The Texas Legislature was in session in Spring 2003 at which time they covered a $10 Billion shortfall by surreptitiously raising taxes (increasing various fees, pushing through legislation which cleared the way for an enormous program of toll roads, most of them in Central Texas) and cutting benefits to needy Texans.

At one point Gov. Rick Perry made a statement to the effect of “sure we’re cutting but Texans who are truly in need will still get the help they need.”

It can argued that these girls and their children will get help from the State - that they will be placed elsewhere and not be thrown out on the street so in that sense Gov. Perry has not lied.

To do so however examines only the analytical / left-brain / quantifiable / cost-based aspect of the equation and ignores the effects that this disruption will have on these girls’ (and their children’s) lives.  Given the quote from Ms. Garcia it’s not unreasonable to expect that there are support relationships that these girls have developed in their community (perhaps the first real safe community they’ve had) and that this community is being shattered, much as a family of orphans might be split up.  What are the costs, both individual and social, of this?

http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/auto/epaper/editions/thursday/metro_state_1411cde0f5af8121005a.html

Annalee House in funding trouble.

Home for teen mothers in foster care and their children set to close Aug. 15

By Andrea Ball

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Thursday, August 5, 2004

For the second time in two weeks, an Austin center for troubled teenage mothers and their children is set to close because of money problems.

Annalee House -- owned by Marywood Children and Family Services -- will close Aug. 15, said Jean Henry, executive director of Marywood. Twenty employees have been laid off. And Marywood’s future remains unclear.

The 83-year-old nonprofit agency is struggling financially because of low reimbursement rates for foster care from the state, dwindling donations and decreasing support from the Catholic Church.

“The next 60 days are critical to determining the future of Marywood,” said Debbi Smith Rourke, a Marywood board member. “We need to find broader community support in order to continue.”

Earlier this month, the agency considered shutting down entirely.

“That’s a decision our board has to make, but we’re on very shaky financial ground any way you look at it,” Henry said.

For now, Marywood will continue to operate its adoption and foster care programs. It will also preserve Stepping Stones, a residential program for homeless 18- to 21-year-olds who are pregnant or parenting.

Annalee House was established in 1996 as a home for teens in foster care who have children. The facility allows teens between ages 12 and 18 to live with their children while going to school and learning life skills.

The home serves about 40 mothers and 42 children each year. Social workers are now trying to find homes for the six mothers and six children currently in their care.

“Some will go to other foster homes or emergency shelters,” Henry said. “I just don’t know.”

Annalee House is the second facility for mothers and children to announce its closure in recent days. Officials at Austin Recovery Family House, the city’s only residential detox center for homeless mothers and their children, said last week they would close Aug. 31 because the state slashed its $650,000 budget to zero for 2005.

Since then, however, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse said it will give Family House at least $300,000 in untapped funds. Whether that keeps the 20-year-old facility open remains to be seen.

The demise of Annalee House stems from Marywood’s deep financial pains. The agency, created in 1921, has struggled to increase its $1.2 million annual budget over the past few years. Foundation grants have decreased. State reimbursement rates don’t cover all the services the nonprofit group provides.

The Catholic Diocese of Austin, Marywood’s longtime supporter and landlord, is also providing less money. Marywood used to receive about $120,000 a year from the church, Henry said. But last year it got $50,000 because the church split that annual distribution with other charities.

Closing Annalee House may keep Marywood open for now, Henry said. But the future is uncertain.

Annalee graduate Blanca Garcia, 19, says she’s praying for Marywood.

The Austin teen was 14 when she had her first son and 15 when she had her second. She wanted to quit school, get married and move away, she says. She didn’t know how to take care of her children.

Garcia came to Annalee House and stayed three years. Today, she is living in Central Austin with her sons and working at Jack in the Box. She starts college next month. She wants to be a social worker.

She cries when she talks about Annalee House closing.

“They helped me so much,” Garcia said. “I wanted to come back here and show my sons this place when they got older. Now I can’t because it’s going to be closed.”