Last Friday, Senator Unterman announced that her Human Development subcommittee recommended a total of 3,000 new services for the MRWP waiting lists with $35.7 million state dollars. Ever since, we've been asking how possible is this recomendation.
Well, the answer appears to be...unlikely. Before I explain why this appears to be the case, we must recognize that Senator Unterman proposed this funding because she believed it could happen, and whatever happens, we can at least thank her for her effort. (Thank you if you have already sent her thank you note for her commitment to our issue – if you want to do this now – click here.)
Yesterday we spoke with key Senate and House leadership and it looks as though the $24,147,199 that would fund the additional 1,500 services is a combination of (1) money that is not available and (2) money that is actually being used elsewhere by DHR for other community services. We need to be very careful that we do not find ourselves advocating for moving money that would destablize current community services. We will continue to ask questions - and check back here often this week for updates, but...
Until we know more, our message remains that same – we are advocating for the Senate to recommend in the FY07 budget (1) 1,500 MRWP services with $16.8M state dollars and (2) 152 ICWP slots with $3.2M state dollars. If you have not sent in your email, please do so NOW – by clicking here.
What do you think? Click COMMENTS to tell us...
All About Developmental Disabilities (AADD) is Atlanta's preeminent resource on developmental disabilities, providing support services to families for more than 55 years. We are often the one place where people with developmental disabilities can go to achieve personal empowerment, family stability and community participation. AADD provides family support; public policy and advocacy; and community engagement.
No comments:
Post a Comment