Layoffs in store for Focus

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Sep 16, 2005 | by BILL RADFORD THE GAZETTE

Focus on the Family announced Thursday that it will eliminate some ministry programs and lay off employees in an effort to trim millions of dollars from its 2006 budget.

The specifics, including which departments and positions will be affected, still are being evaluated by Focus leaders. Focus spokesman Paul Hetrick said the changes will affect 79 employees who will be reassigned or laid off. The ministry has a staff equivalent to 1,342 full-time employees.

"To the extent that we can place them within the ministry, we will try to do that," he said. "Most of them will not be able to be placed."

In addition, 83 open positions will not be filled. The changes will begin to take effect Oct. 1, the start of Focus on the Family's 2006 fiscal year.

The Colorado Springsbased ministry is working to decrease expenses by $9 million for the new fiscal year. Hetrick said the 2006 budget is "in the neighborhood" of the $143 million 2005 budget.

"Change is a difficult but necessary component to the success of any organization," said Jim Daly, Focus on the Family president and chief executive officer, in a news release.

"I'm convinced that the end result of these cost-saving measures will be further growth, expansion and ministry effectiveness," he said.

Focus, a nonprofit ministry founded in 1977 by James Dobson, is the city's biggest evangelical organization and its most active purveyor of conservative Christian values. The ministry's activities include radio programs, publications and telephone help for families, and its Focus on the Family Action arm was active in the 2004 presidential election.