01/07/09

In recent months Idaho citizens who get Medicaid benefits have been receiving letters that tell them how the state budget cuts will affect their benefits.

Partial care services for Mental Health have been cut from 36 hours a week per person - to only 12 hours a week and local centers are scrambling to make ends meet.

Bill Aldrich, Director of Services at Community Support Center says, "Crime will go up. They just have a tendency not to think logically. And given that, it's actually going to be more expensive for the taxpayers to support these people in jails or in inpatient hospitalization treatment centers of that nature."

Aldrich says the Burley Community Support Center will close, he hopes temporarily, during the restructuring caused by state Medicaid cuts. The Twin Falls center is also struggling to stay afloat while trying to find money to keep operating.

Colleen Mullinix, also Director of Services at Community Support Center says, "They've cut us down to a third, and there's only so many sources we can tap into to stay open."

The Community Support Centers are part of a 501-C-3 organization, so they can receive tax deductible contributions to them. But writing grants takes quite a while even before they could get the money.

Aldrich asked the Burley City Council for money to buy food, and he'll find out their decision on January 20th.

He says, "When we close the Burley center here, we were going to transport those folks that need partial care services to our Twin Falls Center. And they we're hoping to be open the other time here, which would be Monday and Friday as a drop-in center."