I realized I have not mentioned in this blog the problems being experienced living here in California and trying to do my job. A medical social worker brings tools (in the form of resources) to patients. With the state of the state, my job is becoming more and more difficult and frustrating at times. Thanks you Arnold for the cuts you are about to make to the California budget.
There are two areas that are about to be cut (the announcement was made yesterday) that will directly effect social workers: mental health and In Home Support Services. Both are areas that already have faced budget cuts and now to cut any further will definitely affect other services in California. Has the Governor figured out the side-effects of the current cuts?
Without the dollars for mental health services, we have already seen many people suffer without help. Without mental health services, emergency services will be impacted. Also, for the severely mentally ill, jail and prison will be the "remedy". And we already know that incarceration is extremely "cost effective"! (I am just being facetious.)
In Home Support Services is a program that this social worker heavily relies on with patients. This program provides help after my team of nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and myself leave the patient's home. It allows for the person with physical illness or a disability to remain in their own home and be fairly independent. Without this program, the State will have to then pay for these people to enter Skilled Nursing facilities. Again, the Governor needs to explain how this future cost is going to help the State of California's budget.
I wish politicians and the Governor could walk just one day in the shoes of one of the many people, like myself, who understand the challenges faced by our citizens, listen to the real stories, and then go back to our state capitol and figure out where to cut costs.
I have an idea. We need to clean house in Sacramento. Fire the whole lot of those that have been elected. They have failed. We need to start treating government the way we treat a business. Let's stop paying for the luxury vehicles the state is providing some officials, take a close look at expense accounts of those in office, no longer pay for elected officials to commute (fly) weekly back to Southern California, and examine other programs that impact our budget. Workers Compensation would be a good place to start. I know of cases involving city government employees who "schedule" their back injury to dovetail into retirement. We need more investigations of the Workers Compensation claims. And yes, these elected officials would feel some pain. Not being able to return home every weekend, unless they are solvent enough to pay the expense out-of-pocket, would be a definite hardship. But we have already created a great deal of pain and hardship on those without any voice, and that is unacceptable. Those with the biggest mouths (our elected officials), have yet to feel the kind of pain my clients and patients experience daily. ENOUGH!!!
