 |
|
|
Director's Message June 10, 2005
To: DHS employees
I just read a Bill Gates quote that struck a chord within me. "In this business, by the time you realize you're in trouble, it's too late to save yourself. Unless you're running scared all the time, you're gone." Now ending my third week, I’m not running scared, but I am running. There is much to learn, many people to meet and much to do.
I’ve singled out two topics I think you’ll be interested in:
* DHS Budget * Employee Innovation
Department's budget "re-shoot"
If you have worked here for any number of years, you have probably heard of the terms "re-shoot" or "re-balance" in association with the department's budget.
This is a real process that the department goes through in order to try to predict needs for a two-year period. Imagine trying to predict your own household budget for the next two years. While some costs are fixed, there are also many unknown factors.
The department's budget is also different from many other agencies in that more than 90 percent of it is in client benefit programs. Trying to forecast the costs of these programs sometimes as much as 36 months prior to the end of the budget period is difficult at best. Changes in caseloads, federal funding, laws and regulations, plus legal settlements, court decisions and other unanticipated issues must be factored in as the department makes these projections.
The department just completed its "re-shoot" for the 2005-07 biennium, showing a need for more General Fund dollars than we originally anticipated in the Governor's Recommended Budget (GRB).
By taking a more recent look at the needs, budget analysts from the department, Budget and Management and the Governor's Office estimate the department needs about $66.2 million more General Fund to meet the program levels proposed in the GRB.
In addition, the department has other funding issues that are not included in the Governor's budget including a $25.4 million shortfall relating to caseload growth in programs for low-income families and needy children.
The good news is both the House and Senate budget committee chairs indicated this week that they were anticipating this level of need and stated they were confident those needs could be met in the upcoming budget.
In continuing to provide access to information related to the department's budget, the department has posted for the first time fact sheets and other budget worksheets on the reshoot via the agency Web site.
For more information, see the following documents posted to the Web this week:
2005-07 Proposed GRB Spending Changes
Making this information publicly available to legislators, the media, and others helped us spell out the budget facts more clearly.
Employee Innovation - No More Long Lines
Every day about 200 low-income people are served in the lobby of the Salem Winema DHS office.
No wonder the lines there were long and the waiting to be helped could be exhausting. Staff took it in their hands to fix the problem, forming a "Lobby Redesign Committee." They worked with Facilities to establish a children's play area and installed a "greeter's station."
I’ve seen the office with long lines and when I visited Monday I was surprised by no lines and a DHS Greeter. What a great concept! Now families who walk in the door are greeted quickly by a staff member. Staff learns what they need and gets them to the appropriate person or place. Instead of waiting for hours, they now wait for minutes in most cases.
This is just one example of how our local offices take it upon themselves to problem-solve and improve service to our clients. Good work to all those involved.
This message is intended for all department employees. Please read it electronically, if possible. Managers and supervisors are asked to share the message each week with employees who do not have email access.
If you have a disability and need this message to be provided to you in another format, please send an email to dhs.forms@state.or.us, or call (503) 947-5107. You can also fax your request to (503) 373-7690, or call (503) 947-5080 for TTY service. If you know of others who need this accommodation, please let them know it is available. |
|
