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If you are looking for a feel-good, comfortable read, you might want to look elsewhere. This is not the type of column that brings any joy to the writer… and you likely won’t enjoy reading it. But if you dare to join me in facing the facts, read on.
About this time each year Doug Axtell — he’s the guy who keeps track of all of the numbers as the chief financial officer of Polk County’s Social Services Department — makes a detailed report to the Polk County Social Services Board on the activities of a past year.
Those numbers, even for those of us who hear the report each year, really get your attention. Consider that more than $85 million was spent on social services in Polk County in 2010, the most recent year of record.
Of that $85 million total, almost $50 million went to nursing homes to care for the people whose ability to pay their own way had been exhausted. More than $27 million was spent on health care for social service clients who are having medical issues, and another $8.7 million was spent to support people who are having problems taking care of themselves and/or their families.
Obviously, there was no way that Polk County could provide all of the $85 million. Of that total, the federal government contributed $47.4 million and the state of Minnesota provided $32.2 million. Polk County property taxpayers contributed just over $4 million. The balance of $1.67 million came from other sources.
Factors that need to be noted as you run these numbers through your mind might include that:
• More than 95 percent of what county social service departments do is mandated by state and federal law. There is very little in the way of services and supports that is discretionary.
• With the elderly population growing more and more all of the time, these costs will continue to escalate. It is the elderly, after all, who are in our nursing homes and who require the greatest services.
• We have high expectations for government services. While this is justified, especially for the seniors who have paid their way through life, the need for services keeps growing and growing along with the aging population. We are living longer. No one really wants to cut back on those services. Our seniors have more than earned all of the considerations that we can give them.
• While county social service officials have proven to be very good financial stewards, the situation going forward is not sustainable. The issue becomes one of economics vs. moral responsibility.
If you are looking for a feel-good, comfortable read, you might want to look elsewhere. This is not the type of column that brings any joy to the writer… and you likely won’t enjoy reading it. But if you dare to join me in facing the facts, read on.
About this time each year Doug Axtell — he’s the guy who keeps track of all of the numbers as the chief financial officer of Polk County’s Social Services Department — makes a detailed report to the Polk County Social Services Board on the activities of a past year.
Those numbers, even for those of us who hear the report each year, really get your attention. Consider that more than $85 million was spent on social services in Polk County in 2010, the most recent year of record.
Of that $85 million total, almost $50 million went to nursing homes to care for the people whose ability to pay their own way had been exhausted. More than $27 million was spent on health care for social service clients who are having medical issues, and another $8.7 million was spent to support people who are having problems taking care of themselves and/or their families.
Obviously, there was no way that Polk County could provide all of the $85 million. Of that total, the federal government contributed $47.4 million and the state of Minnesota provided $32.2 million. Polk County property taxpayers contributed just over $4 million. The balance of $1.67 million came from other sources.
Factors that need to be noted as you run these numbers through your mind might include that:
• More than 95 percent of what county social service departments do is mandated by state and federal law. There is very little in the way of services and supports that is discretionary.
• With the elderly population growing more and more all of the time, these costs will continue to escalate. It is the elderly, after all, who are in our nursing homes and who require the greatest services.
• We have high expectations for government services. While this is justified, especially for the seniors who have paid their way through life, the need for services keeps growing and growing along with the aging population. We are living longer. No one really wants to cut back on those services. Our seniors have more than earned all of the considerations that we can give them.
• While county social service officials have proven to be very good financial stewards, the situation going forward is not sustainable. The issue becomes one of economics vs. moral responsibility.
• Whether from the state, the federal government or the county, the $85 million came out of our pockets one way or another.
• If you know of abuses to the social services system, it is your responsibility to report them. This can be done anonymously by calling the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 281-0431 or the Minnesota Welfare Fraud Hotline at 800-627-9977. You can provide information about people who do not report income, the incorrect reporting of people living in a home, misuse of Food Stamps (Electronic Benefits Transfer cards), falsification of information on applications forms, people receiving dual benefits, or those not reporting property or other assets.
• The Polk County share of social service costs is but a drop in the bucket. For example, the cost of social services in Hennepin County (Minneapolis area) totaled $2.7 billion dollars. And we haven’t even started to consider the costs beyond Polk and Hennepin counties… much less the entire country.
So, it is obvious that something needs to be done. Any suggestions? Just complaining doesn’t do it. If there are to be major cuts, it could be that someone in your family is affected… or maybe even you someday.
After this rendition, it may not seem appropriate to say, “Have a good day,” but that wish is there and the sun will come up tomorrow.
Thoughts expressed in this column are those of the author and are not necessarily a reflection of the opinions of the other members of the Polk County Board.
