The word is that the Senate will vote on their version of the FY07 budget today, Thursday - proposing to fund 142 ICWP slots and 3,000 MRWP services.
We are hearing a lot of excitment about the prospect of a significant number of new MRWP and ICWP services this year - and some are asking why we havent changed our legislative message to reflect the possibility of 3,000 MRWP services. Go to our previous post "3,000 new MRWP services...is it really possible?" to see an analysis of the Senate's proposal.
While we feel good about the ICWP slots, we are still very cautious whether the proposed 3,000 new MRWP services will make it through the next steps of the budget process. We simply do not know how viable the proposal of the extra 1,500 are by the Senate. The good news is that the House and Senate both agree on the base of 1,500 new services. We need to err on the side of caution - we do not want to risk getting family's hopes up needlessly.
After the Senate votes, representatives from the Senate and House will work out the differences between the two budgets in the coming days (or weeks). We are hearing that they could try to get the budget completed by March 31st or if it takes longer, they will have to wait till after Spring break and the Masters week in the first week of April and then come back to finish their work the week of April 10th.
What do you think?
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.
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