Issue Position: Social Services

Issue Position

Since the 2012 tax plan has taken effect, services are suffering. Osawatomie lost its Federal Accreditation and financial support. Employees bail out of jobs in the Prisons, at the Larned Corrections Facility, and Highway Patrol to take jobs in the private sector.

Some hospitals have closed, and over 30 hospitals are on the brink of closure, while Federal support through the Medicaid Expansion was denied by the Governor. This year no legislation was allowed on the House Floor that could provide the opportunity to amend the Medicaid Expansion into its pages -- because we legislators know that it is the right thing to do but are hampered from acting.

TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) also known as welfare, has been cut from 5 years/ 60 months life time benefit to 24 Months lifetime benefit. They even tried to pass legislation that would require a woman receiving TANF to return to work after 24 hours medical leave after delivering a child. Higher Education has been forced to increase tuition and many students are being forced out of college. We need to provide a path out of poverty through the best education we can provide to our young people.

Foster care services, mental health facility at Osawatomie and the prison system are collapsing. Plans are being developed to improve all these governmental requirements.

Talks of privatization of the prisons and the mental health hospitals are being rejected by the current legislature.

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