COUNTY, CITY LOSING OUT ON AID FOR SOME HOMELESS.Byline: TROY ANDERSON Anderson, river, Canada Anderson, river, c.465 mi (750 km) long, rising in several lakes in N central Northwest Territories, Canada. It meanders north and west before receiving the Carnwath River and flowing north to Liverpool Bay, an arm of the Arctic Staff Writer Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. city and county are losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars that could be used to aid the region's mentally ill homeless, officials said Friday. The money involves federal disability payments homeless people aren't receiving, as well as a tax on millionaires for mental health services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract that generates about $600 million a year statewide but only $89 million for the county. Councilman Bill Rosendahl Bill Rosendahl is a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing Council District 11, including the communities of Brentwood, Del Rey, Mar Vista, Marina del Rey, Pacific Palisades, Palms, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Venice, West Los Angeles and Westchester. said the city and county should be getting double to triple the $38 million designated for mentally ill homeless people provided annually by the Mental Health Services Act, or Proposition 63, which voters approved in 2004. ``For the first time we're hearing about hundreds of millions of dollars in SSI (1) See server-side include and single-system image. (2) (Small-Scale Integration) Less than 100 transistors on a chip. See MSI, LSI, VLSI and ULSI. 1. (electronics) SSI - small scale integration. 2. benefits that are sitting on the table in Washington that could be used for supportive, assisted therapeutic housing for people who have mental illnesses,'' Rosendahl said. ``And out of Sacramento ... if we can get that formula changed to truly reflect our needs we will have a huge victory and frankly be able to set up a real program that shows how we can eliminate homelessness.'' County Department of Mental Health Director Marvin Southar said the 1 percent tax on incomes of more than $1 million has in the last two years generated $1 billion more than originally expected, further boosting the amount of funds the city and county could be getting. The Ad Hoc Committee ad hoc committee A committee formed with the purpose of addressing a specific issue or issues, which theoretically is disbanded once its raison d'etre is finished on Homelessness directed staff to explore what could be done to change the statewide formula on Friday. The panel also agreed to work with Southard and legal aid groups to help homeless people apply for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Supplemental Insurance Income benefits they qualify for but are not receiving. The moves to seek ways to obtain more funds to help the nation's largest concentration of homeless people follow the release of a landmark three-year study in April that found the cost of solving the county's homeless problem could cost $12 billion or more. In addition to the availability of some Proposition 63 funds for mentally ill homeless, Southard said some of the $2.8 billion targeted for housing in a $37 billion state bond package set to appear on the November ballot could be used for homeless housing. The steps to find additional funds for the homeless come as Southard's department is facing a $50 million shortfall Shortfall The amount by which the capital required to fulfill a financial obligation exceeds available capital. Notes: Shortfall risk is often combated with an efficient hedging strategy created by a fund, group, institution, or individual. next fiscal year, which officials say will probably require some cuts in mental health services. Under Prop. 63 rules, funds from the tax can be spent only on services to help the mentally ill, and cannot be used to backfill back·fill n. Material used to refill an excavated area. tr.v. back·filled, back·fill·ing, back·fills To refill (an excavated area) with such material. budget shortfalls in county mental health agencies. At the hearing, Victor Geminiani, executive director of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, said he'd like to see the county set up a partnership with nonprofit organizations Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. to help increase the rate of successful applications or appeals of homeless people eligible for federal disability benefits. The county currently provides 65,000 disabled and homeless people with a monthly general relief check of $221. In the last three years, an average of 4,199 of these people applied for SSI benefits while only 2,170 were approved on an application and 795 were approved at the hearing stage. By paying nonprofit organizations a contingency fee contingency fee Law & medicine An attorney fee based on a percentage of the money recovered in a lawsuit to help more people qualify for SSI benefits, Geminiani said thousands of homeless people could obtain at least $812 a month, which they could use for affordable housing. This would save the county $2,652 annually for each general relief recipient converted to SSI, freeing up additional funds to help the homeless. ``This is a no-brainer No-brainer A market in which it does not take very complex analysis to figure out how securities are going to perform, such as a strong bull market. ,'' Rosendahl said. ``We are looking at hundreds of millions of additional dollars to deal with the homeless problem in a dramatic way. Everybody wins in a situation like this and the federal government will finally have to give L.A. its fair share of its tax dollars.'' troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com (213) 974-8985 |
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