Review what you have learned so far about financial management and unexpected change. Also access the Dashboard on the People First San Diego website to review the budget.
Recall the video from Week 6 depicting a budget conversation with the People First management team. Imagine that the result of this conversation was that all departments had to scale back due to reduced funding. Consider the following details:
As Director of Clinical Services at People First San Diego, you normally have a budget of $300,000 to fund the Therapy Services department. This money pays for salaries, training, and supplies. However, this number has recently been cut to $230,000 due to a grant being pulled. You may no longer be able to support a team of four master’s-level social workers (whose salaries range from $60,000 to $66,000) and three interns, so you may have to restructure the department. Even though your budget has decreased, in a perfect world, you would still help a similar number of clients. This new, lower budget is not negotiable. What do you do?
 
You must post your initial Day 4 response before you are able to see any posts by your colleagues.
BY DAY 4
Based on the scenario, post a response:
 
Describe how your department or service delivery would need to be adjusted. For example, would you downsize, bring in more interns (remember the hidden cost), reduce hours, decrease professional development or training, or reconfigure the one-to-one therapy model? Be specific about what you would do and explain why.
How would you manage morale through the change? Be specific as to what strategies you would use to keep staff engaged, productive, and motivated.
What would you need from your own manager in order to be successful in leading your team through the change?