By Dave Ranney, KHI News Service, April 12, 2011
TOPEKA — In response to tight budgets, the Kansas Department on Aging laid off several central-office employees this week. But agency officials wouldn't say how many.
"For privacy reasons, we are not able to release a number at this time," said Sara Arif, a spokeswoman for the department.
It was still unclear which employees would remain terminated, she said, noting that state policies allow some employees to "bump" those with less seniority or experience.
"It’s a complicated process," Arif said. "It won’t be settled for another two weeks."
A former employee told KHI News Service that 12 workers were given layoff notices Monday, and that more than half were in the department’s Division of Community Programs. The agency's communications specialist, Karen Sipes, was let go Friday, according to the former employee who requested anonymity for fear of alienating former colleagues.
Arif said she would neither confirm nor deny that report.
Jane Carter of KOSE, the state employee's union, said the agency had notified the union about two of the laid-off workers. The state's agreement with KOSE requires it to notify the union in advance of worker lay-offs.
KDoA, Arif said, has about 100 central office employees. Its nursing home inspectors are stationed in six offices across the state.
In February, KDoA Secretary Shawn Sullivan said he planned to lay off 20 full-time employees in hopes of saving enough money to avoid having to start a waiting list for in-home services for frail seniors.
Arif said the employees who were given their layoff notices this week were part of the 20 mentioned by Sullivan. She declined to say whether more employees would be let go.
Sullivan has said that to avoid a waiting list, he needed to cut almost $4.6 million from the department’s administrative budget.
Arif said recent reorganization within KDoA had generated the needed savings. The reorganization, she said, included the layoffs.
She declined to say whether the department would be able to avoid putting frail seniors on a waiting list.
"The problem with saying there for sure won’t be a waiting list is that caseload might increase," Arif said. "Unfortunately, we don’t control caseload."
Historically, KDoA has avoided a waiting list because limiting frail seniors’ access to in-home services increases the likelihood that more will be admitted to nursing homes, which generally ends up costing the state more than home- and community-based services.
States are required to cover their share of nursing-home care for frail, low-income seniors; but in-home services are not subject to a federal mandate and are part of the state's discretionary spending.
More than 91 percent of KDoA’s $572.9 million annual budget is spent on nursing home care.
Advocates for the elderly said they weren’t sure what to make of the layoffs.
"I guess you could say we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop," said David Geist, executive director at the SouthWest Area Agency on Aging in Dodge City. "Right now, we don’t have a waiting list so we’re telling our people to keep doing what they’re doing. How much longer that’s going to last, I don’t know."
Johnson County Area Agency on Aging Executive Director Dan Goodman said he expected to see an increase in caseload.
"Our care assessment numbers have been going up pretty steady," he said. "But we have a great diversion rate; for every two people who are found to be eligible for nursing home care, we’ve been able to divert one.
"We’ve been able to do that because the home and community based services are there. There’s a choice," Goodman said. "But when we get to a point where those services aren’t there…that scares me."