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A year ago, state legislators approved $30 million to improve a program run by the Oregon Department of Human Services for the developmentally disabled.
But on Wednesday, DHS officials were back before the Legislature, asking for more money.
Sen. Alan Bates, D-Medford, raised alarm bells that Department of Human Services spending is getting out of hand, and steps may need to be taken in the new budget and future budgets to tighten its belt and ensure that safety-net services are sustainable.
The Legislature has found the money to bridge the $101 million gap in funding for the Department of Human Services by reallocating surplus funds from the Oregon Health Authority.
Before the session, DHS Director Erinn Kelley-Siel reported to a group of legislators who oversee her agency’s budget that the Department of Human Services faced a $101 million budget gap due to a number of factors such as increased labor costs, higher-than-expected case rolls and a 2 percent holdback in funding placed on the agency by the Legislature.
March 8, 2012 – Before adjourning, the Oregon Legislature passed a law making it easier to investigate abuse among people over age 65. House Bill 4084 allows investigating agencies to look at the financial and medical records of seniors, extends the statute of limitations on certain elder abuse crimes (including theft and robbery) from two years to six years, and removes the ability to expunge these crimes from a person’s criminal record.
