Proposal curtails diversion of problem gambling funds
Reform before governor adds $3.5M to treatment assistance
Posted: October 9, 2012
By Tim Carpenter
A budget recommendation submitted to Gov. Sam Brownback would dedicate more than four times the current $740,000 allocated by state government to help people with gambling, alcohol and other addiction problems, officials said Tuesday.
The proposal would begin to rectify decisions by the Kansas Legislature and a series of governors to reallocate more than 90 percent of the Problem Gambling and Addictions Grant Fund, perhaps in violation of state statute, to general government services.
In 2010, the state invested 5 cents per capita in problem gambling services in Kansas. The current state budget stripped $6.5 million from the fund financed by a 2 percent surcharge on legal gaming revenue. Revenue flowing into the account has grown quickly with opening of casinos in Wyandotte and Sumner counties.
"Stakeholders were concerned that the fund had been historically allocated in a manner that was inconsistent with legislative intent," said Gary Haulmark, commissioner of community services and programs at the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.
"A relatively small portion of these funds have been invested in developing a problem gambling service infrastructure," he said. "Rather large portions of the (fund) were used to substitute for Kansas general fund allocations without creating a net increase in addiction services."
Haulmark told a House-Senate budget committee the budget request pending before Brownback, who will issue his spending blueprint in January, would increase to $4.2 million the amount dedicated to enhancing addiction treatment.
Under the state agency's proposal on the governor's desk, $3.5 million raised by the gambling fund still would be funneled to state programs unrelated to issues of gambling or addiction.
Sen. John Vratil, a Republican from Johnson County, said legislators and governors had been "intellectually dishonest" by collecting gambling revenue earmarked for people struggling with additions and spending that cash elsewhere.
He said mistakes of the past didn't justify continuation of the practice of stripping gambling fund dollars for alternative uses.
"It is time for us to be honest with ourselves and with our constituents," Vratil said. "This is just embarrassing to me."
Haulmark said the decision to reduce by half the diversion of problem gambling and addiction funding should be viewed as a step in the right direction.
"I don't think we've gone whole hog," he said. "We've asked for an appropriate amount. There will be those who say that will not be enough of a jump. We want to build a problem gambling infrastructure that is responsible and judicious."
Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, said the state should be careful to invest newly available resources in programs proven to be effective.
"I just worry about plopping programs in place and measuring effectiveness later," she said.
Haulmark said the state hadn't previously conducted sufficient research to evaluate effectiveness of programs to help Kansans with problems with gambling and other addictions. He indicated comprehensive analysis would be done in the future.
The House-Senate committee took no action but discussed the issue along with other budget issues likely to come to the foreground in the 2013 session.
Les Sperling, chief executive officer of the Central Kansas Foundation in Salina, said the organization that provides addiction treatment in central and western Kansas supported the budget proposal to claw back state funding.
"I want the members to be aware that the need exists now in Kansas for substances abuse treatment and prevention programs," Sperling said.
http://cjonline.com/news/2012-10-09/proposal-curtails-diversion-problem-gambling-funds
Proposal would curtail diversion of problem gambling money, add $3.5M to ...
KWCH
The proposal still would allow $3.5 million raised by the gambling fund to be funneled to state programs unrelated to gambling or addiction problems. ___. Information from: The Topeka Capital-Journal, http://www.cjonline.com. sns-ap-ks--problem ...
The proposal would begin to rectify decisions by the Kansas Legislature and a series of governors to reallocate more than 90 percent of the Problem Gambling and Addictions Grant Fund, perhaps in violation of state statute, to general government services.
In 2010, the state invested 5 cents per capita in problem gambling services in Kansas. The current state budget stripped $6.5 million from the fund financed by a 2 percent surcharge on legal gaming revenue. Revenue flowing into the account has grown quickly with opening of casinos in Wyandotte and Sumner counties.
"Stakeholders were concerned that the fund had been historically allocated in a manner that was inconsistent with legislative intent," said Gary Haulmark, commissioner of community services and programs at the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.
"A relatively small portion of these funds have been invested in developing a problem gambling service infrastructure," he said. "Rather large portions of the (fund) were used to substitute for Kansas general fund allocations without creating a net increase in addiction services."
Haulmark told a House-Senate budget committee the budget request pending before Brownback, who will issue his spending blueprint in January, would increase to $4.2 million the amount dedicated to enhancing addiction treatment.
Under the state agency's proposal on the governor's desk, $3.5 million raised by the gambling fund still would be funneled to state programs unrelated to issues of gambling or addiction.
Sen. John Vratil, a Republican from Johnson County, said legislators and governors had been "intellectually dishonest" by collecting gambling revenue earmarked for people struggling with additions and spending that cash elsewhere.
He said mistakes of the past didn't justify continuation of the practice of stripping gambling fund dollars for alternative uses.
"It is time for us to be honest with ourselves and with our constituents," Vratil said. "This is just embarrassing to me."
Haulmark said the decision to reduce by half the diversion of problem gambling and addiction funding should be viewed as a step in the right direction.
"I don't think we've gone whole hog," he said. "We've asked for an appropriate amount. There will be those who say that will not be enough of a jump. We want to build a problem gambling infrastructure that is responsible and judicious."
Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, said the state should be careful to invest newly available resources in programs proven to be effective.
"I just worry about plopping programs in place and measuring effectiveness later," she said.
Haulmark said the state hadn't previously conducted sufficient research to evaluate effectiveness of programs to help Kansans with problems with gambling and other addictions. He indicated comprehensive analysis would be done in the future.
The House-Senate committee took no action but discussed the issue along with other budget issues likely to come to the foreground in the 2013 session.
Les Sperling, chief executive officer of the Central Kansas Foundation in Salina, said the organization that provides addiction treatment in central and western Kansas supported the budget proposal to claw back state funding.
"I want the members to be aware that the need exists now in Kansas for substances abuse treatment and prevention programs," Sperling said.
http://cjonline.com/news/2012-10-09/proposal-curtails-diversion-problem-gambling-funds
Proposal would curtail diversion of problem gambling money, add $3.5M to ...
KWCH
The proposal still would allow $3.5 million raised by the gambling fund to be funneled to state programs unrelated to gambling or addiction problems. ___. Information from: The Topeka Capital-Journal, http://www.cjonline.com. sns-ap-ks--problem ...
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