Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Tri-State area

You'll remember last night we told you Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed legislation restoring money for drug treatment and child-welfare workers he cut from the state budget earlier in July.

One of the many agencies on the winning end of this decision is Recovery Resources in Quincy, a Drug, Alcohol and Substance Abuse treatment provider for the state.

We talked with Executive Director Ron Howell.

He told us it's been a long five months since the cuts were originally made.

Those cuts amounted to cutting about 20 percent of the agency's *entire* budget.

Since there was no guarantee the funding would be returned, the board had to make the difficult decision on how to cut the budget.

Now the agency is down ten employees either through attrition or were released.

Has that compromised substance abuse programs in the state and here?

Ron Howell, Executive Director of Recovery Resources said, "The bottom line is when you hear 33 percent of the state funding is gone overnight, you're forced to make different choices and decisions to stay in business and to be a resource even though you're a wounded resource."

Howell says agencies all over the state have had to make tough decisions like this.  Now with funding restored, agencies like his are trying to bounce back with a skeleton staff.

He says although the funding is reportedly coming, it will take time to recruit qualified staff. 

Another problem is how long it will take to get the promised funds.  Right now the state is about 3 to 5 months behind in its payments to local agencies. That doesn't even take into account that with limited staff to treat clients, there won't be as many hours that Recovery Resources can bill the state for, which again puts the agency behind. 

Howell said, "It's going to be critical issue as far as how the funds are put back into the pipeline and how quickly they can get out to Recovery Resources so we can continue to do the job."

In the meantime, Recovery Resources is dipping into its dwindling reserves in order to continue daily operations until the state pays up.

Howell says he hopes that state money comes sooner rather than later.