Less Money, More Problems

The State of Illinois is a major funder for human services across the state, providing much of the support for the Illinois social service sector. Facing the bleakest financial picture in decades, Gov. Patrick Quinn has proposed cuts to the budgets of the three overarching social service agencies for fiscal year 2011 that are both deep and wide. The impact on agencies, particularly for mental health and substance abuse oriented programs, may be devastating. Because social workers are so mission-driven in their work with clients, the stress of budget cutbacks can be particularly difficult.