SAN DIEGO -- Budget cuts to the state's poison control center may limit the program's ability to help, the I-Team reported Tuesday. The program operates on an approximate budget of $6 million a year but that budget has been cut in half which could mean the center might have to close.

For Mo Johnson, mother of three, safety is always a priority. She said that's why the California Poison Control System is so important. "The value is huge," she said. "Ask any parent."

Johnson knows from experience. Her daughter Sidney, now 9, was one-and-a-half years old when she ate silica beads from a shoe box. "I pulled it out of her mouth, picked up the phone and found the number to poison control. I called them," said Johnson. "That was peace of mind for me."

Johnson said she's worried California's poison control center may have to close. Budget cuts threaten the free service available to all California residents.

"We've had 50 percent of our budget cut by the state of California this year," said Dr. Richard Clark. Clark runs the San Diego branch of the state's poison control system, one of four poison centers in California. "There's a good chance funding will be cut for all these programs next year and then we probably won't be able to stay open."

The Poison Control Center has already cut back by not filling job openings and asking employees to bear a heavier workload. Nurses and pharmacists answer the phones at the center's offices in Hillcrest, offering medical advice and reassurance to patients. Still, Poison Control staff members are overwelmed handling 900 calls each day. The majority of calls are for children.

Poison Control Centers are cost effective too, saving $70 million a year. For every dollar they spend, they save $7 for taxpayers. It's a big savings, especially when one considers that cutting Poison Control could put a huge strain on the medical community. An estimated 164,000 additional patients would have to go to the emergency room instead of handling their poison concern over the phone.

Without the hotline many parents, like Johnson, wouldn't know what to do about poison concerns.

State senator Christine Kehoe (D) has been an advocate for poison control, a service she called "life-saving." In a statement to the I-Team, she said, "Unfortunately, several revenue proposals supported by many Californians, such as increased taxes on tobacco, levying an oil severance tax, and closing corporate tax loopholes, were not included in the final budget package. Without new revenue, we were forced to make even more devastating cuts. The California Poison Control System was one program we were able to save instead of completely eliminate."

The program only has enough money to stay open until November. If it closes, California would be the first state in the country without the resource. It's unknown what would happen to the system. There's talk that calls would be outsourced to other states but that would overwhelm them too.

Concerned citizens can contact Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger's office or a local legislator.