GOV. PATRICK calls for public-private partnerships in human services

"SPEAK UP" is open to the public.  Anyone can post a Speak Up that is of interest to EthnicNEWz.org audiences -- and doesn't violate copyright laws.  Opinions on issues affecting your ethnic community are welcome. 

A one-time registration is required to to post Speak Ups or events on the NEWz calendar.

Follow EthnicNEWz.org on Twitter at Twitter.com/EthnicNEWZorg.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

press release, Tuesday, 24 November 2009 

FOLLOWING HUMAN SERVICES SUMMIT , MASS. GOV. PATRICK CALLS ON LEGISLATURE FOR EXPANDED 9C AUTHORITY TO MANAGE BUDGET CRISIS EFFECTIVELY

BOSTON – Tuesday, November 24, 2009 – Governor Deval Patrick today convened nearly 300 statewide human services stakeholders – providers, consumers, advocates, and representatives from the private sector – to develop a collaborative roadmap to promote innovation and public-private partnerships within the human services sector.

The Summit also set out to:

•  acknowledge the impact of the national economy and the state’s budget reductions on service providers and consumers;
• reinforce support for the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable populations; and
• highlight the state’s success in furthering a progressive human services agenda in this economy.  

The Governor called upon Executive Office of Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby to establish working groups to help synthesize ideas from the Summit , and refine them over a 90-day period to produce an implementation plan.

Following the conclusion of the Summit , the Governor renewed his call for the Legislature to grant him expanded 9C authority, saying:

“Listening to both leaders and consumers talk today about the human service needs of our most vulnerable citizens just underscores the problems caused by the Legislature's failure to act.  I appreciate that the Legislature has sent me parts of the supplemental budget bill, but I am again urging legislators to come back into session and approve the expanded 9C authority I need to manage this budget crisis effectively. ‘Effectively’ means in a way that protects funds for schools, for cities and towns, for services that help the most vulnerable, and that shares the sacrifices necessary to do so.

In the meantime, and in the absence of those tools, I am directing Secretary Gonzalez to develop a plan to cut $120 million more from spending, a move that will unfortunately likely impact those we most need to protect. I hope we don't have to implement such a plan, but in the absence of legislative action next week, we have no choice but to prepare.”

Additional and full size photos available on Governor Patrick’s Flickr Account.

November 24, 2009 – Governor Patrick speaks at the Human Services Summit at UMass Boston today. (Photo Credit: Eugena Ossi / Governor’s Office)

** Please credit the photographer if you use publish or reuse this photo. **

November 24, 2009 – Governor Patrick speaks with Catherine Hardaway, Executive Director of the Central Boston Elder Services, at the Human Services Summit today. (Photo Credit: Eugena Ossi / Mass. Governor’s Office). 

[For an explanation of 9C authority in Massachusetts, visit the Mass. Budget and Policy Center at massbudget.org/documentsearch/findDocument?doc_id=632]