University of New England

UNE hosts panel
to discuss alternatives
to state social services
budget cuts March 19th

PORTLAND, Maine - University of New England's School of Social Work will host a panel to discuss feasible alternatives to state social services budget cuts March 19, 2008 from noon-1:15 p.m. in Ludcke Auditorium on UNE's Westbrook College Campus, 716 Stevens Avenue, Portland.
 
Background
Over the past several months, the state of Maine has grappled with proposed budget cuts to social services. Presented by the University of New England’s School of Social Work graduate students, the intent of this panel discussion is to present feasible alternatives for balancing the budget to Governor Baldacci and the Maine State Legislature.

The question posed to the panel is: “How will we care for our citizens and address our fiscal situation at the same time?”
 
The Panel
Moderated by Michael Brennan, adjunct faculty member at UNE and policy associate at the Muskie School of Public Service, the panel will include: (1) Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion; (2) Christopher St. John, executive director for the Maine Center for Economic Policy; (3) Jill Barkley, public awareness and community support coordinator, Caring Unlimited; (4) Cyndi Amato, executive director, Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine; (5) Marjorie Manning-Vaughan,  assertive community treatment peer advocate, Community Services, Inc.; (6) Carl Toney, UNE College of Health Professions, director of UNE Center for Transcultural Health and professor of interdisciplinary courses in Clinical Medicine and Health Policy; and (7) Ron Deprez, director of UNE's Center for Health Policy, Planning and Research. Governor Baldacci and Maine state legislators have been invited to join the panel.
 
School of Social Work Involvement
Graduate students in University of New England’s School of Social Work have been significantly involved in bringing this issue forward for discussion. UNE’s students, in addition to countless others from social services organizations and those affected by the cuts, have lobbied legislators, attended and testified at public hearings of the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services and Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs, are scheduled to meet with the Governor Baldacci's staff, collaborated with Counseling Services, Inc. and the Behavioral Health Community Collaborative and are engaged in numerous other efforts.
 
Lita Blanchard, a UNE master’s of social work student, recently spoke to "Our Towns," an Augusta local television show, which airs March 12-14, about the impact of budget cuts to mental health and cost shifting to schools from the budget cuts. Blanchard is one of about 45 students enrolled in Social Welfare Policy II, a class that has spent the entire semester working with faculty members Teresa Sarmiento-Brooks, assistant professor, and Vernon Moore, Ed.D., associate professor,  to address and raise awareness of the impact of the proposed budget cuts.
 
In addition, UNE faculty members have done research regarding the costs of transferring social services budget cuts to other areas. A study by Thomas McLaughlin, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Social Work, recently garnered media coverage. The study showed that budget cuts in mental health services lead to increased emergency police calls and involuntary hospitalizations, which are more expensive than community mental health programs.

RSVPs encouraged, but not required. To RSVP - contact Teresa Sarmiento-Brooks, University of New England School of Social Work, (207) 221-4364 or email tsarmiento@une.edu.

(Press release posted March 10, 2008)