Substance-abuse funds cut, hiked

A new bidding process coupled with state and federal funding shortfalls has some Salt Lake County substance abuse treatment providers absorbing big financial hits and others rolling in new money.

The cutbacks and windfalls take effect July 1, the start of the new fiscal year, and affect 17 nonprofit providers, including Salt Lake County's own Division of Youth Services.

Those providers who received the short end of the fiscal stick include Valley Mental Health, which will have to absorb a $420,000 cut, and Project Reality, which will be left dealing with $197,000 less.

On the flip side, winners in the bidding game for government contracts are relative newcomers such as First Step, which will pick up $219,000, and House of Hope, which will receive $179,000 in new money.

The funding changes are creating a bit of a furor for Patrick Fleming, the county's director of substance abuse services.

"The criticism we have had in the past about the substance abuse treatment system is that you can't break into it," Fleming said. "It has always been the same providers."

So this year, with three-year contracts now open to negotiation, the county decided to embrace a new approach, dropping entrenched providers to a zero-based budget and putting everything out to bid for five-year contracts, starting from ground zero.

"Every so often we have to shake the rug and tell people they can't have a lock on the dollars," Fleming said.

The county used a new evaluation process to determine the funding amounts, drawing in a wide variety of citizens and professionals to help assess who receives how much. Fleming said 25 percent of the formula hinged on the bidder's price for services, while the remaining 75 percent stemmed from the nature of services.

As a result, some tried-and-true treatment facilities such as Valley Mental Health, Odyssey House, Cornerstone Counseling and Volunteers of America found their contracts shaved by as much as 8 percent from the previous year.

For Jeff St. Romaine, president and chief executive officer of Volunteers of America, the cut may mean $110,000 less for services such as the detoxification center, the organization's women and children's program, day treatment and case management for housing services.

"We have until July to deal with the problem, so we are hoping that by doing some fund-raising or not filling positions, it won't have as large an impact on services," said St. Romaine.