A year later, social-service agencies, hospitals recovering from impasse
It was a service that the 80-year-old
"To get that one hot meal a day, that's a blessing for some people," said Watson, a single, retired former custodian and hotel maid who enjoyed receiving the meals every weekday for the previous five years.
From
It's been almost a year since lawmakers resolved the impasse with an 32 percent income-tax increase, a budget passed over Gov.
In the 12 months since then, providers of human services and health care that endured historic payment delays said they have recovered to varying degrees and tried to restore services. But many said damage to local and statewide social-service "safety nets" has only begun to be repaired.
Even though Rauner and the
Providers said some rate increases approved in fiscal 2018 and 2019 weren't enough to undo all the damage.
"There are definitely less services," said
The impasse led to layoffs and positions not being filled, she said. The funding crisis also led to uncertainty about the future that continues to this day, with many not-for-profit organizations leery about spending money to replace positions and restore programs, and many having problems recruiting qualified professionals willing to work in such an environment, she said.
"We are finding ourselves stretched in a really horrific way," Gethner said.
She added that it appears the Rauner administration didn't spend all of the money that was appropriated by the
And the administration's
Reimbursements have been "incredibly slow" to providers from managed-care organizations and companies hired by the state as part of the reboot, Gethner said.
"Now we have another source to battle with to get our money," she said.
The state's overall backlog of bills still stands at nearly
"It's not like we're at a clean slate and everything is fine," she said.
A spokeswoman for Rauner didn't respond to a request for comment.
But
"We thank the providers for their efforts during that difficult time," Powers said. "Once a budget was passed, we worked as quickly as possible to pay providers for services that were delivered under their contracts ... We know that providers were impacted by the impasse, and we continue to help any providers that are still feeling lingering effects from that period however we can."
Powers said the fiscal 2018 budget enacted by the
On the other hand, Powers said, the fiscal 2019 budget was signed by Rauner and "more accurately reflects our current revenue. Customers and providers can expect fiscal year 2019 spending to match the amounts reflected in the enacted budget."
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Two of the biggest components of the backlog were bills owed to Medicaid providers and to health-care providers caring for state employees, retirees and others covered by the State Employees Group Insurance Program.
Hospitals and doctors in
Before the
As of
In
"Clearly, our cash position is better than it used to be," said
The borrowing had a "huge impact" on what Memorial was owed, according to
At
"It's like a roller-coaster ride, it really is," she said.
Medical school spokeswoman
And with state funds SIU received in late 2017 and 2018, the medical school "has been able to sustain educational, clinical and research activities and begin initiatives that have been previously delayed," she said.
SIU's ThinkFirst public-education program to promote accident prevention "is now sustainable," Carlson said. In addition, she said funding for
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After the impasse was resolved and regular state funding kicked in, Senior Services of
The agency's transportation program for senior citizens also reinstated Friday services in August.
During the time when Friday meals were suspended, volunteers and staff delivered an additional meal on Thursday, a cold meal in a sack, along with the regular hot meal for seniors who wanted one, Senior Services nutrition program director
Client
"I did survive," she said. "It might have been rough some days."
Her daughter and grandchildren worry less about her now that five-day service has been reinstated, she said.
"They know I'm not sitting here starving," Watson said.
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After delayed payments during the impasse, and following years of cuts in state funding, the Wells Center, a substance-abuse treatment organization in
The closure shuttered the 30,000-square-foot building at
But
The remaining section, containing 16 beds for inpatient residential care, is expected to open in early August, with a grand opening for the site scheduled for late August, Henry said.
About 40 people could be employed at
Rate increases approved by the Legislature and governor for
"I don't know how well they've recovered," Foster said. "There's still some caution out there."
Another positive, he said, is a "Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver" that
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Helping Hands of
"We've recovered very well, and we are financially strong thanks to the support of the community," executive director
The nonprofit is receiving regular state funding, and, in fact, expects to receive a 40 percent funding increase in the fiscal year that begins today, she said.
Helping Hands survived the impasse thanks to donations from area residents and an early-advance in funding from the
The increase in state funding will allow Helping Hands to offer more mental-health services for clients, Smith said.
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The impasse has had a lingering impact on staff morale and hampered long-term planning efforts for
Sojourn, which provides a shelter in
The agency had to work hard for a time to dispel rumors among potential clients that Sojourn had closed, she said.
A maintenance worker was laid off and hasn't been replaced, and the agency spent down its reserves to avoid borrowing to survive the impasse, Bertoni said.
Sojourn receives about
"We worked as a team and we made it through," Bertoni said. But she said planning for the future has been difficult.
"You just don't know," she said. "You're paranoid about what's going to happen. I don't think a lot of places could survive if that would happen again."
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The
The nonprofit received about
Programs for at-risk youth suffered because of the impasse, he said.
"We're constantly trying to distribute our resources around," he said. "Things have started to normalize again."
The organization has a
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Alternatives for the Older Adult, a social-service agency based in
Alternatives gets 90 percent of its operating funds from the state, she said.
Even though regular state funding has resumed, the agency, which serves 10 counties in western
Families trying to set up support services for their elderly relatives are waiting longer for appointments with Alternatives' care-coordination workers because of the reduced staffing, she said.
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Caritas Family Solutions, a
That's because several staff members in the therapy program resigned for other jobs because of the financial uncertainty, and it takes time to hire and train new professionals, he said.
Caritas is only now reaching full staffing for the program, he said.
The agency also struggled to operate an assisted-living program for low-income senior citizens because of payment delays related to the impasse, Huelsmann said.
Even before the impasse, he said, "There has been an enormous erosion in human services in
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State Rep.
"We're making a lot of headway, but we have a ways to go," he said.
Instead of the current
To help pay down even more debts, Harris said he supported Senate Bill 2858, which had overwhelming, bipartisan support in the Legislature and soon will head to the governor's desk. The legislation would free up as much as
Under the bill, state Treasurer
When paying off the debts, the comptroller would incur a lower interest rate than the 9 percent to 12 percent annual interest penalties that the state currently faces for tardy payments to vendors.
A spokeswoman for Rauner didn't respond to questions about the governor's view of the legislation.
Contact
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