MILLIONS IN CUTS LOOM FOR TREATMENT CENTER

DAYTONA BEACH -- Funding for innovative substance abuse treatment
programs that help hundreds of local people a year may be lost in the
future as the state budget tightens, local officials fear.

As the governor signed budget cuts earlier this week to close a $1
billion state shortfall, local programs escaped unharmed. But next
year they may not be as lucky.

Local agencies are worried about a proposal to the governor in August
by the state Department of Children & Families that could cut millions
of dollars next year in state funding. The money came partly from
aggressive lobbying by local agencies to help run programs, including
one for pregnant mothers with substance abuse problems.

Part of the DCF plan calls for eliminating $21 million in special
projects, including about $9.4 million in child and adult substance
abuse treatment. The plan said the cuts "may be necessary for 2008-2009."

About 27 percent or $2.5 million of the statewide substance abuse cuts
would come from Volusia and Flagler counties. The two-county area
makes up about 3 percent of the state's population.

Stewart-Marchman Center alone gets $1.6 million or 17.3 percent of the
statewide money for those projects. If cut, officials said, it would
mean half of the agency's state funding for adult treatment would be
gone.

Local treatment programs that could be affected include those that
help pregnant mothers, adult detox treatment, residential services for
people with both mental health and substance abuse problems and
after-care housing. Many already have waiting lists and serve hundreds
of people a year.

"We have built up a better-than-average treatment system than (what)
exists in the rest of the state through years of hard legislative
work," said Chet Bell, CEO of Stewart-Marchman Center. "To see it cut
in half overnight would just be catastrophic to our community."

But DCF Secretary Bob Butterworth said despite the proposal he
submitted, he personally "hopes it never gets to where they have to
cut one dollar for substance abuse." He also thinks if more cuts come,
new proposals may be submitted.

"Everything I deal with in this agency, substance abuse is involved
in, whether it be domestic violence or taking kids away from their
parents," Butterworth said. "We would not want to see any substance
abuse dollars lessened at all."

He feels the same way about dollars for mental health services, he
said.

Other special projects in the proposal deal with everything from
mental health to homelessness, but do not involve any local programs.

Legislators earlier this month approved cuts to the budget because the
slump in the housing market is slowing tax revenue. In the first cuts,
DCF was able to reduce administrative costs instead of services. But
legislators have said the budget problems will continue.

Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, said legislators probably won't meet
again until the March session, but she added, "we will have much more
severe cuts the next time around. The dollars are just not coming into
the state."

But she said she doesn't want to see the special projects cut because
many locally have become "essential" and are models in the state such
as a Stewart-Marchman program that helps pregnant mothers deliver
drug-free babies.

"That doesn't seem fair," Lynn said. "It's almost like getting
punished for being innovative and creative with providing programs
that are greatly needed."

Susan Wesley, CEO for Community Outreach Services in DeLand, said the
proposed cuts would eliminate 21 percent of her agency's budget. She
fears without the programs clients will end up in jail getting no treatment.

Randy Croy, executive director of Serenity House, said the cuts would
also affect the court system, jails, emergency rooms and those who
seek drug treatment.