2011-2013 Budget Message from DSHS Secretary Susan N. Dreyfus
From DSHS Secretary Susan N. Dreyfus, June 3, 2011
Dear Stakeholders, Colleagues, Partners and Community Leaders:
The Washington Legislature adjourned last week, having completed a regular 105-day session and a 30-day special session. Lawmakers, facing historically difficult times, had a tough job to do. I thank them and the Governor for having the courage and the will to get the job done.
I thank you for your support and for your commitment to the people you serve. Your efforts during the sessions made a difference in the lives of people in Washington.
And I want to commend our Department of Social and Health Services staff who worked so hard during the session under the outstanding leadership of Government Relations Senior Director Pat Lashway and former Chief Financial Officer Gary Robinson to provide the data, information and support to ensure that legislators had everything they needed from us to help them make sound, informed decisions.
It was a difficult session, but one that realized some major accomplishments for the Department of Social and Health Services that will help our organization emerge from these tough economic times as more efficient, effective and focused on the impact we can have as we help people transform their lives.
But this budget will have significant impacts on our most vulnerable citizens. The Governor and Legislators made hard decisions. People will lose services. It is going to take all of us now to secure the safety net. We need you to help us, in partnership, to understand and mitigate the impacts of this budget
Soon a new round of work will begin as we implement the budget and policy legislation passed during the regular and special sessions. We will again depend on your input and innovative thinking to bring this all to life.
Right now, we are in the process of sorting out what it all means for our Department, our employees, partners like you and for the people we serve. Some of the Legislature’s work is still subject to Governor Gregoire’s approval and veto authority. It could be a couple of weeks before the last pieces fit into place. (The Legislature’s website offers a helpful explanation called “How a Bill Becomes a Law.”)
You can also click here to get detailed information on bills of specific impact to DSHS.
Detailed information on the 2011-13 Operating Budget is now available on the Legislative Evaluation & Accountability Program Committee’s website. Please review that information and consider the implications for your organizations and constituencies. But keep in mind that, like the policy legislation, the budget is still subject to the Governor’s review and signature.
Please join the Department’s leadership team for a videoconference briefing on the 2011 Legislative Session and 2011-13 Biennial Budget on Wednesday, June 29 at 3 p.m. This is an opportunity for us to give you more detailed information on budget and program bills and to discuss the impacts and implementation challenges.
You can attend at Service Level Conference Room 04 in the basement of DSHS headquarters in Olympia or at one of five videoconferencing sites around the state:
· Spokane (8517 East Trent Avenue, Colville Conference Room)
· Yakima (1002 North 16 Street, Administrative Conference Room)
· Everett (840 North Broadway, ACES Room)
· Seattle (3600 South Graham Street, Martin Luther King, Jr. Executive Conference Room
· Tacoma (2121 South State Street, Conference Room 2)
If you are unable to attend in person, we will have a limited number of lines available for you to join us via conference call. The phone number is (360) 407-3780. The PIN is 931526#.
Let me again thank all of you who have joined me in leadership for the sake of the people you and I serve. We rely on your unique knowledge and wisdom as we put policy into practice and turn budgets into real results in people’s lives. We must continue doing our best together to protect our most vulnerable citizens.
