2007 PAFCO Legislative Position Statement

Updated and Approved by PAFCO Boards: December 12, 2006

The Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition remains united to promote and protect health and human services funding.  PAFCO members, representing diverse groups, will not be pitted against one another or traded off with one another in any budget negotiations.  The new Legislature presents a new opportunity to address many unmet health and human services needs. 

• Health and Human services have been under-funded for many years, resulting in compromised service delivery. 
  • All sectors suffer from workforce needs based on historically low rates and low wages for direct worker caregivers which have not kept up with marketplace wages. Qualified, caring, staff leave sensitive jobs due to poor pay and working conditions in which they help elders, children, and others to remain independent.
  • Hundreds of thousands of children and low income working adults go without needed health care coverage. 
  • Thousands of women and children continue go without safety and shelter from domestic violence each year. 
  • Child care rates are at least six years outdated limiting parents’ choices of quality services. 
  • Funding for services for persons with serious mental illness and substance abuse seeking healing and recovery has not addressed the need.
  • Children’s services for the most vulnerable are constantly stretched beyond the system’s capacity to respond. 
  • Poverty, hunger, and homelessness persist without comprehensive systematic plans for elimination.
  • Affordable housing is in short supply throughout the state.
  • People with disabilities have limited opportunities while independent living services go under-funded.
• The state budget provides a unique opportunity to make needed investments in the health and human services infrastructure for Arizona’s families. Demand for health and human services continues even within an improved economy.  
• There should be no tax cuts which further drain state revenues while abused women go without basic safety, working families go without essential child care, elders go without home care, people with disabilities go without recovery and opportunity, families and children go without essential health care, and children go without protection.  Proposals such as TABOR and other piecemeal tax cuts must be rejected. All tax cuts must be subject to a demonstrated cost benefit and as a part of comprehensive and systematic tax reform. 
• Needs of vulnerable families continue to be severe.  We believe it is our obligation as a society to protect and serve those most vulnerable among our citizens, whether they are children, adults or elderly.  The measure of a humane society is how it treats its most vulnerable members.  

Health and social services contribute to personal responsibility, independence, economic development, and community well-being.

• Arizona’s public policy is to provide essential human and health services through the private sector of non-profits and for profit agencies. This community suffers perennially from large growing demand and limited resources.
• Adequate health and human services help to prevent far more costly services such as incarceration and hospitalization.  They stop and prevent family violence.  They enable independence, recovery, and family stability.  They return taxpayers to the workforce and avoid welfare and dependency.  They treat and cure both physical and mental illness, enable economic participation, and build community. 
• Health and social services have a demonstrated prevention impact, and a return on investment in a fundamental business and economic sense. The human services community is an essential and necessary component of the economic and quality of life infrastructure of our diverse community.
• Flat budgets without increases in most areas still deprive families of basic services as costs rise.  These rising costs, as well as the unfinished agenda of unmet needs, must be addressed. It is time we based our budget decisions on the needs of our citizens and the quality of life they deserve. 
• We must make the revenue pie larger as we respond to the growing population, its changing needs, and the need  for a strong safety net.  Many different voices continue to challenge our public policy makers for tax reform responding to the new economy and the needs of a growing Arizona. Our first priority is to ensure that the needed investments in health and human services, education and universities are secured.
• Arizonans have repeatedly supported public investments in essential and necessary services.  Citizens have supported propositions for increased revenues for education, dedicated revenues for health care coverage for the poor and increased health care funding.  Most recently, Arizonans passed new legislation in Prop 203 for early childhood education.  Arizona’s citizens are willing to do what is right and necessary for their working families. 

2007 Legislative Position Statement
Approved by PAFCO Boards: December 12, 2006

The Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition is a historic, diverse, nonpartisan alliance of social services, health, community service agencies, advocacy groups, citizen advocacy, and faith-based associations.  Hundreds of social, health, and community services agencies, human services groups, citizen action and advocacy groups, and faith-based congregations are represented in the Coalition.  The Coalition agency and association members include an estimated 20,000 staff, board members and volunteers serving over 1.5 million people.  Website: www.pafcoalition.org. FOR MORE INFORMATION or to sign on with the Coalition CONTACT Email: tschmaltzhome@cox.net Timothy J. Schmaltz, PAFCO Coordinator/CEO 602-499-5015.

Peace always,
Tim

Timothy J. Schmaltz
PAFCO Coordinator/CEO
www.pafcoalition.org
Phone: 602-499-5015
email: tschmaltzhome@cox.net
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." - Albert Einstein