The Voices for Illinois Children Fiscal Policy Center released a report on Tuesday detailing the negative impact of the budget impasse in Springfield on human services across the state.

Entitled “Lack of Budget is Dismantling Critical State Services,” the report explains the effects of the lack of a state budget on more than 60 programs and services, including: child care, youth violence prevention, disabled care and the prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Illinois is now halfway into its third month operating without a budget. A Voices for Illinois Children press release noted some human services are still receiving funding through federal money or court orders, but a growing number of services are beginning to deteriorate.

“The failure of Illinois lawmakers to restore revenue needed to enact a budget that supports essential services is causing widespread damage to the state, with children, seniors, and those with disabilities the hardest hit,” Voices for Illinois Children Policy Analyst Lisa Christensen Gee said during Tuesday’s press conference.

For example, the report found the Teen REACH afterschool violence prevention programs received more than $13 million in state funding during fiscal year 2015. Because of the budget stalemate, the programs have not received any funding for this fiscal year. As a result, 16 Teen REACH programs have closed, 79 staff have been laid off, and more than 1,500 youth across the state have lost access to the program.   

According to the Voices for Illinois Children report, The Autism Project (TAP) is another service initiative that has not received any state funding during the current fiscal year. Last year, it received a total of $4.3 million in state funds. The funding cuts forced TAP to shutter its downstate Charleston location, ending services for more than 100 children and their families. Other TAP providers, the report stated, have needed to reduce staff levels, cut services, and eliminate sliding scale payment options because of the budget impasse. 

While presenting the report during a press conference on Tuesday, Voices for Illinois Children advocates were joined by representatives from the Illinois Environmental Council, SIDS of Illinois and the afterschool program ACT Now Coalition, according to an Illinois Observer report. Representatives of those organizations joined Voices for Children Illinois in calling on Springfield lawmakers to work together to pass the budget.

“It is up to Governor Rauner and the General Assembly to take responsibility for funding our state’s priorities by restoring the revenue we need to fully fund a year-long budget,” Voices for Illinois Children’s Lisa Christensen Gee said on Tuesday.