Advocates to Battle Budget Cuts

Not to be insensitive, but there is no money in the coffers. Hopefully, the electorate remembers it's this board majority, empowered for 3 years, that is directly responsible for not handling this mess better. Unfortunately, the people that need services the most will be hardest hit.

I hope the County will let the public know how they might be able to help, through voluntary donations, to support things like Pro Pay. And I hope they will preserve some minimum administrative elements supporting the program -- the parts that would be needed to support at least a temporary shift to donor funding, especially small donations from a public appropriately informed of the need.

Necessity is the mother of a lot of things, including innovation. Perhaps those in the non-profit and community-based organization world can collaborate with the Public Guardian's office to save the essential Protective Pay program. Sadly, as many counties and municipalities have learned, when programs such as Protective Pay are targeted due to budget shortfalls, the burden is shifted to other institutions, including hospitals, jails, and the beleagered courts. Applications for conservatorships rise, and government agencies are then legally "on the hook" so to speak to provide institutionalized care, the monetary cost of which is staggering; not to mention the human cost in personal suffering.
Perhaps our electeds can collaborate in lieu of cutting; appoint innovation-minded representatives from stakeholder groups, and preserve essential programs like Protective Pay. Pro Pay services can then be provided by one or more of our many non-profit agencies across the County, with guidance and oversight provided by staff designated by a Board-appointed "Disability Support Network".
The fact remains that representative payee services are a necessity for many of our disabled citizens, Santa Barbara County can choose to establish a demonstration project for others to immitate. .We can choose to preserve and reduce the cost of administering these life-saving services, and be rewarded for our efforts a thousand times over.
As my grand daddy used to say "where there's a will, there's a way". And there's some wisdom is that old saying.. Somehow we can see it better with a little different lens.