BY NANCY HICKS
/ Lincoln Journal Star
Tuesday, Jul 10, 2007 - 12:29:52 am CDT
Three top
Health and Human Services managers are being laid off, with more layoffs
expected in the future, as part of a move to streamline the agency and flatten
the top administrative structure.
One of the layoffs has raised concerns in Nebraska’s disability community about
the agency’s commitment to clients with disabilities.
The three managers all work for the new Division on Medicaid and Long-Term
Care, the division that is furthest along in its strategic planning, according
to Kathie Osterman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human
Services.
The three managers who received layoff notices were originally hired by the
former Department of Social Services.
Mary Jo Iwan, administrator for home and community services, was hired in August
1972 as a case worker.
Cec Brady, a Medicaid deputy administrator, was hired in June 1988 as an
attorney for the social services agency.
David Cygan, a medical/surgical managed care administrator, was hired in March
1994 as an attorney.
The decision to lay off Iwan, who has worked recently to create more
community-based services for seniors and younger adults with disabilities, has
members of the disability community worried about the future of that program,
said Tim Kolb, a well known advocate for people with disabilities.
The work Iwan did requires great understanding of people with disabilities, Kolb
said. “It is not about the numbers. It is about the lives of people who are
trying to be served in the community.”
Iwan’s dismissal is worrisome, he said. The fear is that the top leaders — the
governor; Chris Peterson, the CEO of the Department of Health and Human
Services; and Vivianne Chaumont, the new director of the Medicaid and Long-Term
Care Division — have a very conservative position and their ultimate goal is to
greatly reduce community services, he said.
Cutting back on the commitment to community services may reduce current
expenses, but it will be more expensive in the long run, Kolb said.
But Osterman said, on behalf of Chaumont, that the administration and staff are
committed to the community-based programs.
“No programs for people with disabilities are being eliminated,” she noted.
“But we are restructuring the division and in that process difficult decisions
have to be made,” she said on behalf of Chaumont.
Iwan said in a telephone interview that she has helped build several programs
over her 35 years with the state, including establishing community-based
services, the respite care network, and the Disable Persons and Family Support
Program, and an early intervention program for infants and toddlers with
disabilities.
“I’ve probably had the best job in state government,” Iwan said.
Iwan said she does not know what she will do after her layoff at the end of this
month but is considering consulting work.
The other two managers did not return telephone calls.
The layoffs are part of a strategic planning process being undertaken by the six
divisions of HHS.
The planning process, which includes prioritizing, streamlining and flattening
management, means making difficult decisions about people and positions,
Osterman said.
The layoff letters did point out that none of the layoffs are in any way a
negative reflection on the individuals or their performance, she said.
The Medicaid and Long-Term Care division is further along in its planning
process, she said.
As the process continues in other divisions, there will likely be layoffs, she
said. But there is an expectation that front line staff will not be included in
those layoffs, she said.
“We heard state senators and the governor loud and clear that the outcome of our
reorganization cannot be business as usual,” she said about discussions this
year that led to the decision to create a single Health and Human Services
department with six divisions.
The division directors must also find ways to reduce spending since the
Legislature did not provide enough funding to continue operations at the current
level, Osterman said.
The agency’s administrative budget lost about $10 million in state and federal
funding during the budget process this year, she said.
“As an agency, we are looking at ways to reduce spending,” she said.
The divisions will be saving money in printing and publications, equipment,
travel, contractual services and temporary employee budgets, but it probably is
“not going to get us to $10 million,” she said.
So the layoffs of top managers will “help us meet the amount the budget was
reduced,” she said.