December 17, 1999
By Lynne Watson, Writer's Workshop

Part III of IV

"I always tell the state representatives that my staff should be well paid and well trained because they're taking care of real people, sons and daughters and mothers and fathers."

LW: The House Appropriations Committee proposed a $1.6 billion cut in HUD funding. Is that something that could affect CASCAP?

MH: Definitely. There's been a move for years to cut back the amount of money that HUD has received, and we're not surprised at all by it. We've been quite fortunate that with whatever money has been been left, we've been able to go after and get it. We've been quite successful in actually getting federal money, but the pie has shrunk and shrunk. We just finished a 22 unit housing assisted living center for the elderly that opened in August. That was funded by the federal government under its 202 program. The money that HUD gave us for that was approximately $1.9 million. So that was quite helpful.

Yes, the pie has gotten smaller and smaller. It's just meant that we've had to be more creative and aggressive about being able to go after that money. We've been quite successful.

LW: Is there a chance that Section 8 will be increased? Does everything have to be a decrease?

MH: It's a zero sum game. I don't think that the pie is going to grow. I think what HUD will probably start doing is to allow you to pay more rent, but with the same amount of money that you have. If someone had 100 Section 8 vouchers before, these same vouchers will now be the equivalent of 80 vouchers. You're going to have to take some of the money to put into getting these units.

I think what you're going to see is even without a decrease in the money coming in, with the rents going up so high, you're going to see those subsidies getting behind. I think that will affect people because there will be fewer vouchers around for people to get.

LW: I've been fortunate to be in CASCAP housing since 1992 and I've seen staff turnover. Is your turnover about average for institutions like CASCAP?

MH: We have about a 30% turnover rate in our direct care. I think we're actually below the average for a lot of similar agencies. That said, it's still difficult. We lose really good people because of where the wages are, and because the work is very difficult. It's getting harder and harder to find people who really want to be in the field, who really want to take it on - it's a real challenge. It takes a lot of work.

But the turnover rate - it's tough. It affects everyone. It affects the residents when someone good leaves. It affects the other staff. It's costly for us to try to regroup and find someone else... we've been really fortunate in the people we have attracted. They're a demanding staff in the sense that they want to make sure that the agency is run well. They care a great deal for the residents that they work for. In a sense, they want to be rewarded for the job that gets done, not just in the monetary sense, but in the sense of recognition that is sometimes lacking in society.

I always tell the state representatives that my staff should be well paid and well trained because they're taking care of real people, sons and daughters and mothers and fathers. These people that we're serving are not from Mars. They're the people who live and work in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Having that kind of staff benefits everyone. It's getting lost in the debate up on the Hill.

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