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Director's Message August 4, 2006
To: All DHS employees From: Bruce Goldberg, Director "The beginning is always today." ~Mary Shelley
A few weeks ago I invited your comments and suggestions for how DHS should prioritize funding and services as part of our budget development process for the 2007-2009 biennium. I also asked the same questions of partners, advocacy groups, and the general public at a series of meetings we held throughout Oregon during May.
This input is particularly important at a time when the human services needs in the state are increasing at a faster pace than revenues. As you are most acutely aware, despite our improving economy, Oregon has not been able to keep up with ongoing human services needs. Not only have we been unable to keep up with increasing needs, but during the past few years we also have seen many cuts to services. Witness reductions in substance abuse treatment services and cutting approximately 80,000 people from the Oregon Health Plan.
Throughout our community meetings and ongoing work with stakeholders and advisory groups, one of the questions we asked was where should we be making investments in human services. In state budget development, that translates into "policy option packages" (POPs). After considering all the comments and suggestions, DHS has drafted six policy option packages. Although they do not do everything that's needed or address every good suggestion, they do begin to restore some of the cuts and move us toward the place we all want to be if we're going to appropriately and effectively serve Oregonians.
The proposed POPs also move us toward a more integrated approach to service delivery. We serve the public through more than 300 separate programs. Rather than focusing on the separate needs of each of these programs, we have taken an agency-wide look at how we can help individuals live independent, healthy and safe lives by investing in six key areas:
A high-level summary of these draft POPs will be posted on our Web site early next week for continued comment. I invite you to take a look at the summary and provide your thoughts by e-mailing DHS.budget-input@state.or.us.
I am pleased that DHS's budget development process to date has used an inclusive approach that has supported my goals of transparency and accountability in how we do business. As a public agency it is important that we provide an open process that encourages participation. I also was very pleased at how many of you responded to my request for input. That tells me we are an organization that cares, understands the importance of what we do, and thinks about how we can improve our service delivery and effectiveness.
I thank you for your many good ideas, and I will continue to keep you updated on our overall progress as the budget development process unfolds during the months ahead.
To provide feedback email: DHS.Directorsoffice@state.or.us
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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. |
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