Finally, social services weren't on the state budget chopping block.
The budget proposed Tuesday by Gov. Tom Corbett was the first one in several years calling for increases in many categories of human services. The overall appropriation for Public Welfare would rise 3 percent, from $10.6 billion to $10.9 billion. Representatives of local social-service agencies view the budget positively, at least initially, even if the increases don't restore funding to prior levels.
"I've been holding my breath. For the last four years the human-services portion of the state budget has been cut, and that has impacted a number of social-service organizations, locally and across the state," said Bill Jones, president of United Way of Wyoming Valley. "This year, for the budget to come out and we're not starting in a position of cuts is welcome news. But I'm not quite ready to exhale yet."
That's because some initiatives would be funded by lottery and liquor store privatization, and if those fall through, it's not clear how that would impact the budget, Mr. Jones said. Beyond Harrisburg, another federal "fiscal cliff" looms, and if that's not resolved, federal budget cuts would take effect. What their exact impacts would be on the state's budget are uncertain, he said.
Gary Drapek, president of United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties, said of the human-services budget increases, "I'm not surprised, because after the cuts we've experienced over the past four or five years, we can't be cut anymore. We are cut to the bone."
Because this is an election year for the governor, Mr. Drapek said that social service agencies generally were expecting to see increases in funding.
"This is the budget that he (Mr. Corbett) will run for re-election on," Mr. Drapek said. "Looking at the budget, I am nowhere near as upset as I was last year. Last year, it was like falling off a cliff. This year, it seems like a kinder, gentler budget because it couldn't go any lower" for human services.
Don Broderick, executive director of the Arc of Northeastern Pennsylvania, said, "On first blush, it (the budget) looks pretty good. We seem to have fared much better this time around than we have the last time. These last two years have been brutal; I don't know what else to say about it. I don't think they (state officials) had a good handle on what the needs were. Unfortunately, a number of us had to take those hits in the past for what appeared to be just budget cutting and not taking into account the true needs of the people, and that seems to be turned around now."
The budget proposes spending $20 million in additional funds to reduce waiting lists for home- and community-based services for individuals with intellectual disabilities, providing services for 1,080 adults graduating from special education programs and adults in at-risk situations where their families may not be able to continue caring for them, and 118 adults who receive autism services.
There are 15,335 Pennsylvanians with intellectual and developmental disabilities on lists awaiting access to such services, including 4,154 on an emergency waiting list, according to the Arc of Pennsylvania.
"We appreciate his (Mr. Corbett's) recognition of this significant problem and we welcome his strong and clear words about the state's role in supporting people with disabilities," Arc of Pennsylvania Executive Director Maureen Cronin said in a statement.
Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com