By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
Budget and administrative uncertainty at the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation could affect other state entities, the State Independent Living Council learned at a Thursday meeting. Left unchecked, those issues could render SILC unable to function.
The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation accepts federal funding, which is then distributed to other state entities, such as SILC, by contract. SILC uses those funds to help advance its mission of helping those with disabilities live independently.
Every three years, SILC must submit a plan to the federal Office of Independent Living Programs, SILC executive director Mel Leviton explained to Idaho Reports.
“And in that plan, we have what our resource plan was, which essentially is how we’re going to fund ourselves for the next three years and what that looks like,” Leviton said.
Without an approved state plan, the state will lose nearly $2 million in funds for independent living.
“We have to have an approved plan,” Leviton said.
Under regular circumstances, Jane Donellan, the administrator of Vocational Rehabilitation, would sign the plan before submitting it to the federal government, but Leviton said it’s unclear if Donellan can sign it. Without the plan, the State Independent Living Council will not have the authority to spend the federal money.
SILC also receives $129,500 in funds to cover some of the Council’s staff. That money is now in jeopardy.
“If we don’t get the (federal approval), we will cease to be able to function as a state agency,” said Leviton. “We won’t have the staff to do it.”
The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation faced scrutiny this month before the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee when the division initially believed it had overspent its budget for the fiscal year. The legislature chose not to appropriate a supplemental budget for the division to finish the current fiscal year.
Under the current and pending State Plan for Independent Living, the federal money would go to SILC, the three non-profit Centers for Independent Living, and the Idaho Commission for Blind and Visually Impaired.
Leviton said if there isn’t a signed plan in place by Oct. 1, none of the federal money can be spent on SILC. She said the council is exploring if an alternative state agency can take the federal money and if they can get a submission extension. Initially, she had planned to submit the plan in May.
The deadline to submit the plan is June 1. Leviton said the council plans to give Vocational Rehabilitation four weeks to figure out how to proceed.
“That’s about as long as we can wait, according to our federal partners, to sort it out, to see where they land on if they can do it or not,” Leviton said.
Gov. Brad Little did sign both the maintenance budget, SB 1268, and the enhancement budget, SB 1407, for SILC for FY 2025, but the federal fiscal year starts on Oct. 1.
Idaho Reports reached out to Donellan’s office on Thursday afternoon but has not yet received a response.