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Economy Placing More Pressure On County Social Services
By Bill McLaughlin
The recent downturn in the economy has caused a sharp "up-tick" in activity at the Ocean County Board of Social Services, Freeholder Gerry Little said this week.
Little described a tour he took last week of the new board of social services building in the Stafford Business Park.
"I went to meet the (county Social Service) employees, and we discussed the dramatic increase in the number of claims and need for services," he said. "The figures for January and February underscore the need."
To that end, the freeholders decided to add $1 million more to the 2008 Ocean County budget for anticipated Social Services needs.
The $359 million budget was unveiled February 20 and will be publicly discussed at the March 19 public meeting at 4 p.m. in the county administration building.
About 60 county programs will cost between $50 million to $60 million in the current fiscal year for a variety of needs, from food stamps to career training and development and assistance to first-time home buyers and rental assistance.
The programs are administered by Social Services, Human Services, Health, Transportation, Senior Services and Veterans Services.
"We're combining state and federal money with county funding to provide these services to more than 80,000 families who are struggling with their finances," Little said in a press release.
The county government anticipated a downturn, as budget guru Freeholder John Bartlett forecasted last fall.
"But not quite as sharply as we've seen," said Bartlett.
Many families are already struggling to meet higher costs of food, fuel, clothing and shelter when the sub-prime home mortgage loan debacle began, said Little. The resulting constriction in the labor force, especially home construction and the support businesses, have squeezed the economy into what appears to be a recession, he added.
There have been huge rises in residents asking for general assistance, up 30 percent from 959 clients in 2006 to 1,250 last year. Requests for aid for the basic necessity of eating, such as food stamps, were up 25 percent to 8,128 clients.
There were also sharp increases in family care clients to 10,680 and Social Services 9,158. They represent 17 and 10 percent rises, respectively.
"We're seeing marked increases across the board," Little said. "Families are struggling with higher food prices and fuel costs."
Many new social services clients are actually within the category of "working poor," said Little, meaning their paychecks no longer cover even the basic necessities.
"The economy is tough, and we realize that people are paying more for just about everything," he said. "The board of freeholders remains committed to helping our most vulnerable citizens."
It's important to take care of both immediate and future needs for those who are struggling, said Freehold Director Joseph Vicari.
"We emphasize job training for the long term (solution to the problem)," Vicari said, pointing to several educational and training programs available at the county vocationalfriend, technical school, as well as those provided at Ocean County College.
Little also noted the recent leveling-off of revenues at Atlantic City casinos. A string of 11 straight months of flat profits was interrupted in February, but the result was skewed by two three-day holiday weekends and leap day, February 29, said Little.
"We received $2.8 million in casino revenue funds last year," he said. "For 2009, we were recently notified, we will receive $2.5 million. That amounts to a $296,000 reduction for (the county) DOT (Department of Transportation)."
State and federal funding is already diminished by $300,000 due to the faltering economy, he added, coupled with falling income from fees and other residuals from taxes and permits.
Little told the board the county DOT carried 410,000 passengers on 17 fixed routes last year, another 57,000 for dialysis trips and 150,000 on Reserve-A-Ride trips - adding up to a staggering 600 medical trips per day six days a week.
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