Greetings,
Summertime is always a busy time of year, but this summer was a whirlwind to say the least. Legislative changes have had a major impact on services for people with developmental disabilities. I will cover just a couple of them later, but first, I want to thank everyone who worked on all of our special events this past summer and all of the volunteers who helped with them. Thanks also to those who helped with yard work and everything else. We are truly blessed to have you all and your help is appreciated beyond words!
Just two years ago I remember telling everyone about some legislative changes in our state regarding services for people with special needs. I know I said that although some of the news is not good, it is not all bad. I said NER will survive but we will need to be careful and scrutinize our spending.
I also said that families who have been thinking about the possibility of long-term care options were the ones most affected by the not so good news. The state legislators passed a moratorium on any new developments effective July 1. About that same time, many new residential waivers were granted to people who had been on waiting lists.
Well, here we are two years later and the update is this: Ramsey County has been able to place individuals who wanted long-term care into long-term care homes. There is currently no waiting list in Ramsey County. That is very good news! I do not have any information about the other counties. The other good news is that NER came through those cuts fairly well. We made some adjustments, did some fund-raising, and all in all with the support from foundations and corporate giving programs, families and friends like many of you, we weathered the storm. We have finally raised enough money to begin our endowment fund!
The not so good news….It appears that the cuts from two years ago were just the tropical storm and the hurricane is about to hit. New legislation passed after the government shut-down this year was not so kind. I attended a providers meeting on September 1 and learned that there will be another 1.5 % reduction in funding beginning September 1. In addition, there was another reduction, (too complicated to go into here), but the total hit to NER amounts to more than $180,000. Fortunately, the counties are working with us to hopefully get some of the reductions overturned but even if we win some of these, the best case scenario is still a loss of about $145,000.
Hardest hit unfortunately, are the dedicated and wonderful employees at NER. They have not had an increase in their wages in three years and now they are asked to go another two years because there are no new revenues to support a wage increase.
Over the next several weeks I will be working with the financial team, the board of directors, and with all of the staff to identify areas in which we can control our costs. As we do this, it will truly be a team effort; one that will first and foremost consider the people we serve above all else. NER’s administrative costs account for only 10% of its budget, which does not leave much room to cut.
I have asked each supervisor to brainstorm with their direct care staff to come up with cost saving ideas. As always, when we work as a team, we can do remarkable things. We will get through these difficult two years! But I am being honest when I tell you that it will not be easy and we will all need to make some sacrifices, but NEVER at the expense of the health or safety of the people we serve, that is NER’s promise to all of you. Fortunately, we have the huge advantage of being a non-profit. We will continue to look to our friends in the corporate and foundation giving programs, but I know this is a difficult time for many organizations and the competition for support is greater than it has ever been.
I would also encourage all of you to see if you work for someone who has a matching gift program. If you do, or if you know of someone who does, please let them know about Northeast Residence.
Fortunately, NER’s Board of Directors continues to be committed to providing support services through our respite, in-home, and after-school and summer programs and our plan at this time is to continue to do so.
Our dedicated staff are working hard to do more with less and to ensure that the quality of care we are so well known for will continue to be our main focus.
Thanks to everyone for whatever you do to support NER and the services we provide.
To the staff, you are the best of the best, and to our families, thank you for your faith and trust in NER and for all your support. As we work together, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish as long as we are true to the NER mission and the people we serve.
Life is good! I hope you all enjoy the autumn colors.
Corrine
