State Senator Dan Debicella (R-21) has proposed legislation to save the state up to half a billion dollars by ending Connecticut’s dual state-private system of providing social services by 2012. Senator Debicella is a co-sponsor of SB 346, An Act Concerning the Transfer of Social Service Programs to Community Providers.
“In these tough economic times, we need to find ways to reinvent government. Instead of cutting services, we need to change how government delivers those services,” said Senator Debicella.
Senator Debicella recently testified before the General Assembly’s Human Services Committee that Connecticut is one of only four states that have both state employees and nonprofit community agencies providing social services for clients of several state agencies, including the state’s mental health, developmental services and social services departments.
“Most states have decided to follow one path or the other, as the duplication of services is costly and inefficient. The benefits of this move would be two-fold. First, it would maintain the level of service to all our social service clients as our community providers do just as excellent a job as our state employees. Second, it would save the state hundreds of millions of dollars a year as the legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates that community providers are able to provide the same services at 30-40% less than state employees. Much of this savings is in salaries, which are considerably lower in community providers than amongst our state workers,” said Senator Debicella.
Debicella estimated that the savings would be in the range of $300-500 million over the next two years, which would be a significant savings as the state faces a $6-8 billion deficit over that time period.
Debicella said that the Greater Bridgeport area has a strong network of non-profit community providers that help the poor and needy. Examples include VARCA in Derby and The Kennedy Center in Trumbull, which provide employment and residential services to the mentally and physically challenged; TEAM Inc. in Derby, and ABCD in Bridgeport that provide fuel assistance and educational services to those in need; and the Birmingham Group in Ansonia that provides healthcare services to the working poor.
“We have so many phenomenal non-profit organizations in the region that are serving our neediest citizens,” said Debicella. “My proposal is a win-win for the taxpayers and for those families who need these services.”
Under his proposal, the state would shift approximately 60-70% of current state funding to these community providers, and use the savings to close the state deficit. The community providers would provide the same level of services the state does, but has a lower cost structure because of a non-unionized workforce. The state would continue to provide oversight to ensure quality of care.
Senator Debicella acknowledged that shifting state provided social service programs would probably lead to state employee lay-offs, and suggested that the state may require community service providers to give first preference to these workers when hiring new employees to handle their expanded caseloads.
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