DEPT. OF HUMAN SERVICES FORCED TO MAKE HARD CHOICES IN BUDGET REQUEST
September 20th, 2012
Wednesday’s request from the Department of Human Services (DHS) highlighted a substantial need for more qualified social workers to respond to the needs of Mississippi’s children. In addition, the agency needs funds to raise current social worker wages to industry standards.
In total, the agency is requesting $42.5 million more than it received last year.
Half of the funds requested would go to filling social worker positions and salary adjustments. Both priorities for social workers reflect requirements coming from a settlement agreement of a 2004 lawsuit, Olivia Y, brought against the department.
Throughout the hearing, DHS listed several other critical needs that the agency is not asking for additional funding for because of the state’s tight financial situation and a priority on social worker needs. Other critical needs from the agency included:
- 8,050 children are still on the waiting list to receive Child Care Certificates. These certificates help families offset some of the cost of child care while low-income parents are working.
- 2,100 aging adults are on the waitlist to receive regular meal delivery through the department.
- 142 more social workers need to be hired and compensated to meet Olivia Y child caseload requirements. Currently, each social worker oversees 9 foster care children, and each social worker needs to supervise a smaller number of children.
In addition to meals, child care certificates and social worker needs, DHS noted that they have seen an extreme rise in applications for SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) due to prolonged economic strain on families. Director Ricky Berry noted that there are “people applying for benefits we’ve never seen before,” and stated that counties with previously low caseloads –like Rankin and DeSoto- have seen very large increases in residents receiving SNAP.
The rise in SNAP recipients means that caseworkers are now serving more individuals than they were in the middle of the decade. Caseworkers that once served 224 cases now serve closer to 500 cases as the need for SNAP rises but additional caseworkers are not added to the agency’s support team.
The Department of Human Services faces critical shortages across a range of programs that provide basic needs to Mississippi’s working families and children. However, the state’s financial situation has forced the agency to forego asking for support in some high needs areas in order to request funding for others. As the state continues to face a shortfall in resources, the need to take a balanced approach that includes raising revenues instead of a cuts only approach becomes more vital.
Author: Sarah Welker, Policy AnalystShare this article.
