NEW: Rep. Guthrie Calls for Restoration of Funding for Developmentally Disabled
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
In legislation introduced last week, Representative Scott Guthrie is calling for restoration in the state budget of $12 million for programs and services for the state’s developmentally disabled residents. Parlayed with matching federal funding, enactment of the bill would mean about $20 million available for services and programs. The Guthrie bill, (2012-H7035), has been referred to the House Committee on Finance. It was the first of several bills dealing with the funding cuts already submitted this session.
“There have to be other ways to balance our state budget than cutting vital services to the developmentally disabled adults in our state,” said Rep. Scott Guthrie (D-Dist. 28, Coventry).
“We have an obligation to help these individuals, we have a contractual duty to provide the services they need. We cannot just toss them out and forget about them for lack of $12 million,” he said.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe cuts, said Representative Guthrie, have forced community agencies and providers funded through the state to fire workers and cut salaries, actions that are having direct and severe impacts on services provided to people with autism, Down syndrome and other disabilities.
“Lots of people were hurt by the budget trimming that had to be done last year, but there is something especially outrageous about cutting programs and services for disabled individuals, many of them living in my district, who are most in need of help,” he said. “In the meantime, those in our society who are doing just fine and could afford to pay a little more to help others have remained untouchable. It may not be class warfare, but it is a pretty classless thing for a government to do and it is has caused enormous anxiety for thousands of Rhode Island families who depend on these services for their loved ones.”
As the state worked last year to address a deficit of more than $200 million, programs for the disabled were among the many areas that received less funding. Part of the problem, said Representative Guthrie, is efforts called for by the state to move the disabled out of group homes and integrate them more into the community, moves that would save money without cutting services, have not been accomplished. Instead, some providers have had to cut costs by laying off employees and trimming programs, reducing services and hurting the people they are supposed to serve.
Representative Guthrie said that those delivery processes need to change, but that “in the meantime, there are many developmentally disabled individuals who are falling through the cracks because $12 million is gone. While working for more efficiency in delivery of services in the future, we must restore that money to help those who need the help now, today, not next year,” said Representative Guthrie.
Representative Guthrie said that a number of Representatives, including members of leadership, held several meetings during the past few months, hearing from providers about the funding cuts and their potential impact.
“This is not merely a troubling, financial issue,” said Representative Guthrie. “It is potentially life-threatening in cases where important needs go unmet or caregivers are forced into situations where they are stretched too thin.”
