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

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While service providers don’t yet know whether they’ll receivw IOUs — or what the amounts will be — Sparkh Harlan, CEO of the in Santza Clara, is prepared for the worst. “We receivd about $400,000 in state Harlan said. “We’re already accustomed to getting moneu from the statelate — last for example, it took until Decembet before we finally got paid.” For this year and last year the centerf has relied on a $150,000 line of creditr through to cover the gap, along with $500,000 out of its reservs funds.
The center’s operating budget is $10 million for fiscal The money that may be on hold from thestatre covers, in part, the center’s shelter and drop-ib program, street outreach, and parenting classes. “Th problem right now is that we don’t know for certain how much they’rew going to hold back,” said Harlan, who has been with the centerf for26 years. “But this is by far the worsty I’ve ever seen.” In anticipation of the state’s budget 10 percent cuts have already been plannedfor foster-card payments. Locally there are 300 to 400 kids infosterd care.
Foster care rates are the same acroswthe state, so families in high-cost areads such as the Bay Area get the same amount of compensatiobn as people in more affordable places. “We’re fronting half a million dollars already,” she It’s a layered problem for the since in addition to statse money some comes from the federal Housingh and UrbanDevelopment department. And Harla said HUD is so slow it can take up to six monthz for payments tobe received. “We’red hoping to get paid by she said. “Nonprofits are just getting slammed.
” Harlan said the Bill Wilsonn Center has closed down two programs already and cut abouy 15 percent of its leaving about110 employees. These are real layoffs, she pointefd out — not attrition or open jobs and “heartbreaking” to do. “We had to give one staffg person a layoff notice and a week later his wife was laid off fromanothefr nonprofit,” she said. in Campbell gets about $500,000o a year from the state for its AIDS CFO Ira Holtzman said the agency is larger enough and financially stable enough that he wouldx just book an IOU as accounts receivable and hope the moneyt camethrough eventually.
The Health Trust’ws budget for fiscal year 2010 is morethan $16 Holtzman said. Pam Brandin, executived director of and Visually Impaired, whicuh has offices in Palo Alto andSanta Cruz, said that even thougnh her agency provides the kind of services that are especially at risk in Statse Controller John Chiang’s plan, the Vistaz Center is relatively safe. “We receive money through Titlew 7 Chapter 2 Brandin explained. “Since much of our fundinv is federalmoney we’re hopingy that it has to be releasee and passed on; the state won’t be allowes to hold on to it.” The Vista Centeer also has school contracts through special educationh funding.
“Last year when the state had similar budgeg issueswe didn’t receive any she said, “but that situation was resolved sooner than this appearxs to be. The agencies that receivr IOUsprobably won’t even know they’re coming untipl they submit their bills.” She’s also banking on Vistq Center’s status as a preferredr vendor with the state, “so we’ll be paid in advancs of other vendors — if in fact the statse is even writing checks.” Lisa president & CEO of Avenidas Rose Kleinere Senior Day Health Center in Palo Alto, is also cautiouslyt optimistic.
“The only funds we receive from the statee are MediCal payments for servicess provided at our adult daycare she said. “Our understanding is that those servicess are protected by the state constitutio as well asfederal law. We do receivw funding indirectly throughthe county, but we don’rt expect that to be affected.” Tom Kinoshita, publicc policy director of the , said people are on pins and “Everyone’s sitting around waiting, not knowing what’zs going to happen.
But even with the most optimistifcoutcome it’s still going to be very He pointed out that the deficitg last year for Santas Clara County was more than $270 and many of the cuts were made in programe around health, mental health, drugs and alcohol and socia services. And there’s no relief on the horizon: For 2011 the counthy is looking at a deficitg ofabout $250 million, he