FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, January 19, 2023

SEN. OSTEN CALLS FOR CONTINUED BUDGET SUPPORT OF CONNECTICUT’S NONPROFIT SERVICE PROVIDERS

HARTFORD – Social service providers joined state Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) today to advocate for continued, increased financial support in the biennial state budget that will be created, debated and voted on in the coming months.

“Last year at this time I was calling for a continued state budget investment in our nonprofits. They do so much for our state, not only from a services point of view but from a money-saving point of view in providing a variety of social services so that state government doesn’t have to expand in order to do so. And last year at this time I said I was looking for a multi-year state investment of 4 to 6 percent spending increases for our nonprofits to help them hire, expand, and deal with inflation,” said Sen. Osten, who is Senate chair of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee.

“So here I am, back again this year, making the same argument that I have been making for years: Connecticut’s nonprofits have been severely underfunded for decades, we rely on them more and more every year, and once again the legislature has to put its money where its mouth is if we are serious about providing the type and level of services that we say we want for people in need in this state. It’s that simple,” Sen. Osten said.

To help support Connecticut’s social service providers, Sen. Osten has co-sponsored four specific bills this session:

• House Bill 5384 is a placeholder bill appropriating an as-yet undetermined sum in the state budget for the purpose of providing financial support for nonprofit community providers that face increased demand for services

• House Bill 5415 authorizes state bonds to provide funding to nonprofit health and human services providers for capital and infrastructure projects

• House Bill 5445 eliminates administrative burdens for nonprofit health and human services providers to ensure the timely payment for such services

• House Bill 5446 ensures that state funding for nonprofit providers of health and human services covers their costs, adjusted for inflation, and provides access by state residents to such services

Gian Carl Casa, President & CEO of the CT Community Nonprofit Alliance, said Connecticut must continue over the next two years to make the budget investments in nonprofits that it has made in recent years.

“Connecticut’s nonprofits — which contract with the state to deliver a wide range of human services including day and residential services for people with developmental disabilities, substance abuse and mental health treatment, transitional and support programs for youths and adults involved with the criminal justice system, homeless and domestic violence shelters — have struggled with underfunding for more than a decade, exacerbated by the pandemic and the resulting workforce crisis,” Casa said. “The state’s increased support in 2022 was welcome, and we urge the General Assembly and the governor to continue the progress with funding increases in 2023 and into the future. The state has the revenue. Any other choice would directly impact some of our state’s most vulnerable residents in a time of budget plenty.”

In the forthcoming biennial budget, The Alliance is seeking increased funding for community nonprofit services by 9% in Fiscal Year 2024 and seven percent 7% in Fiscal Year 2025 to make up for the inflation of the last two years. This represents an increase of approximately $261 million in FY24, and $221 million in FY25.

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