More cuts coming for Iowa human service agencies

The leader of Iowa's Department of Human Services warned Wednesday that his agency likely will face more employee layoffs, service cutbacks and program eliminations to meet the additional $27.3 million reduction in spending needed to meet savings set by Gov. Chet Culver and the Legislature for the current budget year that ends June 30.

DHS Director Charles Krogmeier, who will leave his post Friday when the new Branstad administration takes over, called the situation “sobering” in outlining options to the Iowa Council on Human Services that might be taken in the face of reduced operating budgets, but he said the choices were “painful” and will result in “shortages of needed services,” but assure that all remaining DHS programs would have enough staff and support to function and meet licensing requirements.

He said his agency's $27.3 million share of the overall $83.7 million legislatively mandated reduction in operating funds across all state agencies exceeded his estimates and pose significant challenges given that there are less than six months remaining in the current fiscal year.

“The impacts are most severe at the DHS institutions and will involve reductions in force and bed reductions,” he said. “The cuts in field offices, child support, central office and most program operations can be managed this year without further reductions in force or drastic program changes. However, as these reductions also continue into (fiscal year 2012), we will be carefully considering options for next year.”

The DHS director said consideration is begin given to eliminating about 188 full-time positions - 136 of which are currently filled. “Many more will be held vacant,” he said.

Krogmeier said options under consideration include:

• Cutting 10 of the 40 adult psych beds at the Independence Mental Health Institute, reducing 25 beds for children down to 10, and eliminating the 30-bed psychiatric medical institution for children; eliminate about 62 positions.

• Cutting 12 of the current 25 adult psychiatric beds at the Cherokee MHI, but no change to the total of 12 beds for adolescents and children; eliminate about 29 positions.

• Cutting cut 10 of the 40 adult psych beds at the Independence Mental Health Institute, reducing 25 beds for children down to 10, and eliminating the 30-bed psychiatric medical institution for children; eliminate about 62 positions.

• Eliminating the 20-bed unit for CINA boys and cutting 15 of the beds for girls at the Toledo juvenile home, leaving a total of 42 combined beds for CINA girls and delinquent girls; eliminating about 16 positions.

• Reducing capacity by 17 at the Eldora facility, bringing it down to 150 but eliminating no employee positions.

• Immediately halt admissions to the 30-bed “gero-psychiatric” unit at the Clarinda MHI and phase it out as soon as possible, but no change to the 20 adult psych beds; eliminate about 28.7 positions.

Krogmeier said one “plan B” alternative might be to phase out the substance-abuse beds at Mount Pleasant and the adult psychiatric beds at Clarinda. He also envisioned shifting some funds away from Mount Pleasant, Woodward, and Glenwood to other facilities - steps that would allow for maintaining the gero-psych unit at Clarinda through June 30 and reducing the impact at Toledo. Under that scenario, he said positions would be considered for elimination at Mount Pleasant and the agency would not fill vacant slots at Woodward and Glenwood.

“All of this is happening in a climate of uncertainty. We have a new governor, a new political makeup at the Statehouse, and of course, a new director,” said Krogmeier, who will be replaced by incoming Governor-elect Terry Branstad's choice of Chuck Palmer to be DHS director.

“I have been consulting with Chuck Palmer about all of this. A final decision on which course we will follow needs to be made in the next few days in order for discussions with employee representatives to occur and for layoff plans and other steps to be taken,” Krogmeier said in a memo to DHS staff. “As we have learned from past budget crises, this may not be the final resolution of all of these impacts. This is what I know at this time. The exact management of these reductions may very well change before it is all implemented.”

Krogmeier told DHS staff members it was “unfortunate that my tenure comes to a close with news like this.”