The Impact of Change

Many of you have received the recent news about the 2010 budget changes. I thought I would blog and give you a chance to ask questions anonymously or just offer a place to vent.

I want you to know that none of these decisions were easy and we sincerely regret that some of these decisions may impact you negatively. During the recent employee meetings, you consistently told me that it was most important to protect people's jobs and health benefits. The goal our senior leadership team decided from the very first discussion was to make sure that we had no lay offs, wanting no one to be out on the street during these tough economic times. In addition, we wanted to make sure our kids still have access to the services they so desperately need.

This was one of the most challenging situations we have ever faced. I know everyone on the team has had many sleepless nights contemplating the “what if we did this…” In the end, we accomplished our goal - no lay offs and our kids are receiving their services.

Even with the things we are doing, there is still great uncertainty in the world around us. The State of New Jersey is facing an $8 billion deficit. The Governor Elect has said that under no terms will he raise taxes. That means that all of our funding from the State, 50% of the children we serve, are at risk of funding cuts or elimination. We are still struggling to make sure that we can protect our kids in the federal health care reform. As you know from our employee meetings, the Senate bill doesn't yet have the language in it that would make sure our kids on Medicaid still have the same benefits as they do today.

We will be posting a memo on our intranet with all the details about the upcoming changes. Please take a look at this for reference and hopefully this will clear up any confusion.

Please post any questions. I’d love to clear up any rumors or ease concerns.

I thank you for your continued hard work and dedication to our children.

Amy