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(DSHS secretary says agency running $25M short — besides the courts’ $30M mental health mandate_0)
(Fiji says Syria insurgents to release peacekeepers)
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Social safety net programs overseen by Washington s biggest state government agency are running in the red, and the hole likely will require a $25 million patch from the Legislature in January.That s the assessment of Department of Social and Health Services Secretary Kevin Quigley, who described the situation as a budget crisis. He said a surge in calls to Child Protective Services hotlines, higher costs in welfare programs and mental hospitals, and information technology needs are all driving his agency s budget shortfall.Quigley said that shortfall is in addition to the $30 million needed to stop the practice of psychiatric boarding, which the state Supreme Court ruled last month must stop. The high court has given  until Dec. 26 to halt the practice of sticking such patients in hospital emergency rooms without appropriate treatment.Beyond the psychiatric boarding issues, the department s shortfall which Quigley estimated at $25 million to $26 million includes a gap in Child Protective Services where calls to hotlines reporting abuse or seeking help have been surging. Quigley <a href=http://www.symbiose.ca/images/christianlouboutin.gwij.php>Christian Louboutin Outlet</a>  thinks he ll need $6 million to $8 million in emergency spending to fix the problem, and he may have to add 50 to 100 more staffers.Calls and investigations have increased by 10 to 15 percent and have led to a backlog of 2,000 cases not handled within the 90-day limit his agency must meet. Quigley said there were about 2,000 cases exceeding that limit when Gov. Jay Inslee took office in early 2013. The agency had since reduced the backlog to about 600 cases, only to see it go back up to 2,000. There should be zero cases open more than 90 days. In fact, there should be zero cases open more than 60 days, in my opinion, he said.One other particular area of concern is the state s mental hospitals, which overspent budgets by about $3 million in the year that ended June 30. These facilities will be $6 million in the hole by the time lawmakers return in January, Quigley said. The big challenge normally is if you don t have funding, you have to close a ward. But the Legislature has been quite clear they don t want to close wards, Quigley said. He said lawmakers of both parties deserve credit for <a href=http://capstone.edu.sg/clreplicashoes.php>Christian Louboutin Shoes Sale</a>  raising funding for mental hospitals, but he expects them to have concerns about the management of overtime pay as they try to contain costs. Other costs are rising in welfare programs, which have required extra personnel to process claims. A big piece of potentially $8 million in extra expenses is in information technology and includes a fix for the computer program used to determine eligibility for benefits. Other costs are for doing incapacity exams for disabled people who are in transition to being covered by Social Security and to move community-services staffers in Vancouver from a leased building to a state-owned structure.The agency is having more success sticking to the budget in other <a href=http://capstone.edu.sg/images/gucciusaonlineoutlet.php>gucci outlet</a>  areas. Budgets for aging and long-term care, developmental disabilities and juvenile rehabilitation seem to be in good shape, according to the secretary.Top House and Senate budget writers could not be reached immediately for comment Monday. But the welfare programs division known as Community Services recently staged from Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler of Ritzville, who called it a splurge. I m very skeptical of their budgeting. I think they always have slush money tucked away (Agencies) always trot out the most needy or cite a court ruling, Schoesler said Monday. But clearly we re not out of budget difficulties and they ve shown real insensitivity. Quigley defended the trainings, which the agency estimated to have cost $217 for each of the more than 2,100 employees who attended two-day workshops in Tacoma. The state paid $17,500 to a humorist and motivational speaker to address each of three workshops, but Quigley said community service offices have high turnover and it makes sense to spend $217 on boosting a staffer s morale than to spend $25,000 training a new worker.  
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SUVA, Fiji (AP) -- Fiji's military chief said Wednesday that Syrian insurgents have agreed to release 45 United Nations <a href=http://www.museosangennaro.com/Public/wdluk.php>Louboutin Shoes Sale</a>  peacekeepers later this week without conditions.His comments could not be immediately verified by either the U.N. or the Nusra Front.Fijian Brig. Gen. Mosese Tikoitoga said Fiji had received word from U.N. headquarters in New York that the Nusra Front would release the men in the coming days without any conditions or demands. He didn't give a precise timetable or specifics of how the handover would take place.The U.N., however, has a policy of not discussing ongoing captive situations until they are resolved. It earlier said it is engaging with a wide range of parties within Syria, and is making every effort to ensure the safety and security of the peacekeepers.Jon Greenway, a spokesman for U.N. peacekeeping, said Wednesday it had nothing new to report.The al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, which typically communicates via its Twitter feeds, did not mention the matter of the Fijian peacekeepers Wednesday on its social networks.The Nusra Front had earlier listed three demands for releasing the Fijian peacekeepers it took captive Aug. 28.The group had demanded to be taken off the U.N. terrorist list, wanted humanitarian aid delivered to parts of <a href=http://www.alportico.net/gosoc.php> true religion sale</a>  the Syrian capital Damascus, and wanted compensation for three of its fighters it says were killed in a shootout with U.N. officers.Tikoitoga said friendships that Fiji had built through peacekeeping over the years had contributed to the positive outcome, and "have not gone unnoticed by the Syrian people."He said three senior Fijian Army officers, led by Land Force Commander Lt. Col. Jone Kalouniwai, had left for Syria. He said the officers would soon be in place to receive the 45 captured men.The Fijian peacekeepers had been stationed in the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel. There has been heavy fighting in the area since Syrian rebels captured a border crossing near the abandoned town of Quneitra last month.Fighters from al-Qaida's Syria branch abducted the Fijian peacekeepers and surrounded two Filipino contingents serving as peacekeepers the following day. The Filipino troops later escaped.The U.N. force, known <a href=http://www.alportico.net/prodotti/christianlouboutin-sale.jkmsw.php>Christian Louboutin Discount</a>  as UNDOF, was established in May 1974 following intensified firing on the Israel-Syria border after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, and Syria has campaigned for decades for return of the land.For nearly four decades, the U.N. monitors helped enforce a stable truce between Israel and Syria but the Golan Heights has increasingly become a battlefield in the more than three-year-old Syrian conflict.___Perry reported from Wellington, New Zealand. Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Brad Shannon: 360-753-1688
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Revision as of 02:50, 12 September 2014

@@@ SUVA, Fiji (AP) -- Fiji's military chief said Wednesday that Syrian insurgents have agreed to release 45 United Nations <a href=http://www.museosangennaro.com/Public/wdluk.php>Louboutin Shoes Sale</a> peacekeepers later this week without conditions.His comments could not be immediately verified by either the U.N. or the Nusra Front.Fijian Brig. Gen. Mosese Tikoitoga said Fiji had received word from U.N. headquarters in New York that the Nusra Front would release the men in the coming days without any conditions or demands. He didn't give a precise timetable or specifics of how the handover would take place.The U.N., however, has a policy of not discussing ongoing captive situations until they are resolved. It earlier said it is engaging with a wide range of parties within Syria, and is making every effort to ensure the safety and security of the peacekeepers.Jon Greenway, a spokesman for U.N. peacekeeping, said Wednesday it had nothing new to report.The al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, which typically communicates via its Twitter feeds, did not mention the matter of the Fijian peacekeepers Wednesday on its social networks.The Nusra Front had earlier listed three demands for releasing the Fijian peacekeepers it took captive Aug. 28.The group had demanded to be taken off the U.N. terrorist list, wanted humanitarian aid delivered to parts of <a href=http://www.alportico.net/gosoc.php> true religion sale</a> the Syrian capital Damascus, and wanted compensation for three of its fighters it says were killed in a shootout with U.N. officers.Tikoitoga said friendships that Fiji had built through peacekeeping over the years had contributed to the positive outcome, and "have not gone unnoticed by the Syrian people."He said three senior Fijian Army officers, led by Land Force Commander Lt. Col. Jone Kalouniwai, had left for Syria. He said the officers would soon be in place to receive the 45 captured men.The Fijian peacekeepers had been stationed in the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel. There has been heavy fighting in the area since Syrian rebels captured a border crossing near the abandoned town of Quneitra last month.Fighters from al-Qaida's Syria branch abducted the Fijian peacekeepers and surrounded two Filipino contingents serving as peacekeepers the following day. The Filipino troops later escaped.The U.N. force, known <a href=http://www.alportico.net/prodotti/christianlouboutin-sale.jkmsw.php>Christian Louboutin Discount</a> as UNDOF, was established in May 1974 following intensified firing on the Israel-Syria border after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, and Syria has campaigned for decades for return of the land.For nearly four decades, the U.N. monitors helped enforce a stable truce between Israel and Syria but the Golan Heights has increasingly become a battlefield in the more than three-year-old Syrian conflict.___Perry reported from Wellington, New Zealand. Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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