County government funding for more than a score of vital civic service agencies remains uncertain for the new fiscal year, which begins in July. Yet the necessity of the services the agencies provide cannot be disputed. They cover an array of missions: myriad public health issues, family and children’s services and shelter, care of the needy disabled and the mentally ill, community health clinics, services to needy families, and core community education and cultural amenities.
A list of some of the agencies’ names – a few large and some relatively small – reflects the scope of their contribution to the larger good of the community. They include: the Hamilton County Health Department, Erlanger Hospital, Joe Johnson Mental Health Center, Fortwood Center, Children’s Home/Chambliss Shelter, Orange Grove, Family & Children’s Services; TEAM Evaluation, CADAS, the Children’s Advocacy Center, AIM Center, Signal Centers, Bethlehem Community Center, Senior Neighbors, Allied Arts, WTCI Public Television, the Regional History Museum, the Urban League, and the African-American Museum/Bessie Smith Hall.
Most people who have resided here for years know and care about the essential good works of these agencies or, more personally, know a family or individuals who have benefited from the social services that most of these agencies provide. Education and cultural amenities provided by the others are uplifting and necessary in many ways.
It would be hard, moreover, to find an organization among this group that doesn’t work on a tight budget. Public funding doesn’t underwrite any entirely, but it is critical to all. It ensures receipt of matching grants and private donations that are necessary to continue their perpetually under-funded missions.
The Hamilton County Health Department, a state-mandated agency, receives, for example, more than half of its roughly $21 million budget through state and federal matching grants aimed at particular services. These include public health clinics, control of communicable diseases, children’s health, family planning, pre-natal care to improve infant health and child mortality rates, community wellness and obesity programs. Cuts by the county would sorely diminish or pre-empt these sustaining grants.