LETTER: Attention: Mower County commissioners

Published 9:42 am Tuesday, July 28, 2009

I volunteered to serve on the Advisory Consortium as the Seibel Center project was developed and implemented and gained many valuable insights in the process. Consortium members were committed to thorough discussion and carefully weighed issues and needs to establish a solid foundation for serving families in need.

The Seibel Center now provides vital services to the families that you represent in Mower County and effectively addresses clearly defined needs.

The Seibel Center has a significant impact on safety issues for vulnerable children and their families. Since opening, they have completed 899 hours of visits and 395 hours in exchanges — all this in less than one year of operation. These proposed cuts will absolutely put families at risk. It is essential that part of your discussion include facts about the amount of money it is actually contributing to in terms of savings to Mower County. For example, the Law Enforcement statistic for 2008 showed a 13 percent decrease in domestic response calls. This correlates with saved over time hours for law enforcement.

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According to Brent Gunderson, social workers are already overloaded with 12 to 15 caseloads and other responsibilities, and they are not allowed overtime.

This means that supervised visitation by social workers will have to occur between the hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and no later then 6:30 Monday through Friday.

The $10,000 contract with DHS for CHIPS visitation provides for 243 supervised visits. In May 2009 the Seibel Center averaged five to seven supervised visits a week through DHS. Restricting supervised visits to 8 to 6 or 6:30 p.m. on weekdays is unrealistic.  Think about how many families who cannot work within that limited schedule.

What happens to the children when evenings and weekends are the only times that supervised visitation is possible?

Right now, the Seibel Center serves families in need of these services and they do it very well in a safe environment.

As a member of the Austin City Council, I can certainly relate to the pressure to make budget cuts. However, I believe that it is unwise, and even irresponsible, to put vulnerable children and their families on the budget “chopping block.”

The Seibel Center provides essential public safety services. Furthermore, it is an effective model that is attracting attention across the United States.

It has real impact in reducing domestic problems and preventing the escalation of serious problems that can has long term negative impact on children. As you know, when considering budget cuts it is not reasonable to just look at the numbers. I urge the Mower County commissioners show strong leadership and concern for vulnerable children by choosing to keep Seibel Center funding at the current level.

Janet Anderson,

concerned citizen

Austin