Stanislaus County seniors bear brunt of budget cuts

Since his son died a few years back and with his nearest relatives in New Mexico, 86-year-old Phil Duran is mostly, but not completely, alone.

The Modesto man still has Maria Profeta, a Linkages social worker with Stanislaus County's Area Agency on Aging who checks in on Duran and steers blessings his way.

Like a powered wheelchair. And a hand-held shower wand. Also, a "reacher kit" allowing him to grab items, and night lights and a smoke alarm. And nutritional supplements to help Duran keep some weight on his frail frame.

In short, Profeta has made it possible for Duran to live where he's independent and happy and comfortable.

But in six weeks, she'll be gone. And no one will take her place, because of state and county budget cuts whose impacts are starting to emerge.

To close a mind-numbing state budget deficit, Gov. Schwarzenegger recently erased nearly $10 million for senior programs.

"This is our most vulnerable population," said Mickey Peabody, Stanislaus County Commission on Aging chairwoman. "They've done their share to build this country. They don't complain, they don't get arrested, they don't make big waves. They just suffer in silence because they are a generation that doesn't ask for anything. They were raised on 'the Lord helps those who help themselves,' but there is nobody to help them."

Potential victims in Stanislaus County include:

— Linkages' 80 clients, most of whom are at risk of ending up in institutions, experts say.

— About 2,180 seniors who get brown-bag meals from The Salvation Army at 32 distribution sites.

— Fifty-three seniors in adult day care and 29 Alz- heimer's clients in another day care program at Miller's Place, operated by Doctors Medical Center Foundation. However, the center's operator said Miller's Place will beef up fund raising and grant requests to maintain those services.

"We will find a way to make ends meet," said Tom Truax, DMC Foundation's chief executive officer since June.

County leaders expect to lose $30 million from state decisions to raid local coffers and have adopted a no-backfill policy. That means that when the state withholds money for programs mandated by the state, such as the senior programs, the county doesn't fill the shortfall because other programs would suffer.

County supervisors on Tuesday will take up the grim task of reviewing their final budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year ending June 30.

Since adopting an interim spending plan in June, the overall budget has grown 0.3 percent to $958 million. But the county's $250 million general fund, over which supervisors have the most control, has plummeted 7.2 percent -- nearly $1 million -- in just 14 weeks.

Layoff decision expected

Supervisors will decide Tuesday whether to lay off six more employees, reducing the county's work force to 3,990. That's 613 less than the county employed two years ago.

Among the six on the latest chopping block are three in the Area Agency on Aging: Profeta, another in-home case worker and a telephone screener. The other county workers are a janitor, a fleet mechanic and a print shop employee.

Reducing the senior programs should reduce $282,000 from the county budget, officials say.

Other recent cuts include dropping the number of law enforcement courses at the Ray Simon Training Center from three to two per year.

And officials say more reductions, particularly in health and social services, are likely as they get a better picture of how state budget cuts affect local agencies. On the bubble are job training for 5,200 people seeking work, subsidized day care for 640 children and in-home support for 3,400 needy people.