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CLEAR Temp: 27 °F Wind: S at 4 mph Monday, February 10, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend January 30, 2003 Seniors, the disabled will feel program cuts Nearly 1,900 of Southern Oregon’s neediest people will be cut from services provided by the Rogue Valley Council of Governments beginning Saturday. They’re among the first local residents affected by cuts following Oregon voters’ defeat of Measure 28 Tuesday. Those affected are low-income seniors and people with disabilities, RVCOG contracts manager Berta Varble said Wednesday. RVCOG runs programs for seniors and the disabled in Jackson and Josephine counties. "They’re freaked out," Varble said. "Some say they might as well end their lives. They’re asking what they’re supposed to do." The cuts primarily affect people in three programs: More than 900 Southern Oregonians will be cut from the state’s Medically Needy program Saturday, 405 of them in Jackson County, 509 in Josephine County. Recipients are among the poorest residents of the county. RVCOG’s Senior and Disability Services will cut nearly 700 clients in the two counties in three rounds of cuts, the first on Saturday, the second on March 1, the third June 1. "Some of them are being cared for at home, some are in foster homes, some in assisted care facilities and nursing homes," Varble said. Nearly 300 recipients of the state’s General Assistance Program are being cut, 136 in Jackson County and 145 in Josephine County. The program pays about $300 a month temporarily to people waiting to qualify for Social Security benefits due to disabilities. "What’s really interesting is, Social Security pays us back," Varble said. "So in the long run, the cost is zip." RVCOG cuts over the next five months total $4.9 million. More than 60 percent of that amount, $2.9 million, comes in federal matching funds. The federal money will now be lost because of the Oregon cuts, Varble said. Cuts in the RVCOG’s next biennium total $28.5 million, of which $16.9 is in lost federal money. RVCOG’s remaining budget for the biennium is $44.7 million. The least needy Senior and Disabled Services clients are being cut off first, Varble said. Clients are classified by the state in 17 levels. Level one clients cannot survive without intensive care; level 17 clients have the least impairment. Levels 15 through 17 are being cut off Saturday (people who need help bathing, dressing and, to a lesser degree, moving around). Levels 10 through 14 (people who need help eating and using the toilet) will be cut March 1 from at-home care. On June 1 they will be cut from nursing homes and foster homes. The rates paid to care providers are also being cut, with foster homes and nursing homes taking 10 percent cuts and assisted living facilities 30 percent. "We expect 40 percent of assisted-living facilities in Oregon to go out of business," Varble said. In addition, about 200 people who work as contractors and care providers in the two counties will lose their jobs, Varble said. That includes care employees and contractors at nursing homes and foster homes as well as those providing in-home care. RVCOG is losing 22 positions. RVCOG’s Food and Friends program is also expected to be hit hard. The popular program feeds about 800 seniors a day in their homes and at meal sites in the two counties. "The number could grow as a result of the other cuts," Varble said, "but we’re maxed out now." Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S