The Oklahoma Department of Human Services paints a bleak picture of fiscal year 2018.
The DHS operational budget this year is $733 million. The agency recently got a $34 million supplemental appropriation to finish this fiscal year after only receiving 10 months of funding at the start.
If DHS gets a flat appropriation of $680.8 million — fiscal year 2017's initial appropriation plus the supplemental funding — the agency will be at least $53 million short.
Spokeswoman Sheree Powell said DHS has made all the cuts it can over the past three years without affecting services, including eliminating 1,200 positions, giving up office space and delaying payments.
"Now we are down to the point where we have nowhere else to turn except the programs and services we offer, and there really are no good choices left," Powell said.
For example, DHS could save up to $75 million by eliminating a program to help seniors and disabled adults live at home. That could force thousands of people into more costly and already stretched nursing homes.
"We're either going to be eliminating protection for vulnerable adults who are being abused or neglected, eliminating nutrition benefits for seniors, adult daycare for seniors and people with disabilities," Powell said. "We could be reducing the licensing standards for agencies by not being able to make the number of required visits we might have to make."
DHS has created a full list of options to cut anywhere between $33.1 million and $147.8 million from its budget.
