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Archived
News and Projects Advocates Urge Govenor Not to Cut Budget because of Federal Funds
People with developmental disabilities, parents, and other representatives urged in a press conference today in Sacramento, that with over $129 million of new federal funding being secured for people with developmental disabilities, Governor Davis and other state policy makers should not make budget cuts and to keep the new federal resources within the developmental services system.
Groups across the state, including those that have filed class action federal and state lawsuits against the state, claim that their efforts have helped in part, to push the state to draw down more federal resources - largely new funds coming from Medicaid's Home and Community-Based Waiver.
With the state of California facing a projected staggering budget shortfall of over $22 billion, and with the Governor currently proposing cuts to people with developmental disabilities of over $60 million, people with disabilities, families and other advocates are deeply worried that the Governor and Legislature may divert the new federal funds for other purposes. Advocates at the press conference and across the state vowed to protect new and existing federal dollars that are intended for services for people with developmental disabilities.
David Miller, president of Capital People First, a self advocacy organization based in Sacramento, urged policy makers to support to the critically important system of services and supports for people with developmental disabilities living in the community. "Please help us to stay living where we belong," Miller said, "in the community.
Diana DeRodeff, a Sacramento provider, representing the California Rehabilitation Association, said "we understand the severity of the budget crisis in California. Yet services for people with developmental disabilities have been in a fiscal crisis for years due to prior funding cuts and severe underfunding" adding that "now that we have secured this funding, there's absolutely no reason to deny Californians with disabilities with the jobs and community services they need. Unfortunately, that's exactly what will happen if these budget cuts go through."
Lori Boehm of Ventura, parent of a 21 year old son who has multiple disabilities, said her son Nick was one of the individuals who will bring in some of the new Federal dollars so that he can stay living in the community. She urged the state to keep the funding within the developmental services system.
Jim Burton, executive director of the Regional Center of the East Bay that serves over 11,000 people with developmental disabilities through vendors who provide services and supports, said that the new federal dollars is necessary to repair the community and said that "providers are every bit as important in bringing in these resources.."
Mark Polit, a parent of a 27 year old son with developmental disabilities who lives with his family in the Bay Area, said that his son "has just as much dignity as anyone else." He said that the proposed cuts of over $60 million to services for people with developmental disabilities threatens "more people with institutionalization. These are cuts in services. These are cuts to families who have been struggling so long.."
Terry Boisot, a parent of a 12 year old son, Ben, who has developmental disabilities, from Santa Barbara, said she was "amazed why we even have to stand here today...we are talking about taking away services. Direct care staff live in poverty, some live in homeless shelters...We are talking about real people..."
Following the press conference, held at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Sacramento, over 1,500 letters coming from people with disabilities, family members, direct care workers and others from the Hemet area in southern California, were hand delivered to the Governor's Office in the State Capitol, by Capital People First and other advocates.
NEXT STEPS AND RELATED ACTION * Currently the Legislature's budget subcommittees are in the process of reviewing the Governor's 2002-2003 budget, as he proposed in January. Both budget subcommittees plan to take final action on the budget, as revised May 14, on May 18 (Saturday) and during the week of May 20, before forwarding it onward to their respective full budget committees. * The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) will be holding a series of four "community meetings" to receive public comment on the proposed budget reductions in community services and supports, resulting from adoption of a proposed statewide standards of purchase of services (POS). See separate UCP Budget Alert for details. * A revision of that budget will be released by the Governor on May 14 that could contain massive cuts to services and programs in the health and human services area, including people with disabilities. * The state is fighting at least three different class action lawsuits impacting people with developmental disabilities that has some linkage to funding issues. Two of the suits (Sanchez et al v. [Grantland] Johnson, and Davis et al v. [Grantland] Johnson) were filed in Federal District Court in 2000. The third, "Capital People First, et al. v. DDS" was filed last January in California Superior Court in Alameda County. The "Sanchez v. Johnson" class action federal lawsuit directly impacts funding issues relating to community services and supports, and is scheduled for a hearing on June 7th in Oakland on a motion for summary judgement made by the plaintiffs. * The Legislature is taking steps (in the budget process) to require the state Health and Human Services Agency to develop and implement, working with stakeholders, an "Olmstead State Plan" that would have at least indirect impact on funding issues. Read More Archived News Stories AB896 General Human Interest Litigation State Budget
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