<div>Debbie,</div> <div> </div> <div>If you were governor, and your federal aid was cut by 22%, what programs would you cut?</div> <div> </div> <div>Best,</div> <div> </div> <div>Donovan<BR><BR><B><I>Debbie Gray <graylex@yahoo.com></I></B> wrote:</div> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">Well, isn't this great news from our fearless<BR>governor? <BR>Debbie<BR><BR>http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/v-print/story/84181.html<BR><BR>Otter looks to roll back Kempthorne's Generation of<BR>the Child efforts<BR>Ex-first lady says ‘children and families are losing'<BR>with program, council cuts<BR>The Generation of the Child may be coming to an end.<BR><BR>Gov. Butch Otter plans to eliminate $1.5 million in<BR>spending for early childhood education programs and<BR>dissolve citizen councils on families, children,<BR>suicide prevention and teen pregnancy — most<BR>established by former Gov.
Dirk Kempthorne.<BR><BR>His plan could eliminate all state-funneled money for<BR>the Parents as Teachers program, which teaches<BR>parents, in personal visits and group discussions, how<BR>best to keep young children healthy and prepare them<BR>for school.<BR><BR>A document from Otter's office shows the<BR>administration also may be considering cutting $1.5<BR>million in funding for Head Start, a preschool system<BR>for low-income families. Officials were unable to<BR>confirm the status of those plans Monday night.<BR><BR>A drop in federal funding and Otter's overriding goal<BR>to streamline state government are forcing the<BR>decisions, administration officials say. The changes<BR>would roll back many of the initiatives started in<BR>Kempthorne's Generation of the Child.<BR><BR>"None of this makes any sense to me," said former<BR>first lady Patricia Kempthorne, who championed many of<BR>these councils and programs and still works on family<BR>issues with her own
foundation. "It feels like we're<BR>moving backwards."<BR><BR>She said she fears the changes could bring Idaho back<BR>to square one for early childhood programs.<BR><BR>"I didn't expect it all to stay the same," she said.<BR>"But I think there was a gift here to whatever<BR>administration came in."<BR><BR>Federal welfare spending is dropping by as much as 22<BR>percent over the next three years, forcing Health and<BR>Welfare to make up for more than $9 million in lost<BR>revenues from the Temporary Assistance for Needy<BR>Families program. TANF funds could drop to $33.1<BR>million by fiscal year 2010.<BR><BR>"We asked, ‘How are we going to balance the TANF<BR>budget?" Health and Welfare Deputy Director Dick<BR>Schultz said. "What's the way we can balance the<BR>budget without affecting services for individuals?"<BR><BR>Plus, Otter plans to eliminate the Governor's<BR>Coordinating Council for Families and Children, the<BR>Council on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and
the<BR>Suicide Prevention Council.<BR><BR>All of these councils and programs were consolidated<BR>under the Executive Office for Families and Children,<BR>which Kempthorne created in 2006, just before he left<BR>to become secretary of Interior.<BR><BR>Under Otter's plan, that office would be dissolved<BR>June 15.<BR><BR>Legislators, even some on the budget committee, are<BR>just beginning to hear about the proposed changes,<BR>which would make cuts in the fiscal year 2008 budgets<BR>lawmakers passed this winter.<BR><BR>"The Legislature prioritizes the spending of money —<BR>the governor doesn't," Boise Democratic Sen. Elliot<BR>Werk said. "I guess I'd have some serious questions<BR>about this."<BR><BR>‘A perfect storm'<BR><BR>Kempthorne announced his Generation of the Child in<BR>his first State of the State speech in 1999.<BR><BR>The Legislature didn't embrace all of it, though, so<BR>Kempthorne created several of these councils through<BR>executive orders. With the help
of some legislators,<BR>he used federal money to pay for programs many<BR>lawmakers didn't want to fund themselves.<BR><BR>"I think (Kempthorne) saw TANF as an opportunity to<BR>fund a number of things and used it as such," Schultz<BR>said.<BR><BR>But when Otter took over, circumstances started to<BR>change.<BR><BR>The new governor wanted to streamline government.<BR>Federal money was dwindling. Legislative auditors had<BR>questioned some of the ways the state was spending the<BR>federal money. And Health and Welfare leaders wanted<BR>to cut back some of the many boards, commissions and<BR>councils that interacted with the agency.<BR><BR>"It was really a perfect storm," Schultz said.<BR><BR>Otter wants to keep valuable state services but<BR>eliminate boards and councils that may not contribute<BR>to measurable results, spokesman Mark Warbis said.<BR><BR>"You start losing focus," he said. "It's public<BR>services by committee."<BR><BR>Many of the programs and efforts will
be merged into<BR>Health and Welfare divisions and other state boards.<BR><BR>The citizens who headed the Council for Families and<BR>Children agreed that services are more important than<BR>the council itself.<BR><BR>"If the services are still in place, the citizens of<BR>Idaho will continue to be served," said Boise<BR>businessman Skip Oppenheimer. He co-chaired the<BR>council with former Boise councilwoman and Mayor<BR>Carolyn Terteling-Payne, who echoed Oppenheimer's<BR>comments.<BR><BR>But Patricia Kempthorne said part of the point of<BR>these councils was to get citizens involved.<BR><BR>"To me, less government means more citizen<BR>involvement," she said. "What's happening is they're<BR>moving all that into the bureaucracy."<BR><BR>"The sadder part," she added, "is that I don't know<BR>who's being helped, and I think the children and<BR>families are losing."<BR><BR>Some conservatives have embraced the program<BR><BR>Patricia Kempthorne isn't the only Republican
who<BR>likes Parents as Teachers.<BR><BR>Though conservatives in the Legislature voted against<BR>the idea 51-18 after an emotional debate in 1999, the<BR>idea since has gained some support.<BR><BR>Conservative Republicans don't want to create state<BR>preschool programs — Canyon County GOP leaders plan to<BR>push a state party resolution to support ways to<BR>empower parents to do the job themselves.<BR><BR>Just last week, the Lewiston Morning News reported<BR>that Republican schools Superintendent Tom Luna told<BR>Lewiston business leaders that Parents as Teachers<BR>could do just that — help parents prepare their<BR>children for schools so the state wouldn't have to<BR>expand its own bureaucracy.<BR><BR>Luna told the Statesman Monday that the "Parents As<BR>Teachers program has been a great resource statewide<BR>for parents."<BR><BR>"The program allows kindergarten-readiness learning to<BR>take place in the home, which is most beneficial to<BR>children at a young age,"
he said. "I am hopeful the<BR>PAT program, or other programs similar to it, will<BR>continue to grow in Idaho by running with a leaner<BR>budget or through grants or other alternate funding<BR>resources."<BR><BR>Gregory Hahn: 377-6425<BR><BR><BR><BR>____________________________________________________________________________________You snooze, you lose. Get messages ASAP with AutoCheck<BR>in the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta.<BR>http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_html.html<BR><BR>=======================================================<BR>List services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR>http://www.fsr.net <BR>mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><p> 
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