Nonprofit among several hanging in balance due to state cuts

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Emergency shelter, health care and food for hundreds of thousands of Oklahoma residents provided by a nonprofit could be at peril should cuts to the state's Department of Human Services remain in place.

211 Oklahoma, which links residents in need to one of 3,000 groups able to help when they dial 211, gets about $600,000 a year from the state agency. If the mid-year cuts stand, the nonprofit's budget stands to be slashed by 30 percent.

"It's like cutting Google from the internet," 211 Oklahoma spokeswoman Donnie House said. "It takes away the ability to marry up people in need with agencies that can provide a whole array of services."

The program is emblematic of what similar agencies that depend on a mix of state and private funds face as state lawmakers and Gov. Mary Fallin decide what to do with $140 million in unspent state money.

The surplus comes after mid-year cuts were ordered to state agency budgets amid dwindling tax collections. But the cuts were more than necessary, and some lawmakers have favored reallocating the funds to hard-hit agencies, followed by a recently filed lawsuit arguing for the same thing. DHS would see about $16 million returned.

But Fallin and Secretary of Finance Preston Doerflinger have discussed a special legislative session be called to allocate the unspent money for teacher pay raises.

Not all agencies need to have funding restored, Doerflinger said in a statement, but pointed out that DHS is in need of a bigger budget.

"Some agencies definitely have more pressing needs than others, and that's part of the reason the governor initiated special session talks," he said. "The problem with returning the $140 million pro rata is it treats all agencies the same when the biggest needs are clearly in areas like education, corrections, human services and public safety."

If the DHS cuts stand, 211 Oklahoma could be forced to cut jobs or scale back availability for what is currently a 24-hour helpline, House said.

"When you take a 30 percent cut to your budget, you start looking at (cutting) core functions, and these core functions are essential and critical to people who need help and to people who are providing the help," she said.

The lawsuit filed in the Oklahoma Supreme Court was on behalf of six people whom attorney David Slane said have been affected by DHS budget cuts.

"(With) 211 Oklahoma, there's thousands of calls handled on a monthly basis," Slane said. "You and I are out here, we're reaching for help, and our call doesn't get answered."

JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS, Associated Press.
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Copyright 2016 The Gayly - 8/14/2016 @ 3:50 p.m. CDT