Commentary; Posted: 5/7/03

In budget, show compassion to those less fortunate

Known nation-wide for its compassion toward its less fortunate residents, Minnesota may soon lose that claim to fame if changes arenít made in budget proposals from all sides.

When percentages of funding are slashed from human services and specialized education programs they donít just reduce the state's budget but the quality of life for people who have precious little of it.

Minnesotans can feel pride in the stateís No. 1 ranking for overall well-being of its children. But, that was in 2002. We canít afford to give up our status, not out of pride but because these children are our future.

If the state follows through on its proposal to cut 26,000 children and working parents from the state insurance program, it will save money but at a price that wonít truly be known until those children are in their teens.

Childhood illnesses such as ear infections and asthma are two top reasons parents bring children in for medical care. Neglect either one because there is no insurance coverage and you significantly boost the number of kids with educational or even permanent physical disabilities that could have been prevented.

There are currently 5000 low-income families on the waiting list for child care subsidies, many of whom are single parents mandated to work by prior changes in the state's welfare system.

And one group not taken into consideration is the day care owners and their employees. If child care subsidies are cut, it's estimated that 50 child care centers could be forced to close further driving up the costs at those remaining.

And, when businesses close, neither they nor their employees will be paying taxes.

After-hour programs for school age children often fill the gap for older youngsters but any money saved through state funding cuts to those programs could quickly be lost to increased costs in juvenile court programs and Family Services.

Cuts in Head Start and Early Childhood Family Education programs, both serving educationally vulnerable kids, will mean increasing numbers of poorly-prepared students in our public schools.

And that poor start into the educational system will set some youngsters up for failure at an early age.

What do we do with those students then? Pay more money for instructional and behavior modification aides to bring those students up to par with their peers? That boosts costs on the educational side of the budget to say nothing of the effect on students.

The House Republican proposal would restore $5 million in proposed cuts for senior volunteer programs ranging from senior nutrition to Foster Grandparents, Retired Senior Volunteers and Senior Companion programs. Senior volunteer programs are excellent examples of programs that benefit both the volunteer and recipient.

Keeping frail seniors out of nursing homes as long as possible saves not only scarce health care funds but significantly impacts, again, that elusive commodity, the ìquality of life.î

The list of proposed cuts that would affect the most vulnerable members of our state goes on and on and we implore legislators and Gov. Pawlenty to remember those very real people as well as the state's long history of compassion toward the less fortunate.

This is truly a case where spending funds to meet the needs of the most vulnerable will translate over time into a budget savings. ó An Opinion of the ECM Editorial Board. The Forest Lake Times is part of ECM Publishers, Inc.

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