will result in treatment centers being forced to turn away an estimated 4,300-10,000 people due to absent funds.
- All addiction treatment centers in PA agree that organized treatment’s the best solution for addicts. This merger will essentially pit all the health and human services centers of PA against each other in a fight for funds, instead of working together for the greater good.
- The complexity of administrative paperwork, for individual programs and the Block Grant “oversight” committee, will increase. More work = more funds for administrators which means less funds for programs themselves.
We’ll keep you updated on the progress of the Block Grant, but you can be sure we’ll be in Harrisburg fighting around the clock to keep the funds we need to help treat addiction in Pennsylvania.
featured image via