Delayed state payments could by catastrophic for many — The West Ranch Beacon

As owner of child-care facility Auntie Jessie’s Playhouse in Lancaster, Jessica Timmons is one of hundreds of thousands of Californians whose lives could be catastrophically affected by the state’s plan to begin delaying billions of dollars in payments to welfare recipients, child-care providers and others Monday.

If the payments are delayed, Timmons fears, she and thousands of other child-care providers won’t be able to stay in business and take care of the children of welfare-to-work recipients reports the Daily News.

“This would have a huge impact on myself and my families,” Timmons said. “These parents are working or looking for work. They won’t be able to work or do job searches and get potentially good-paying jobs.”

Timmons and the parents whose children she cares for are just a few of the hundreds of thousands of people statewide whose lives could be dramatically affected if elected officials in Sacramento are unable to reach an agreement by Monday on how to address a $42 billion budget shortfall.

As a result of the state’s continuing fiscal deterioration, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed deferring billions of dollars in payments for up to seven months to various government programs.

The governor has been negotiating with state lawmakers to try to balance the budget, proposing a mixture of tax increases and service cuts to close the gap. Earlier this week, a Sacramento judge gave the governor the authority to order most of the state government’s 238,000 employees to take two days off a month without pay.

“We have a $42 billion shortfall, and there are no easy choices,” said Aaron McLear, the governor’s press secretary. “The governor proposed a balanced approach of new revenues and spending reductions and he understands how difficult all of this will be for Californians. The governor is meeting every day with legislative leaders to try to resolve our shortfall.”

Describing it as a “doomsday” plan, Los Angeles County officials estimate that up to $1.4 billion in payments for health and welfare programs could be deferred over the next seven months. Board Chairman Don Knabe said the loss of the funds threatens the ability of the county, private agencies, cities, hospitals and regional centers that care for the developmentally disabled to continue providing services.