The President's State of the Union Address

The State of the Union speech is one of our national rituals that should not be dismissed as a hollow public exercise. Its broad themes reflect the President's convictions and serve as an indicator of his priorities for the nation going forth. Regardless of party affiliation or political disposition, the President’s focus on education is to be lauded.
Education perhaps like no other issue is at the heart of maintaining and sustaining the greatness of the nation. Especially at this time when hard decisions must be made to stem growing deficits, it is important to not lose sight of how essential funding education is and the significant effect it has, not only on our well being as a country, but also as a true element that fuels our economy.

As an example of how this issue hits close to home, we can look to how Hillsides Education Center has been inadequately funded for the past several years. Struggling school districts have not been able to fund the true cost of educating the students they refer to HEC, resulting in a growing operating deficit of approximately $500,000 annually. Much of our fundraising activity now benefits our effort to maintain the quality education and care that is offered to the students enrolled at HEC. Unfortunately, this is an indicator of how State and County budgets are balanced on the backs of students. This creates a poor environment within which to educate and demoralizes our dedicated educators.

Now that the State of the Union has been delivered, the process now moves to the preparation of a Federal budget that will inevitably have an impact on State and local education initiatives. We will continue to advocate for fully funding education to assure our students and indeed all students receive the resources they need to be successful. I encourage all of us not to be timid in supporting education as a priority. In spite of the painful cuts that need to be made at this time, education must be fully funded if we are to be successful in the long term. Fiscal responsibility need not be short sighted and the most vulnerable need not be sacrificed to balance a budget!

The Impact of the Proposed State Budget on Hillsides

In a meeting with some financial advisors last week, they signaled a gradual improvement in the economic environment this year. If this is true, it would certainly be good news. Unfortunately, this improvement will not have an immediate impact on the current fiscal woes of the Federal, State and County governments.

As a result, the proposed budget presented by Governor Jerry Brown last week calls for a realignment of funds to address the immediate shortfall the State is experiencing and a June referendum to increase taxes and fees for at least the foreseeable future to maintain the infrastructure for the most vulnerable in the population. I suspect this will be a hard sell as it has been in the past.

This past week Hillsides hosted the Board of Directors of the Child Welfare League of America. CWLA like many national membership and advocacy organizations has been challenged by decreasing revenues. In the course of our discussions, former U.S. Representative from Colorado, Pat Schroder, a board member like me, commented that in recent polling, “child welfare” received a very negative reaction. The majority of those polled associated “child welfare” with “problematic” children.  Given this prevalent attitude, I doubt very much that we can summon the courage as a people to make the sacrifice and take the risk of raising taxes.

So when asked what will happen if these measures are unsuccessful, the Governor responded that the current $20 billion deficit would double! This kind of structural deficit is of course unacceptable, and inevitably, basic services will be curtailed to address this monumental problem placing the most vulnerable children and families at considerable risk.

There are no good choices and no good solutions to suggest. In spite of the limited choices and solutions, we have a greater responsibility to be ever effective and efficient, focused and diligent in utilizing the resources we do have to make the greatest impact possible. More than ever, we need to leverage what public dollars we do receive together with private contributions to mitigate the impact of these cuts on the children and families we serve.

Regardless of the challenging nature of the current economic situation, the needs of those we serve will not go away, making it of greater importance to be resourceful.

We’ll keep you posted on the development of the State budget and funding. As always, we continue to count on your generous support to create a safe “place” for the children, youth and families we serve.

Tragedy in Tucson Touches Close to Home

Mental illness can be a debilitating disease with significant impact on all parties. Though the mentally ill are not typically violent, their frail state of mind can turn to violence more often than not towards themselves.  The tragedy that happened in Tucson this past weekend is yet one more reminder of how fragile life is and how we can never be attentive enough to those who suffer from such an illness.  Representative Gabrielle Giffords’ brother-in-law, who is an astronaut, summed it up when he said, “…we are better than this…” and indeed we are. Overshadowed in the violence were the many acts of kindness and care that were displayed in the midst of the carnage. Ultimately, these acts are examples of who we truly are as a society.

The one common denominator for many services we offer at Hillsides is the mental health issues of the majority we serve. We know their pain firsthand and attend to them with an array of services that ease their suffering and stabilize them sufficiently to recover. We attend to them without reservation in spite of the inherent risks. But it is a challenge and is very demanding.

Treatment is essential for any one with mental illness. Unfortunately, the stigma associated with mental illness often impedes access to services. Without treatment the risk of violence is increased.

Let the tragedy in Tucson help us resolve to be attentive to those we serve, confident that our interventions will reduce the risk of such a tragedy occurring. Let us also strive to be understanding of the subtle way that mental illness can present itself and, as a result, be better equipped to offer assistance. Finally, let us also put aside our fears and commit to be attentive to the needs of the mentally ill.

At a time of lingering, limited public resources no one is spared the impact of budget cuts. Whether it is protective services for children, special education funding or mental health services, the reality of budget cuts will further weaken a system of care that will jeopardize the well-being of the most vulnerable. More than ever, we need to be especially attentive to those around us that will be negatively impacted by these cuts. We must never underestimate how our presence, our attentiveness and our interventions may be the decisive factor in getting help and easing the risk of violence.

New Year's Resolutions

There is something compulsive about setting New Year’s resolutions; the majority of resolutions are often unattained. In reflecting on this upcoming year, there are a number of things that I would like to see happen and certainly will lend my support and energy to achieve; they are:

• Restored funding for mental health services for special education students in California
• Full funding for CalWORKS
• Federal funding for a White House Conference on At Risk Children and Youth
• A stable family for every child in the foster care system
• Peace and Joy in our world!

None of the above are good resolutions since I have little control of the political wrangling required to achieve any of them, but they are worthy resolutions. Regardless whether they are achieved or not, we must not lose hope that some day in this great State and Country we will fund these efforts and assist the most vulnerable fulfill their dreams.

Along with these aspirations let me focus on that which is achievable.

As you know from previous postings, Hillsides is committed to constantly improving its quality of care. We made a commitment to become nationally accredited by our centennial celebration in 2013. Related to this is a set of resolutions for 2011 that will help us not only become accredited, but also further develop the quality of care we offer.

• Prepare to apply to the Council on Accreditation by July 2011
• Fully implement all aspects of the Open Doors demonstration project regarding residential based services
• Develop strategies to fully utilize the services offered at Hillsides Education Center
• Determine a plan for further development of Youth Moving On

No matter what the specific resolutions may be, what is essential is continuing to be tireless in effectively addressing the needs of the children, youth and families we serve.

We’ll keep you posted on our progress. Happy New Year!