The Joint Committee on Ways & Means has announced hearings on the FY '11 state budget.

Hearings for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services are:

Friday, February 19th, 10 a.m.
Waltham (Specific location TBD)

Tuesday, February 23rd, 10 a.m.
Sudbury Town Hall
322 Concord Road
Sudbury, MA 01776

A general public hearing will take place on March 5 in Gardner Auditorium at the State House in Boston. See the full listing of detailed locations, other hearings, dates and times can be located here.

It is vital that members of the Joint Committee on Ways & Means hear about budget issues that matter to your organization, clients, & workforce.  Please attend these hearings or submit written testimony to the Joint Committee on Ways & Means.

Governor Deval Patrick announced his $28.2 billion House 2 budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2011 on Wednesday that makes substantial cuts to human services, including cuts to programs for individuals with disabilities, at-risk children and those seeking job training.

The Providers' Council released the following statement to media shortly after the Governor's budget announcement.

"We know the economy is bad and Governor Patrick is dealing with a $3 billion budget gap," Weekes said. "He has called for a 'shared sacrifice' when making these difficult decisions, but he has placed the huge burden of balancing this budget on the human services community and avoided cuts to other sectors. That does not, in our judgment, speak to a shared sacrifice. We look to the legislature to restore these important services and help the most vulnerable residents among us."

If you have programs or services that have been affected, please let us know. Contact Michael Ripple by e-mail or at 617-428-3637 x112.

The Providers' Council on Friday sent a letter to Governor Deval Patrick, asking him to include in the FY '11 state budget a salary reserve of $28 million for human services workers making $40,000 and under. The full letter is available here.

The salary reserve would give a very small salary adjustment to direct care workers, some of the lowest-paid individuals in the state. In his letter to Governor Patrick, Providers' Council CEO Michael Weekes called direct care workers "the fibers of the safety net which government swears to keep whole." 

"The modest increase workers received for 2008 did not annualize, and last year there was no  consideration for them in the state budget," Weekes wrote. "A stable workforce is the best way for the commonwealth to keep its promise to our most vulnerable residents – a promise to provide quality services."

The Providers' Council sent a message to all its e-mail contacts late last week with ways to help in Haiti. The Council board and staff join the world in expressing our deepest condolences for the more than nine million Haitian residents, the millions of Haitians living around the globe and everyone affected by this heart-wrenching tragedy.

The devastation caused by the recent earthquake has touched many of our lives. Many of us know someone living on the island, someone with family living in or visiting Haiti or someone who has been otherwise affected by the events of recent days.

The Lexington-based Cotting School, a Providers' Council member which serves students with disabilities, maintains a sister school in Haiti, Wings of Hope, that was affected by the earthquake (you can read more about that here). They are asking that donations be sent to Hearts with Haiti.

Others have been impacted by this tragedy as well, and people in the country need our help. For ways to donate to the disaster relief effort, please see the following sites:

American Red Cross

Google's Haiti Relief Page

The Commonwealth's Haiti Relief Information

The Boston Foundation has partnered with Jim and Karen Ansara of Boston and the Ansara Family Foundation, and the Ansaras will match all donations to the relief effort up to $1 million. You may visit their site to donate and have your donation matched.

U.S. State Department Haiti page

We keep all those affected in our prayers. May our community and others across the globe do all we can to help Haitians through this challenging and difficult time.

This update for independent living providers is courtesy of Karen Bureau, Chairperson of the Massachusetts Statewide Independent Living Council.

In accordance with Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter (30A.s.11a), and with the Regulation implementing Chapter 1 of Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (34 CFR 364.20(g), The Massachusetts Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) will conduct three public hearings to invite comment and consider adoption of the proposed Three Year Plan for Independent Living, for 2011-2013.

The first hearing will be held on January 27, 2010:
AdLib CIL, 215 North Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201
1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

The second hearing will be held on February 3, 2010:
Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Square, Worcester, MA 01608
1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

The third will be held on March 18, 2010
Moorse Institute Library, 14 East Central Street, Natick, MA 01760
1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Thank You for Your Continued Membership!

Your Providers’ Council membership contributes immensely to our ability to represent the critical issues that face our sector. Working with you and your colleagues, our voice within the sector is much stronger.

As the Commonwealth's budget challenges continue into FY '11, your involvement is more important than ever.

Please take a moment to:

• Renew your membership
• Receive information to make the most of your membership
• Realize savings at your agency through member discounts
• Review what we accomplished together in 2009

Here's a recent letter sent to members regarding the importance of working together in 2010:

The Council is working with a broad coalition of human service providers to implore the Governor and Legislature to put People First! when considering any 9C cuts to the state budget.  This campaign will continue through the FY 2011 budget deliberations.  The People First! campaign will have many messages, but one banner to reflect the solidarity of our mission driven work.  You will be hearing more about this campaign in the days to come.

Update: Please sign our petition asking Governor Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo to put People First! when crafting the FY '11 budget!

For more information on our public policy efforts and this initiative, or to learn about other ways to get involved, please contact Michael Ripple.

More than 300 human service providers from across Massachusetts, many of them Providers' Council members, gathered at the University of Massachusetts-Boston on Tuesday, November 24 for a human service summit with Governor Deval Patrick to address critical issues facing the sector.

Among the topics highlighted were opportunities for social innovation, strengthening the workforce, changes to state government, and strategies for healthy growth of the sector.

Below is a broadcast courtesy of NECN, which features an interview with Providers' Council Board Member & President/CEO of Work, Inc., Jim Cassetta and Council President/CEO Michael Weekes, who highlighted the need for more support for innovations like the work of the Pine Street Inn's Abundant Table social enterprise.

Governor Patrick on Friday, Nov. 13, made the decision to cut $100 million from the MassHealth (Medicaid) budget, and, in effect, he ended up cutting more than $25 million from day habilitation services for individuals with disabilities. He also eliminated some personal care aides for individuals with disabilities needing less than 14 hours of assistance per week.

The Providers' Council sent this letter to Governor Patrick about these cuts, which again further slash already decimated human services budgets. In the letter, Michael Weekes tells the governor the cuts are unacceptable.

"While we understand that you are charged with balancing the state budget in an unprecedented economic climate, these particular cuts have crossed a line," Weekes writes.

Massachusetts nonprofits have a new resource from MassDevelopment to acquire or upgrade real property.  Through the Community Service 501c3 Loan Fund, agencies with an operating budget of less than $5 million may receive loans of $100,000 to $500,000.  Please call MassDevelopment at 800.445.8030 with any questions you may have.