Can We Find the Money?

Georgia has been the recipient of extra money from the federal government through a program established in 1996. The “supplemental” add-on came in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and was based on our population increases and poverty level. Our ranking nationwide as poorer than the average meant more money to spend on state-run benefits.

Among the things purchased with this extra money is drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation – specifically for women with children.

Now, federal budget cuts for next year will likely take this supplemental chunk away. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, there are more than two dozen such programs (and related services) that are funded in this way. The total amounts to about $20 million a year.

Related services include transportation for drug treatment, employment help, shelters for women and their children, and day care. About 3,000 people received help this year. To keep these services operating, either state funds will have to be added, or the budget will have to be shuffled around. The main contribution won’t be axed, just the supplemental part.

In house rehab is considered a money-saver, since it costs less to house a person as an inpatient in a group facility than it does to keep them in prison. The thinking is that these halfway house situations offer an alternative to letting someone go back to the situation that sent them to court in the first place.

Successful graduates of these programs – those who are now back on their feet – think very highly of them. In fact, a woman quoted in the article said, “Without it, I don’t think I would be alive right now.”

Whatever happens, this is another example of the hard choices current belt-tightening brings up. And there are real people, people who can be helped, affected by the decisions made.