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State Budget Crisis Put Panels On Women, Aging, Children, Minorities At Risk(Hartford Courant, The (CT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 7--Its 10 staff members conduct seminars on sexual harassment, address groups like the Girl Scouts, compile data on female-owned businesses and take on scores of other tasks that directly affect 51 percent of the state's population. But some lawmakers say the 35-year-old Permanent Commission on the Status of Women and the state's panels on aging, children, African Americans and Latinos may be extravagances Connecticut can no longer afford. Never mind that the five commissions have a combined budget of only about $4 million -- or a fraction of Connecticut's $18 billion budget. Like many other state-funded groups, initiatives and programs, they face a precarious future. Connecticut's General Assembly convenes today in what almost certainly will be a struggle-filled session. The state deficit for the current year is projected to be roughly $350 million, and deficit projections for the next two years have been put at $6 billion. When Gov. M. Jodi Rell gives her State of the State address around noon, and as the House of Representatives and the Senate elect their leaders and are called to order, groups and individuals around Connecticut are going to be watching and listening for the slightest clues about their own fates. Rell's budget plan won't be unveiled for another month. "There have been no decisions yet, but certainly reducing the size and cost of government will be part of the governor's budget proposal," said her spokesman, Chris Cooper. "She has repeatedly said everything is on the table." Words such as these, from the spokesman of Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams, could not be comforting: "The commissions have done a great job advocating for people who have been traditionally disenfranchised," Derek Slap said. "But this is going to be a session of having to say no to your friends." House Republican leaders have already called for the merging of the five panels as a way to shave costs. The commission leaders are quick to assert that in many cases they actually save the state money. The children's commission brings in $3 in federal and private grant money for every $1 it receives from the state, said Elaine Zimmerman, its executive director. The Permanent Commission on the Status of Women conducts sexual harassment training seminars for state agencies, a service that could cost $300 an hour if a consultant were hired, according to the commission. Glenn Cassis, executive director of the Commission on African American Affairs, said, "We provide a lot of power for the buck." On Tuesday morning at 20 Trinity St., home to the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, there was no sense of panic. "This is a tough time for the state," Executive Director Teresa C. Younger said. "But we also know the work we do is really important." The commission was formed in 1973, when women made 53 cents for each dollar earned by men, the state had yet to elect a female governor, and the feminist movement was in full flower. Some have suggested that perhaps the commission has outlived its usefulness -- after all, Connecticut has many women in powerful positions, starting with Rell. But Younger argues that much work remains to be done. Women constitute 51 percent of the state's population, but hold 30 percent of the seats in the General Assembly. Women have made economic progress, but have yet to achieve parity -- they now earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. Still, the commission's 1970s roots lead some to conclude that "we're these bra-burning, angry lesbian black women who have a grudge," said Communications Director Christine Palm. In fact, she said, the group has a nonpartisan agenda that is relevant to all women in the state, not just the predictable liberal constituencies. Younger conceded that many state residents simply have no idea what the commission does. "I think people just don't know the breadth of the work we do," she said. Some of its proudest achievements include working with lawmakers in 1988 to pass the nation's first family-leave bill and advocating for laws requiring minimum hospital stays for women after childbirth or a mastectomy. An exhibit in the depths of the Legislative Office Building documents some of those victories and displays words of support from the likes of Gloria Steinem and former U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson. The goals of the women's commission this year include a proposal that would require state agencies to collect information on gender in the workforce, such as how many female electricians are licensed by the state. The panel also plans to work with the Obama administration to ensure that women are included in projects funded by the economic stimulus package. Another of the commission's goals: survival. "We're not flip about how we spend people's money," Younger said. "But I don't think that spending 77 cents for every woman in the state of Connecticut over the age of 18 on public policy work is too much." To see more of The Hartford Courant, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.courant.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Hartford Courant, Conn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |