The Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers:Community for Living. Community for Life.

News Archive

ADDP Communications Archive

Not yet a member?

View our ARCHIVE

OpEd: Waltham Daily Tribune

by Gary Blumenthal, guest columnist
published February 17, 2010

The nation's economic collapse has been painful for all Americans, but for people with disabilities, unable to survive without some level of government assistance, the last 18 months have been catastrophic.

Though the people of the Commonwealth have been legendary in their compassion and support for people with disabilities, the disabled have been stung by loss of employment and of their homes.  As state revenues have receded back to 2006 levels, programs that helped people with disabilities earn the dignity of a paycheck have been slashed by millions of dollars, leaving people without jobs or forcing them back to the dependence and charity of others instead of being empowered wage earners.

The Commonwealth's FY 2011 budget, as recommended by Governor Deval Patrick, contains especially tragic consequences for people with developmental disabilities.  Unless restored by the Massachusetts Legislature, over 1600 people and their families will lose service on July 1, 2010. 
Cuts for people with developmental disabilities include:
Legislators and the Governor often talk about the faces behind each budget cut.  I have seen those faces and know many of the families who will be hurt.  When you look into the faces of these families you learn that most of these people have been receiving state assistance because there is simply no other place for them to go. 

The average age of people receiving services and supports in programs serving people with developmental disabilities exceeds 40 years of age. Discharging individuals from service and returning them to their 60, 70 and 80 year old parents is beyond cruel;  it is reckless when considering the health and safety of both the adult child with a disability and their elderly parent.

Last fall, when the state's revenue collapse threatened to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from disabilities programs, hundreds of families conducted a "Vigil to Save the Safety Net". 

They brought loved ones with disabilities to sit in the waiting room of the Governor's Office to personally ask Deval Patrick to protect crucial services.

I was particularly struck by the number of elderly parents who came with anguish and fear in their eyes, asking the question that terrifies every aging parent regarding what will happen to their son or daughter when they are gone. 
 
One such dad, 91 year old Joseph Tehan, brought his 55 year old son with a disability, Stephen, to the State House. 
 
Mr. Tehan has spent over half a century advocating for his son and others with developmental disabilities.  Stephen's brother, Peter, donates hundreds of hours as a Board Member and volunteer at Lawrence based, Class, Inc., a community employment provider for adults with developmental disabilities.  

The Tehan Family justifiably asks what will happen to Stephen and others as the state retreats from funding disability programs?

In the past, I and others who support community supports and services thought we knew the answer.  We thought that the people of our great state were in agreement that Commonwealth would always honor its commitment to protect the disabled and those who have nowhere to go.
I believe in the goodness of the people of Massachusetts. 

Though Ted Kennedy may have been replaced by Scott Brown, I still believe the late Senator's words continue to resonate throughout the Commonwealth when he proclaimed:  "The poor may be out of political fashion, but they are not without human needs. The middle class may be angry, but they have not lost the dream that all Americans can advance together."

In the next two months, the Legislature and the Governor will determine where disabled people cut off from services will go.  Let's hope compassion reigns and these programs are restored.

Lowell Sun: Statehouse Rally Puts Face on Cuts

By Matt Murphy (c) Lowell Sun

BOSTON -- For families like the Sturtevants, state services for the disabled can be the difference between sleeping easily at night knowing their twin sons will be cared for as they get older, or worrying endlessly about who will care for them when they no longer can.

Spilka, Eldridge, Linsky and Khan urge families to keep working for restorations

Ellen and Ron Sturtevant, of Westford, have done all they can until now to make sure their boys, Richard and Ronnie Jr., have the best life they can.

The twin brothers, 29, both struggle with autism to varying degrees. While Richard is able to live in a group setting on his own in a house in Brookline and keep a job at a Niketown store, Ronnie's autism requires 24-hour care.

"I would never leave him alone," Ellen Sturtevant said.

Ronnie lives in a home in Lowell, operated by LifeLinks, and attends a day center in Lawrence where trained professionals give him and others in the home work to keep him active and busy throughout the day. Once a week, LifeLinks aides will take the residents by van to social programs at Middlesex Community College or to dinner in the city.

"That's what these people get out of life, and they need staff to be able to take them out shopping or swimming," said Ron Sturtevant, who recently retired at the age of 64. "I think there are a lot of places in government and services to cut, but not people in this category."

And yet that is the reality many families are facing as the ongoing recession in the state has forced Gov. Deval Patrick and lawmakers to make deep cuts to human-service programs throughout the budget to make up for sharp losses in revenue and rising health-care costs.

Over the past two years, funding for programs provided through the Department of Developmental Services has been cut by more than $103 million. Community programs, like day centers and respite care, have been cut by more than $26 million since fiscal 2009, down 13 percent, and community residential facilities have seen their aid sliced by more than $16 million, or 2 percent.

The result is fewer staff and resources to provide the type of care, facilities and support to families and individuals with disabilities that they rely on.
"The safety net for so many people we care about is being shredded year after year," said Susan Nadworny, president of Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change.

Advocates for the disabled, including dozens of family members and recipients of services, came to the Statehouse yesterday hoping to put a face to the line items in the budget that they depend on for their quality of life and safety. They are urging lawmakers to restore as much as $62 million to the state budget to boost spending back to fiscal 2010 levels.

The coalition of organizations, including The Arc of Massachusetts, the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers and Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change, held a brief rally before dispersing throughout the capitol, carrying pairs of shoes that they brought to local lawmakers urging them to "walk a mile in our shoes."

"It's a struggle all around," said Rep. Kay Khan, a Newton Democrat and chairwoman of the House Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. "I've been in the Legislature 16 years and I don't think I've ever seen what we're seeing building up now."

As one of the largest discretionary-spending areas outside of local aid in the state budget, human services have become particularly susceptible to cuts as lawmakers struggle to cover mandatory health-care costs, pension obligations and aid for schools and other vital services.

Further possible cuts next year have parents like Frank and Reine O'Malley, of Westford, worried that their daughter Tammy will no longer be able to attend the day center run by American Training in Lowell, where she goes every day. Tammy, 40, was born with mental retardation and lives at home with her aging parents, who rely on state transportation and employment services to take her to Lowell each morning, where she socializes and works odd jobs, organized and supervised by American Training staff members.

"They are the most vulnerable people in the state, but if you cut their services, they can't complain as loudly as other groups can," said Frank O'Malley, 73. "If they cut back funding more, she could be home watching television all day, and she doesn't want that. We don't want that. She wants to be out in a program even if it's just to interact with people."

The cuts proposed in Patrick's budget for fiscal 2011 would likely eliminate family support services for as many as 1,000 families, cut day and work programs for 450 individuals, and force 600 more to find another source of transportation.

An estimated 275 to 300 more people would lose their residential services.

"That's my worry, that they might close some of the houses," said Ellen Sturtevant. "I don't see how they can cut back for the kids who are residential. It's a day-to-day thing as my husband and I get older. There will come a time when we can't drive and can't do the things to help our sons that we do now."

Patrick has acknowledged the pain that would be caused by these types of cuts, and has pledged to restore funding where he can if state revenue increases, despite the lack of appetite among many lawmakers to raise more taxes to generate income for the state.

State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, said lawmakers may need to look to small sources of new revenue, like a sales tax on candy and soda, to ensure the state's most vulnerable populations don't get left behind.

"Although it's going to be a politically lean budget year, there will be some potential for revenue," Eldridge said. "At the end of the day, you can't do more with less. You do less with less."

Explaining a Legislator's Record on Disability Issues

Surprise: There are hardly any recorded votes

In the wake of Senate's late Thursday (actually 2:30 a.m. Friday) passage of the FY 11 budget, with nearly all developmental disabilities and head injury budget restorations defeated, a number of advocates and family members have called the ADDP office asking for information regarding how their individual Senator voted.
 
Due to the procedures utilized by the Senate, there is virtually no record to point to that documents how individual legislators voted, other than previously noting the names of legislators who sponsored ADDP/Arc/MFOFC amendments.
 
For the dozens of people with disabilities, their families and supporters who journeyed to the State House to watch the Senate budget debate, this news is disappointing.  DDS amendments were rejected, without discussion, on a voice vote, early Friday morning after all but a few sat awake in the Senate gallery.
How does this happen?
 
The members of the Massachusetts Legislature are  significantly influenced by the recommendations of their leadership and Committee process, thus legislators wait to hear  the recommendation of their leaders and then dispensed with most votes on amendments  by either withdrawing them if the leadership does not accept them; or allowing them to go to a non-recorded voice vote. 

Sadly, no Senator requested a roll call vote on any of the disability amendments.  Only a roll call would have produced a record of how individual members stood on disability positions.
 
Between the supporters of the Arc and ADDP over 1000 emails and phone calls were made to legislative offices pleading for support to restore DDS & MRC residential and employment programs.

More than half of the Senate sent responses back to our members stating "protecting disability programs is one of my highest priorities,"  or "I will do everything in my power to restore disability service reductions."   However, these assurances did not translate into recorded votes and no member requested a roll call vote on behalf of people with disabilities.
 
What next?
 
Disability advocates will continue to work with members of the Administration and the FY 11 Budget Conference Committee to see if there is any way to remedy 700 people with disabilities losing jobs, day services and residential services.  Options could include transferring revenue from other EOHHS line items, reviewing and re-allocating incoming FMAP from the six month extension (noting the Tier 3 higher amount of $690 million, not $608 million) coming to the Commonwealth; or looking for support for future deficiency budgets.  There are risks everywhere with each approach, but perhaps as the Conference Committee reviews the total budget some options may become evident.  If not, the State can be expected to begin the painful process of notifying individuals and families that they will lose service in a few short weeks.  The families of 700 people slated to lose service are likely to be outraged during an election year and will be looking to their Senators and Representatives for an explanation and remedy. Perhaps this may spur legislators to reconsider.

Senate Action:   
REJECTED
Amendment 558 by Sen. Candaras,  restoring Residential Services, Line Item 5920-2000:  Restore $6 million to prevent 86 to 100 people from losing their current homes.

REJECTED
Amendment 622 by Senators Spilka and Menard, restoring Day and Employment Programs, Line Item 5920-2025:  Restore $7 million so 450 people will keep their jobs and day services.

Withdrawn
Amendment 702 by Senators Kennedy & Joyce restoring Family Support, Line Item 5920-3000: Restore $1.5 million so individuals with disabilities and their families can receive in-home supports.

REJECTED
Amendment 648 and Amendment 679  by Sen. Eldridge,  restoring MRC Line Items 4120-6000 and 4120-3000: Restore $2 million to prevent loss of community supports for 95 people. Restore employment supports for 300 people with multiple disabilities who will lose service unless this line receives an additional $3 million.

Approved at $4 million
Amendment 372 by Sen. Walsh, restoring DESE-DDS program, Line Items 5948-0012 and 7061-0012: Restoring $6.5 Million for program that helps keep 201 families together and keep kids in local schools.

REJECTED
Amendment 656 by Sen. Jehlen, restoring Turning 22, DDS line item 5920-5000: Requesting additional $2.7 million to provide for 300 students making transition from school life to adult life. Also needs language that allocates $18.6 for second year (annualization) funding for FY12.

Providers Ask: Will Our Governor Protect Services?


As early as October 15, 2009, Governor Deval Patrick is expected to announce deep cuts to the current year's budget. Members of the developmental disabilities community, including ADDP, expect him to call for the cutting of tens of thousands of dollars from community DD supports and services.

In addition to concerns regarding the Administration's work on next year's budget, the disability community is worried that the Governor's cuts to the DDS & MRC budgets could be over 100 million.

Such deep cuts will result in thousands of people with disabilities being dropped from service - including residential, employment, day services, day habilitation, and family supports.

Can the Governor avoid these draconian disability service cuts?

The Governor is required to use his authority to cut state spending to reflect the dramatic drop in state revenue.

Which programs he chooses to fund (or defund) are a reflection of his Administration's priorities, thus the Governor can protect disability services if he believes they are a high priority of the people of the Commonwealth, and a high priority of his Administration.

In deciding whether or not to protect people with disabilities, many in the disability community will be asking the Governor to consider the following factors:

Thousands of people who will be cut from DDS services have no where to go. Once their safety net is taken away, there is no one to protect their safety and health.

Current Services are at the point of collapse according to the Governor's own Administration.

Why are human service programs being hit with deep cuts, while the state continues to fund subsidies - sending tax dollars to targeted business communities, such as the bio-science and film industries (which have other sources they could tap for funds)? Aren't these expenditures a luxury our state can no longer sustain?

What happened to the nearly 3 Billion in Enhanced Medicaid Stimulus that the State received to protect human service programs? If those funds were diverted to "fill other budget holes", why aren't those programs cut first, and the remaining hundreds of millions of dollars in enhanced medicaid stimulus used to meet the intention of Congress to protect human services?

What are the budget cut targets for the EOHHS budget? The Administration has promised transparency in its decision making regarding 9C & FY 11 decisions, but has yet to share the detailed target numbers to ensure an informed decision is made with stakeholder participation.

Will the size of state government be cut before services to people are reduced?

The 9C & FY 11 cuts will reflect and reveal the Governor's priorities. You may want to call the Governor's office to let him know how you feel about these pending cuts. His office can be reached by calling 617.725.4005 or you may send an instant email by clicking onto the ADDP Action Center.

Patrick Authorizes Deep Cuts to Day Hab for most vulnerable

It appears that Governor Deval Patrick has accepted the recommendation of his EOHHS advisors to enact deep cuts to the community programs that serve the most vulnerable disabled in the Commonwealth.

Despite having protected Department of Developmental Service programs on October 29, 2009, stating that his budget decisions were being made to "reflect the values of the citizens of the Commonwealth by protecting the most vulnerable in our state", the Governor appears to have not used the same criteria in approving MassHealth (Medicaid) cuts aimed at closing a 300 million hole in the MassHealth budget.

Specific MassHealth cuts accepted by the Governor that affect people with developmental disabilities include:

ADDP and The Arc have reached out to provider agencies to learn how individual agencies will be impacted by these cuts.   The day habilitation cut back on hours per week amounts to a 26 million per year reduction.  Combined with the roll back on day hab rates, this appears to inflict a 23% reduction for day habilitation programs.


Many programs report that the cut back in day hab hours will cause huge cost shifts to residential programs that will be ill equipped to handle more hours of service having just endured a 4.8 million cut in funding.

 

Last week, Leo Sarkissian or The Arc of Massachusetts and Gary Blumenthal, Executive Director of ADDP wrote to the Governor and implored him to reconsider.

 

Excerpts of that letter include:

"We are fearful that all of the good work you have done to support the disabilities community only weeks ago will be destroyed by the impact of the proposed MassHealth cuts that have been placed on our desk. 

 

The cut that has been placed before you contradicts your message on October 29 about how you have made budget decisions based upon the values of the citizens of the Commonwealth.

 

The decision contradicts every effort you have made to support the working poor of our state by lowering the salary of the poorest workers in our state.

 

This decision, if adopted by you, will contradict every effort you have made to address the terrible fiscal condition of human service provider agencies.  


Every element of these proposed cuts undermines all of your past good work.

 

When you spoke on October 29, 2009 before the Provider's Council and the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, you spoke of implementing measured and careful 9C cuts that sought to protect the most vulnerable in the Commonwealth from the shredding of their safety net services.

 

We have turned out thousands of people to surround the State House and sing out our pleas for help.  We have brought hundreds of people to your office and we have reached out to thousands of our supporters to reach the public to urge their support of our efforts.

 

If we need to bring people into the State House we will do again.

 

We cannot allow these programs to be diminished.

 

It was your Administration that called for passage of Human Service Agency Rate Reform through enactment of Senate Bill 65 or Chapter 257.  It now appears that your Administration is advising you to contradict every element of the intent of that legislation.


It has been your Administration that has sought to abide by US Federal Court rulings in both the Ricci and Rolland cases; sadly your Administration is now advising you to jeopardize each of those settlements and force the Commonwealth back into Court for violating the health and safety aspect of those rulings.

 

Every element of these proposed cuts undermines all of your past good work.  Please reject this proposal.  Reconsider this.  Don't undo all of your good work."

 

ADDP and The Arc will soon announce a public strategy to convince the Governor to reverse this ill-advised decision.

 

We will inform you very soon of our next steps.

Governor Taps FMAP to Limit Human Service Budget Cuts

Working to minimize the impact of declining state revenues, Governor Deval Patrick and his Administration have released their House Two FY 2011 budget recommendations, drawing upon an anticipated Congressional extension of Enhanced Medicaid Reimbursement (FMAP).  Additionally the Administration is continuing to trim state budgets, including over $800 million in FY 11 cuts and is seeking to use remaining earlier Medicaid stimulus dollars, plus renewing the Governor's effort to remove the sales tax exemption on candy and soda.
For the human service community concerned about supports and services for people with developmental disabilities, the DDS budget contains specific cuts, though substantially less than the 10% to 15%, or $150 million that had been suggested by the Administration in November 2009.
 
Specific cuts include:


ADDP, along with The Arc of  Massachusetts has begun to meet with EOHHS Secretary JudyAnn Bigby, DDS Commissioner Elin Howe, A&F Secretary Jay Gonzalez to explore ways to mitigate the impact of these cuts.  We are pleased that the Administration is open to continuing to work with us on further avenues to restore these cuts.

The Administration will continue to monitor the changing federal and state fiscal picture and has indicated a strong willingness to revisit these reductions.

Other DDS cuts include reducing DDS administration by nearly $4 million by July 1, 2010, and a nearly $5 million reduction to state operated community programs.  Additionally the state facilities maintenance budget was reduced by over $9 million.

What is unknown is the impact of House Two proposed cuts, combined with FY 2010 9C cuts.  ADDP estimates that the negative impact to community programs could increase when those factors are counted in.

Good news in the Governor's House Two Budget: The Administration has backed off of its previous attempt to reduce Day Habilitation programs by 23%.  As you may recall, Mass Health had proposed in November to eliminate one hour per day of service, plus roll back the previously approved (February 2009) Day Habilitation rate. 

After extensive work by The Arc, the Day Hab Coalition and ADDP, Governor Patrick personally intervened and rescinded a $100 million Mass Health cut.  EOHHS officials had warned providers that this proposal would resurface in the Governor's House Two budget.  Numerous appeals to not include the Mass Health cuts were made to the Governor, EOHHS Secretary JudyAnn Bigby and A&F Secretary Jay Gonzalez.  Thus ADDP is pleased that the Governor did not allow this recommendation to resurface.

Can we restore these cuts?  Every effort will be with our supporters in the House and Senate to restore these cuts.  During the economic crisis, House and Senate leaders have continued to be responsive and concerned about supports and services for people with disabilities.  ADDP members will be encouraged to begin calling your local legislators to encourage them to protect people with disabilities during this troubling recession.
Where can more revenue be found?  The Governor and Legislature are expected to look for revenue in a variety of places including approving the Governor's sales tax exemption request, plus hoping for increased revenue coming from a recovering (hopefully) economy.

The Governor's budget is predicated on the Commonwealth receiving an infusion of $608 million from a Congressional extension of FMAP.  That number may be a conservative estimate.  The final amount of dollars received by the Commonwealth will depend on a mixture of factors including the State's unemployment level. 

If our unemployment level improves dramatically our FMAP share could be reduced to $500 million, if it is at a moderate level the State will receive $608 million; and if it gets worse then the Commonwealth will receive nearly $685 million in the six month FMAP extension (assuming Congress passes it). 

In an appearance before the ADDP Legislative Luncheon on Tuesday, Jan 26, Senator Richard Moore, President-Elect of the National Conference of State Legislatures, predicted that the Massachusetts share of extended FMAP would be the higher $685 million.  If that happens the Legislature would have $80 million more than conservatively estimated by the Administration.
 
Passage of extended FMAP remains critical to the human service community seeking to prevent deep human service cuts; and also essential to Massachusetts state legislators seeking to balance the Commonwealth's budget.  It is not a done deal, despite being passed twice by the U.S. House of Representatives.
 
Please call or write the Massachusetts U.S. Senate Delegation to urge passage of the FMAP extension.
 
To call Senator John Kerry, call (202) 224-2742.
 
To call interim Senator Paul Kirk call (202) 224-4543.
 
To contact Senator Elect Scott Brown, call (617) 722-1555 at his Massachusetts Senate Office.

Balance the Budget without taking from people with disabilities.

Unless the Massachusetts Legislature acts, over 1600 people with developmental disabilities will lose group homes, day & employment services, family & individual supports.


The state's current economic troubles have been particularly hard on people with disabilities.
 
Last year began with budgets offered by the Governor and Legislature that included cuts that ranged from $80 million to $200 million.  With strong leadership from Senate President Therese Murray, Speaker of the House Bob DeLeo, Ways & Means Chairs Rep. Charley Murphy and Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, those cuts were substantially reduced resulting in DDS cuts around $45 million.
 
As the year went on, 9C cuts threatened human service programs, including a proposed $100 million reduction in the Mass Health budget.  Families responded to these threats by bringing hundreds of consumers and family members to the State House as part of the "Vigil to Protect the Safety Net", which successfully convinced  Governor Deval Patrick to reverse proposed devastating 9C reductions.
 
But, here we are again at the outset of the budget debate, faced again with deep human service budget cuts that if enacted will cause over 240 people to lose their homes, 450 to lose their day & employment services, and over 1000 families to lose family, individual and respite supports.
 
The disability community continues to work hard to avert these cuts.  Disability advocates have diligently worked with legislators to find new revenue, to implement cost saving measures, and to convince our allies in Washington to send additional federal revenue to the Commonwealth.  Yet, our programs still remain on the chopping block.
 
The only path to restoring disability programs and saving people with disabilities and their families from these devastating consequences is with each member of the House and Senate.
 
Members of the Ways and Means Committee will have the most immediate say on how programs are funded, however the Chairs of both the House and Senate Committee meet with each individual legislator to get a sense of the priorities of each Member.
 
It is essential that each legislator place restoring disability programs at the top of their priority list.
 
Please call your legislator and schedule a personal visit to secure your legislator's support in restoring disability supports and services.
 
The office numbers of House Members can be found here.
The office numbers of Senate Members can be found here.
 
Please make a personal effort to speak with or visit your individual legislator.  If you do visit with your House or Senate member, please let the ADDP office know how the visit goes and if we can provide any follow up or support.
 
Supporters of restoring disability funding are also encouraged to send emails or personal letters to their legislators.
 
To send an instant email to your legislator you may use the ADDP Action Center by clicking here.
 
We must restore disability programs.  Balance the budget?  Yes, but not on the backs of people with disabilities.

Senate Ways & Means Budget Continues Cuts

People will lose homes, jobs, day services, family supports and HOPE

Despite assurances from individual Senators of their understanding and belief in community services for people with disabilities, it appears that the Senate Ways and Means Committee has produced a Committee recommendation that continues to allow some significant harm to the disability community, including...
DDS Residential Cuts:  The Senate budget fails to fully approve Governor Deval Patrick's errata amendment and leaves this program underfunded by $6 million, resulting in 100 people with developmental disabilities losing their current homes.

DDS Employment Cuts:  The Senate budget disallows the House partial restoration of day and employment services and will cause 450 people to lose their day services, job training and jobs, thus cutting $7 million from last year's appropriation for this account.

DDS Family Support Programs:  The Senate eliminates the House partial restoration and returns this program to the Governor's House Two level, cutting over $1.5 million, taking low cost family assistance programs from thousands of families struggling to keep their loved ones with disabilities at home.

Transportation Programs:  Cut by $400,000 from the House budget

MRC Extended Employment: The Senate's underfunding  of employment support services will leave 300 individuals with disabilities without their jobs. This represents a $5 million reduction since FY10 for this program.

MRC Head Injury Services: The Senate budget fails to remedy the critical underfunding of vital services to individuals with brain injury, leaving 100 people with a loss of services.

ADDP and our allies will be working closely with individual Senators to offer floor amendments to restore critical line items.

It is distressing to see the Senate Ways and Means Committee fail to take action on restoring these significant disability reductions;  particularly in light of the efforts of the disability community in bringing over $4 billion to the Commonwealth through Enhanced Medicaid for the last few years (including the six month extension).

ADDP and our allies will be closely monitoring the Senate budget debate and will be asking each Senator to go on record about restoring disability budgets.

ADDP Budget Restoration Priorities

President Obama Includes FMAP Extension in Budget

Several Governors and hundreds of state legislators across the country are breathing a sigh of relief this morning, having learned that President Barack Obama's FY 2011 Budget endorses and includes a $28 billion six month extension of Enhanced Medicaid (FMAP).  Without this provision, states would have been expected to make dramatic budget cuts this session to make up for the sudden loss of federal revenue which had previously sustained earlier recession budgets. The FMAP extension had earlier been passed twice (most recently in December 2009) by the U.S. House of Representatives, but got stalled in the Senate with the aftermath of the demise of the current Health Care Reform bill.
 
As reported in this morning's Wall Street Journal the FMAP extension has widespread and bipartisan support noting that "Even states with Republican governors who oppose the health bill factored it (enhanced FMAP) in their budgets".
 
Massachusetts stands to gain more than $608 million from the FMAP extension, and perhaps even more depending upon the Commonwealth's unemployment status.  If unemployment continues to be high, the state may gain an additional $85 to $90 million.
 
As reported earlier by ADDP, Governor Deval Patrick had been working closely with the President to secure the Administration's endorsement of continued enhanced Medicaid. Patrick's budget is predicated on Congress agreeing with the President's request and approving the FMAP extension.  With the combined support of the President, Democratic Congressional leaders, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Governor's Association - as well as national disability advocates such as Ancor and The Arc - passage of the FMAP provision seems more and more likely.
 
Despite the widespread support for the FMAP extension, the disability community is urged to continue calling the Massachusetts Senate delegation to urge adoption of the FMAP extension.  As we have learned from past experience, support for a rescue on Monday can be deflated by Tuesday.
 
Please call or write the Massachusetts U.S. Senate Delegation to urge passage of the FMAP extension.
 
To call Senator John Kerry, call (202) 224-2742.
 
To call interim Senator Paul Kirk call (202) 224-4543.
 
To contact Senator Elect Scott Brown, call (617) 722-1555 at his Massachusetts Senate Office.

Vigil to Protect Safety Net Continues


By Matthew Kaplan/Daily News Correspondent for the Daily News Tribune
Posted Oct 08, 2009 @ 11:45 PM

BOSTON - Calling for a moratorium on further cuts to services for the disabled, more than 100 protesters camped outside Gov. Deval Patrick's office Thursday, starting a five-day vigil they hope will spare the Department of Disability Services from additional cuts.

Made up of people from several advocacy groups, the demonstrators displayed white stickers with sayings such as "where will we go?" and "no service is no care," to request Patrick not cut services for more than 10,000 mentally and physically challenged people.

"There is no way to take that deep of a cut without sacrificing core services," said Gary Blumenthal, executive director of the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, a Waltham-based group that helped organize the vigil.

The Patrick administration announced last week a 212 million budget shortfall of the first fiscal quarter, raising expectations of a budget gap close to 1 billion for the fiscal year.

The vigil's organizers said they hoped Patrick would spare services provided the disabled, including day and respite care, family support and job programs. The group will stay outside the governor's office from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

"Essential services need to be a priority," said Joshua Komyerov, government affairs director for The Arc of Massachusetts, a Waltham-based disability advocacy group.

Leo Sarkissian, Massachusetts Arc executive director, said he had been warned of cuts of more than 150 million in talks with Patrick and Jean McGuire, an assistant secretary in the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

That 12 percent cut in the Department of Disability Services budget would cause the elimination of the 8,000 participant day employment program plus a 20 percent reduction in residential adult services, Sarkissian said.

Last fiscal year, Patrick cut 45 million from the DDS budget, Sarkissian said.

That meant that Riverside Community Care in Dedham went from serving more than 400 families to less than 60, said Loren Singer, developmental and cognitive disabilities division director.

She said the cuts eliminated services such as music and art therapy. Singer said the Dedham center used to receive over 1 million from DDS, but now only gets about 400,000.

Patrick met with about 40 vigil participants in his office. Patrick said he understood their concerns, but that he would also have to consider other demands on the shrinking state budget.

"I wish I had a magic wand, (but) I don't," Patrick told the group. "We have some serious issues to face."

Next Thursday, the governor's office will announce revenue numbers, and Patrick has until the end of the month to close budget gaps. "We are going to have to make cuts in the budget," Patrick said. "The question is where." The vigil's organizers said they advocated for the state to increase revenue, through taxes or federal funding, to prevent additional cuts.

Cyndi Roy, a spokeswoman for the state Office of Administration and Finance, said the office will not consider specific cuts until after Oct. 15, but that cuts will happen and nothing has been ruled out.

"We've already cut so far down to the bone," she said. "There's not much left we where) we can go."

Note from ADDP:
The 9C & FY 11 cuts will reflect and reveal the Governor's priorities. You may want to call the Governor's office to let him know how you feel about these pending cuts. His office can be reached by calling 617.725.4005 or you may send an instant email by clicking onto the ADDP Action Center.

Nation Focuses on Massachusetts


Developmental Disabilities Vigil Discussed Throughout Nation

For the last week and a half hundreds of consumers, family members, advocates, professionals and friends of people with developmental disabilities have held a vigil in the office of Governor Deval Patrick appealing to the Governor to spare disability programs from destabilizing 9C budget cuts.

The vigil, led by The Arc of Massachusetts and Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change (MFOFC) has been written about in news stories and blogs across the nation, including the LA Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Wall Street Journal, Sacramento Bee, Real Clear Politics, Salon.com, and other papers across the nation, as well as Massachusetts.

Many national disability advocates see Massachusetts as a bell weather state for human service compassion, thus there is national concern over the possibility of Massachusetts wounding its own safety net for vulnerable citizens.

BY GLEN JOHNSON, The Associated Press

BOSTON - In Massachusetts, freefalling tax revenue will mean no more dental and hospice care for legal immigrants. Maryland is closing a mental health center. And Illinois has $2.9 billion in unpaid bills.

As bad as state budget-cutting was during the past year, a report issued Thursday showed it's bound to be even worse in the coming months. Despite signs of improvement in the national economy, many states' finances are still dismal.

The relentless cutbacks have become so worrisome that advocates of disability programs conducted a weeklong sit-in in the lobby of the Massachusetts governor's office.

"The cuts are going to be so deep that what it's going to mean is that thousands of people are cut loose," said Rita Harris, whose 29-year-old son has Down syndrome and had his work program cut from five days to two last year. She is afraid of what's next.

Thursday's report by the Rockefeller Institute of Government showed second-quarter tax revenues in the 50 states dropped a record 16.6 percent, or 200 billion. Every state but Vermont, which had a one-time estate tax settlement, saw sales, personal income and corporate tax receipts fall during the quarter. Thirty-six states reported double-digit declines.

Compounding the pain is that many states have already tapped their rainy day funds. Any support they have received from the federal stimulus package runs out at the end of the next fiscal year. And the easy budget cuts already have been made.

All that is bad news for governors and state legislators who have been reluctant to cut deeper for fear of angering constituents.

"They want to be able to hold to the commitments they have made, so they hold onto optimistic tax forecasts. That leads to revenue shortfalls when the reality hits," said Joe Henchman of the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy think tank in Washington.

Some states such as Indiana used rainy day and federal stimulus money "for one-time expenses while they got their house in order," he said.

"But many states used this money to maintain the status quo and put off hard choices."

Illinois, he added, "taped together a temporary budget and kicked the can down the road."

In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick announced that revenue could be as much as 600 million below projections for the entire fiscal year, forcing even greater cuts than he made last year, including eliminating dental and hospice care for immigrants who have green cards.

Illinois already has a backlog of 2.9 billion in unpaid bills. And in Maryland, the state plans to close a mental health center that serves five rural counties.

"We are fighting for our lives," said Tonya Rider, assistant to the director of the Upper Shore Community Mental Health Center in Chestertown. "We are fighting for the patients' lives. You get frustrated and tired and you just think, 'I can't fight anymore,' but you have to."

Peggy Russell, director of the Williamson County Family Crisis Center in Herrin, Ill., became alarmed last year when payments from two state grants worth 100,000 arrived months late. The grants covered two-thirds of the 22-bed homeless shelter's annual budget. She used donations to cover the gap.

"I was getting really panicky," Russell recalled. "I was really getting scared. I wrote some desperation letters, and all funding is in place now. We will be able to stay open until April."

After four rounds of budget-cutting, Massachusetts increased its sales tax by 25 percent to balance its budget this year. It didn't work. The governor has now appointed a team to develop revised revenue benchmarks for the rest of the fiscal year.

In New York, Gov. David Paterson ordered 500 million in cuts, including deep reductions in the university system and correctional services.

In Nebraska, Republican Gov. Dave Heineman has called a special legislative session next month. Lawmakers are expected to target agencies and services that are usually spared budget cuts.

"We're going to have to go everywhere, and I mean everywhere," said state Sen. Lavon Heidemann, chairman of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee. "We have taken all the easy stuff."

In Oklahoma, the director of the Office of State Finance ordered 5 percent cuts to state agencies for September and October. Now state leaders are considering tapping their 600 million rainy day fund, as well as 600 million in federal stimulus money they had been reserving for the 2011 fiscal year, which starts July 1.

"All options are on the table," Democratic Gov. Brad Henry said.

AP Photo / Steven Senne
Roseann Adamian, of Watertown, Mass., right, a client at a non-profit organization for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, passes time reading while participating in weeklong occupation of the lobby of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's office, at the Statehouse in Boston, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. Adamian joined with others , including mental health advocates, in the sit-in to express their concern about expected state budget cuts. A report released Thursday by the Rockefeller Institute of Government showed second-quarter 2009 tax revenues in the 50 states dropped a record 16.6 percent, or 200 billion.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press.

Clinging to an unraveling safety net



By Joan Vennochi, The Boston Globe | October 22, 2009

This is the sorry state of Massachusetts 2009.

The Bay State’s most vulnerable citizens - those with physical disabilities, intellectual challenges, and autism - are sitting vigil right outside the governor’s office.

Their message: please don’t cut our funding. One more thread snipped from their safety net, and life as they know it, starts to unravel.

What happens next will reveal how many people outside their world believe them - and care.

Governor Deval Patrick met several times with the rotating band of advocates camped out in front of his office over the past two weeks. When he is unavailable, a surrogate does the honors. On Monday, about two dozen supplicants lined up in the hallway, as requested by Andrew London, a Patrick aide. As they pleaded their case, a lobbyist and a lawmaker or two stepped around them.

Raymond Plouffe tells London that until he was 42, he lived in Fernald, a residential institution for the severely mentally disabled. Now 74, Plouffe lives in Waltham, with his wife, Nancy, who also has developmental delays. They are as independent as they can be, and hope to stay that way, with assistance from Work Community Independence, a Waltham-based nonprofit, which relies on state funding.

Joseph Realbuto, of the May Institute in Mashpee, stands with a dozen young men and women with autism or brain injuries. “These are people who can never, ever be alone. Any cuts will dismantle our services,’’ he tells London.

Rhonda Lesanto’s 36-year-old sister, Heather, lives in a group home in Waltham. “We’ve seen her blossom there,’’ she tells London. “To take her back would devastate her.’’ Yet Lesanto worries that personnel cuts could undercut her sister’s safety.

“These are difficult decisions. There are no easy answers,’’ replies London. “The governor knows it’s about people, not line items. I can’t promise you much, but we’re listening.’’

The budget crunch comes at an awkward time. Patrick, who is up for reelection in 2010, expects to get a boost tomorrow, when his friend, President Obama, is scheduled to visit Massachusetts. On one hand, Patrick is telling citizens the state is “poised’’ for recovery. Yet, he also warned that revenue could fall as much as 600 million below projections.

“There are some things we do in state government . . . that we are not going to be able to do anymore,’’ the governor said.

The Bay State’s “disability community’’ includes about 30,000 residents who rely on state funding for a variety of basic services. They range from round-the-clock care at state-run residential facilities to group homes, from employment and transportation programs to respite care and family support. Advocates hear that the Patrick administration may slice 40 million to 60 million from the state’s 1.2 billion human services budget before the end of the year. Budget cuts for the next fiscal year could lop off another 10 to 15 percent.

Those projections affect more than those with disabilities. Higher education, public health, and local aid are all on the chopping block. As the pie shrinks, everyone is fighting for a piece of what’s left.

Leo Sarkissian, executive director of The Arc of Massachusetts, an advocacy group for people with disabilities, said Patrick is listening carefully to those who show up in his office. Next week, advocates will transfer their vigil from the governor’s office to the offices of House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray.

But Sarkissian worries that the public and some lawmakers suffer from “crisis fatigue’’ or worse - a willingness to look past the weakest.

“How many are ready to redefine government? That scares me even more,’’ said Sarkissian.

People everywhere are more cynical about government and more suspicious of the effectiveness of government-funded programs. Threatened budget cuts are often viewed as scare tactics, designed to manipulate the public into accepting more taxes.

These are tough times. The recession and job loss that accompanied it threw many reasonably comfortable families into survival mode. When a family’s income plummets, it becomes harder to think about those who have less and need more.

But that’s what the Commonwealth needs to do. It needs to keep the safety net as strong as possible for the weakest. Keeping that commitment will say a lot about the state of Massachusetts.

Joan Vennochi can be reached at vennochi@globe.com. © Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

Innovation & Collaboration in Fall River


ADDP member organization People Inc. was recently in the news. Below is an article from the Fall River Herald News.

Diman High School students finish new home for People Inc.
By Derek Vital, Herald News Staff Reporter

Thanks to the students at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, four clients from People Inc. have a new place to call home. The students built a 2,800- square-foot ranch house with four bedrooms and 2½ baths at 31 Ling St., off the west end of Wilson Road. It is the first fully handicapped-accessible home built by the Diman students, who spent the entire school year on the project.

“It’s the type of learning that can’t take place in a classroom,” said Thomas F. Aubin, vocational coordinator at Diman. “It ties the kids into the community and opens up their world, exposing them to people with disabilities. It’s such a wonderful project.”

People Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Canuel was so pleased with the project that he agreed to have Diman build another home for his organization during the upcoming school year. The new residence will be located at the corner of Read Street and Lees River Avenue in Somerset and will have a similar setup to the house they just completed.

“The collaboration has been about what is really good about our community,” said Canuel. “Two organizations that wouldn’t typically interact with each other are finding so many different ways to work together. The house is the shining example of what we were able to do.”

The home features ramps at both the front and rear entrances, overhead tracking and extra-wide hallways and doorways to accommodate individuals that use wheelchairs. There is also a four-foot-high bathtub which permits easy access for people with disabilities.

“We’ve never built anything like this,” said Canuel. “It is such a desired home for the people we work with.”

Canuel said he toured the house with Elin Howe, commissioner of the Department of Developmental Services. Howe was so impressed with the work of the Diman students that she inquired about developing relationships with other vocational schools so they could build similar houses in other parts of the state.

Canuel estimates he saved between $200,000 and $300,000 in building this house compared to what other organizations are spending using for-profit contractors.

Approximately 100 students participated in the project, including crews from home building, electrical, plumbing, facilities management, drafting, sheet metal and heating, ventilation and air conditioning shops. Diman has been building homes for people in the communities of Fall River, Westport, Somerset and Swansea since the early 1970s.

Under the watchful eye of house and mill carpentry department head Stephen Marciszyn, Diman students logged countless hours on the project, learning first-hand the tricks of the trade while also making the lives of disabled people a whole lot easier.

Mark Duval, director of residential support services for People, Inc., said the project was a huge benefit for both his organization and the Diman students.

“What we are doing here is giving the residents an opportunity to live independently and continue to be active, involved members of the community,” said Duval. “The best part for me was seeing these kids come back today thinking,‘this is the house we built.’ It was really a win-win situation.”

Copyright © 2009 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved.

The Loss of the Lion

ADDP Executive Director Gary Blumenthal remarks on the death of Senator Kennedy

The passing of Senator Edward Kennedy was not unexpected. Still, his death brings grief to millions throughout the nation who benefited from his compassion, wisdom and legislative expertise.

Senator Kennedy's legacy is immense.

For people with disabilities, it is impossible to think of every gain we have made over the last fifty years without the name Kennedy associated to each victory.

To list each contribution from the Senator is impossible. Major highlights include: the Americans with Disabilities Act; the I.D.E.A, which brought education to millions denied educational opportunities and services by their home community; funding which established community mental health and community mental retardation centers in the 60's, 70's and 80's; the Family Opportunity Act that enabled families of children with disabilities to purchase health coverage through Medicaid; the Children's Health Insurance Program; COBRA, which allowed insurance to continue post employment - these are but a few of his notable Senate victories.

Perhaps the senator's greatest legacy is the profound joy and hope he conveyed to people without power and without influence.

For millions of people with disabilities and their families, for millions of people struggling to survive in a diminishing economy, for millions of people living through the hurt and pain of injustice, he represented hope. Senator Kennedy made social justice an honorable and enduring cause. He insured that the hopes and dreams of every American were respected.

I was fortunate to be at the Democratic National Convention to hear his "The Dream Shall Never Die" speech. Those words still stir generations of Americans to pursue social justice. The Senator's voice and advice then still resonates as he urged America:

"The commitment I seek is not to outworn views but to old values that will never wear out. Programs may sometimes become obsolete, but the ideal of fairness always endures. Circumstances may change, but the work of compassion must continue. It is surely correct that we cannot solve problems by throwing money at them, but it is also correct that we dare not throw out our national problems onto a scrap heap of inattention and indifference. The poor may be out of political fashion, but they are not without human needs. The middle class may be angry, but they have not lost the dream that all Americans can advance together."

Rest in peace Senator, for the dream shall never die. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.

ADDP Honors Direct Support Professionals Sept. 14-20


The American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) recently announced a US Senate resolution promoting the importance of Direct Service Professionals, and designated the week of Sept. 14 as National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week.

Massachusetts senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry were both co-sponsors of the resolution, which reads in part:

"The United States Senate... recognizes the dedication and vital role of direct support professionals in enhancing the lives of individuals with disabilities of all ages... and finds that the successful implementation of the public policies of the United States depends on the dedication of direct support professionals."

ADDP is delighted to support this resolution and encourages member organizations to take part in the celebration.

ANCOR suggests providers set aside some time aside for activities during the week of September 14,2009 to honor and recognize the significant contributions of support professionals who bring dignity to the lives of people with developmental disabilities.

Launched in 2001, the mission of ANCOR's National Advocacy Campaign is to enhance the lives of people with disabilities by obtaining the resources to recruit, train and retain a sustainable direct support workforce.

To learn more about ANCOR's national activities, ADDP Members are invited to attend a Membership Meeting on Friday, September 18 at 9:30 am, to hear guest speaker Suellen Galbraith, National Legislative Director for ANCOR.

ABOUT ANCOR: The American Network of Community Options and Resources is a national association representing more than 850 private providers of community living and employment supports and services to more than 385,000 individuals with disabilities. ANCOR successfully addresses the needs and interests of private providers before Congress and federal agencies.

A deficit of decency

by Adrian Walker, Globe Columnist

June 23, 2009 (c) The Boston Globe Company

The painful state budget hammered out last week left Gary Blumenthal shaking his head.

The executive director of the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers is a veteran of the State House budget wars, and he certainly knows the state is in a recession. But this budget, he said, will be a disaster for the disabled people he represents.

"Our folks are trying to make the best of a bad situation," he said yesterday. "The Commonwealth is in fiscal decline and our guys are doing everything they can. In the long run, this will cause more problems for families."

This budget season was not supposed to be a bloodbath for the disabled.

There was hope, in large part because the state was due to receive a windfall in the form of increased Medicaid reimbursements from Washington.

In fact, last spring lawmakers enlisted advocates to help lobby for more healthcare money from Washington, and it is arriving. The state is now reimbursed for 60 percent of its Medicaid costs, up from 50 percent. That change in formula has brought 90 million in additional money to the state coffers so far.

But there are virtually no rules for what it is spent on, and the state has a lot of budget needs to address. So only a fraction of it is headed for healthcare, and almost none of it will go to the agencies that helped fight for it.

It has gone instead into the state's general fund, to be spent on whatever.

"What has happened is that the state has been more than willing to take the enhanced Medicaid dollars to fill budget holes," Blumenthal said. "They have been reluctant to tie those dollars to the programs that helped generate those dollars."

The same advocates who argued for more Medicaid money also successfully fought for a sales tax increase, believing that only higher revenues could save their programs. The sales tax may be going up, but, again, the money would be earmarked for other purposes.

The impact on the developmentally disabled will be direct and immediate. Roughly 4,500 families will lose state aid that helps them care for the disabled at home. Employment and job training programs have been cut.

All this for a community that was underserved even before the cuts.

Legislative leaders say that they did the best they could, under trying circumstances. Senator Stephen Pangiotakos, the Senate Ways and Means chairman, said yesterday he fought as long as he could to save the programs that are being slashed.

Pangiotakos noted that revenue projections have declined by 1.5 billion since the House passed its budget.

"They weren't cut in the first or the second round, but once we were left with cutting 1.5 billion further, we had no choice," he said. "There had to be some shared sacrifice."

Pangiotakos is no doubt being sincere when he says he feels bad about this. But the budget is a statement of priorities, and disabled people are expendable unless they are suing someone. One of the few accounts that is going up in the Department of Mental Retardation budget is the direct result of a court judgment, which is too often the case.

It?s easy - far too easy - to paint lawmakers as villains when they are dealing with the worst fiscal crisis in well over a decade. But legislators routinely drone on about their commitment to the most vulnerable among us in public, while failing to follow through in private. This is just a particularly blatant example.

For now, the damage is done, and there is no path that is expected to lead to a reversal.

"I certainly pray that the economy will turn around," Blumenthal said. "Working the Legislature has had limited effect. Maybe prayer is the next move."

Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at walker@globe.com.
(c) Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

Budget Cuts Likely to Cost Federal Dollars & Cause Courts to Intervene

FY 11 Choices May Backfire on Commonwealth

As the Governor and the Legislature ready themselves to face the grim prospect of balancing the upcoming FY 2011 budget, it seems evident that the State will continue to face massive budget problems.

Last week an analysis by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation suggested that the Commonwealth may still face a 500 million shortfall for the current year's budget and a likely  3 Billion hole in next year's FY 11 budget. 

This stark prediction comes on the heels of the Legislature withholding its consent to give the Governor expanded 9C budget cutting authority allowing the executive to trim budgets other than ones under his direct authority.  Human service advocates support expanded authority hoping that such an expansion would result in more than human service programs be chopped to achieve a balanced budget for the current year.

As the Administration is putting the finishing touches on its FY 2011-House Two budget to be released in late January 2010, Beacon Hill is giving consideration to the concept of "shared sacrifice" which simply put suggests that all budget areas should accept an across the board cut in the range of 10 to 15 percent.

Such an approach may be deceptively simple but in reality may cause toxic outcomes for the Commonwealth.

By cutting across the board to all programs the state runs the risk of causing itself further harm by jeopardizing its lifeline to federal Medicaid matching dollars.

An across the board cut doesn't work for agencies that generate federal matching funds.

By cutting Executive Office of Health and Human Service programs, such as Developmental Disabilities Services, Day Habilitation, Residential, Employment or Family Supports that generate federal matching dollars, also know as FMAP dollars, the state will further aggravate its own bottom line by reducing the amount of federal dollars that come into the Commonwealth treasury.

A recent $100 million Mass Health (Medicaid) budget cut, wisely overturned by Governor Deval Patrick's direct intervention, illustrates this point.  The 100 million Mass Health (Medicaid) cut would have cost the state treasury nearly 62 million in federal matching funds, since during this recession federal matching dollars are at 62 percent.  This means that with 100 million in Mass Health (Medicaid) spending, Massachusetts tax resources are only spending 38 million while the federal government is supplying 62 million.  Even a high school economics student could tell you that type of cut  would be budget nonsense.

Thus legislators would be wise to carefully reject EOHHS, DDS, MRC or Mass Health cuts that further diminish or jeopardize federal Medicaid (FMAP) funds.

The other toxic outcome from across the board cuts is the effect on U.S. Federal Court Agreements that have bound the State to uphold Court Orders in several landmark lawsuits that have been successfully waged against the Commonwealth.

Those lawsuits have essential agreements that require the State to provide quality supports and services in the community that are either "equal to or better" than services found in state institutional settings.  Budget cutting proposals that impair the community from providing quality services may give consumers and families a strong case of the Commonwealth violating those Court Orders.  Other states that have violated U.S. Federal Court Orders have frequently found themselves losing control of budget decisions to the Courts.  This certainly is a scenario that state legislators and the Governor will want to avoid. 

Going ape over animals

by Yvonne Abraham, Globe Columnist

August 2, 2009 (c) The Boston Globe Company

Forget the pack of pols who want his job. Governor Deval Patrick's clock just got cleaned by a bunch of furry animals.

Technically, it was the furry animals' keepers who bested him. They're the ones who said legions of adorable, exotic creatures would be euthanized if the governor didn't reverse deep budget cuts to the Franklin Park and Stone zoos. Much local and national braying ensued.


The zoo officials issued a kind-of clarification a few days later, conceding that, while Curious George might, in fact, have to meet his maker, his demise was not exactly imminent, even with the budget cuts.

But by then, the zebra had bolted the barn. The zoos' gamble that a life-or-death alarm about cute critters would elevate their needs above those of countless other budget victims paid off.

Legislative leaders jumped in to say they would override Patrick's veto and restore funding. The way the thing played out, our governor's public image landed just a couple of notches above Michael Vick's.

People get very passionate about animals. Even more than about people, sometimes. If we run a story about, say, a kitten getting stashed in a mailbox, people go ga-ga, e-mailing it like mad, posting outraged reactions. Cruelty to animals makes them angry, and rightly so. Still, people don't seem to get nearly as mad about most street crime, when the victims are people.

Last week, the outrage paid off, as the House and Senate voted to return 2.5 million to the zoos of the 4 million Patrick had nixed. The governor will probably allow most, if not all, of the put-back, and is working with the zoos on a long-term plan for survival.

All of this, though the pay-up-or-Bambi-gets-it threat turned out to be bogus.

Some of the other folks whose funding got slashed in this year's budget bloodbath wish they had dreamed up a strategy like that.

For example, Gary Blumenthal, who heads a group called the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, has been breaking his back trying to undo the damage budget cuts have inflicted on his clients, who lost 45 million in this budget. That means 600 people with mental disabilities who used to have jobs will not have them. And 6,000 families who used to get a break from caring for their disabled children for a few hours a week no longer have any prospect of an affordable respite.

Now he is kicking himself for failing to incorporate animals into his pitch. "It makes you wonder how can you suddenly find money for the zoo, but not for people with disabilities," Blumenthal says. "It's hard not to feel discouraged."

There are scores of other advocates out there, who begged the governor and legislators to undo cuts that would hurt battered women, immigrants, social workers, and others. They were all told there was no money, that, as awful as it is, everybody would have to share the pain. The bogus deathwatch put the zoos ahead of those who made their cases honestly, on the merits.

Now, I love animals as much as the next person. And I agree that zoos are wonderful, especially for urban families who need affordable local escapes. But their cause is no more worthy than many of the others hurt in this budget.

Sure, 2.5 million is short money in a 27 billion budget. But the zoo fiasco has cost the state much more than that. Because of it, thousands of vulnerable families are now convinced this Commonwealth thinks more highly of fuzzy bears than of them.

That has taught at least one advocate a valuable lesson going into the next budget process.

"I'm 6-foot-5," Blumenthal says.

"Next year, I'm thinking of testifying dressed as a giraffe."

Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.

Where did $4 Billion in federal Medicaid money go?

Since the passage of the American Recovery and Revitalization Act (ARRA) of 2009 (also known as the Stimulus Act), the Commonwealth has received nearly $4 Billion in Enhanced Medicaid (FMAP), intended by Congress and the President to help states maintain health and human service programs, as well as balance state budgets.
Where did $4 Billion in federal Medicaid money go?

Since the passage of the American Recovery and Revitalization Act (ARRA) of 2009 (also known as the Stimulus Act), the Commonwealth has received nearly $4 Billion in Enhanced Medicaid (FMAP), intended by Congress and the President to help states maintain health and human service programs, as well as balance state budgets.
 
Massachusetts decision makers have used the Enhanced Medicaid for uses far beyond health and human services.  Administration and legislative leaders freely acknowledge that without these dollars, the last two budgets, plus the pending FY 11 budget would never have been balanced.  In fact, the FY 11 budget alone is dependent upon $1.2 Billion in Enhanced FMAP, including $690 million from the original stimulus and $608 from an expected six month extension of FMAP.  ADDP and the Arc-US, along with Ancor, have been extensively involved in it's passage.
 
How can the Commonwealth accept Enhanced FMAP meant for health and human services and divert to other areas of the budget? 

A little known fact about Massachusetts budgeting is, unlike the other 49 states, the Commonwealth deposits all Medicaid receipts into the state treasury and the treats the money as if it is just one more revenue source.  Thus, there is no direct connection between programs that generate FMAP dollars and those that receive those dollars.  Ironically, DDS has generated an additional $100 million due to formula changes with enhanced FMAP, while simultaneously being cut  by over $60 million in the last two years.
 
ADDP and our sister human service advocates will be appealing to members of the Senate to note the incongruity of accepting enhanced FMAP while cutting the human service safety net. It is hoped that Senators will be willing to direct a small portion of the Enhanced FMAP to disability programs to reflect the intention of these funds.  Additionally a number of EOHHS programs, including DDS, are being encouraged to modify their programs to generate even more federal dollars.   We hope that Commonwealth decision makers will devote these funds to the programs that are being changed to bring in these additional dollars.

Hundreds turn out for CORI reform

Governor Patrick & Mayor Menino Urge Reform

Hundreds of Commonwealth citizens turned out on Monday, July 27 to urge the Legislature to revamp its criminal background verification system to increase the likelihood that Commonwealth citizens who have repaid their debt to society, can be hired into jobs in which they pose no serious threat to the public safety or people whom they might serve.

The state's system known as CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) has long troubled supporters who want lawmakers to shorten the amount of time a CORI record is open, calling for a reduction from the current 10 years for a misdemeanor and 15 for a felony down to three for a misdemeanor and seven for a felony. Supporters of CORI reform, including Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino believe that the current length of open record time prevents people who made youthful errors, resulting in convictions, the target of punitive treatment by employers despite many years of a clean record and productive contributions to the community.

The current bills under consideration include competing House and Senate versions. House Bill No. 4107 would use technology to improve access to information for all parties and speed the return of CORI data to employers.

Current CORI law has placed providers under adverse conditions by requiring that human service providers hire candidates pending the outcome of a successful CORI report; however the Department of Public Safety has been inordinately slow in returning data back to providers. As a result, come providers have had to wait as long as six weeks for a completed CORI report to be returned.

Without a timely CORI report providers are burdened with higher costs, not being able to fully utilize a newly hired employee, thus having to provide "double coverage" in some situations where new employees would not be eligible to carry out essential tasks that require proof of a clean record.

HB 4107 would speed the return of CORI reports by providing increased technology to expand employers' access to accurate, instant, and relevant criminal records for public safety purposes, while at the same time giving rehabilitated offenders the opportunity to monitor the dissemination of their CORI and to be considered for employment based on their individual merits.

The other bill under consideration, Senate Bill 1608 builds on the recent CORI changes that may seem desirable to community members but may prove to be onerous to human service providers. Recently enacted CORI reforms and SB 1608 would require employers to offer a positions before the employer receives CORI information.

This is particularly worrisome for human service providers who employ direct care staff required to transport people to events, medical appointments, and activities in the community and are thus vulnerable to the one on one contact with each and every staff member. Direct care staff also handle controlled substances under MAP, handle people's money and have access to their financial, entitlement information, personal information such as social security numbers and bank account numbers and all other personal assets.

Community providers believe that our staff should be held to a higher standard than other jobs that have no or limited access to such personal information.

ADDP members are believe that state law and administrative procedures should be sensitive to the needs of people with developmental disabilities. Our programs are particularly concerned about protecting people with developmental disabilities from any potential abuse including verbal, physical or financial.

Providers believe client/consumer safety is paramount and believe it is reasonable to ask the Legislature to exempt developmental disabilities providers from the immediate hiring provisions of this bill and current law until the Commonwealth can guarantee instant CORI information to employers.

State's Progressive Legacy Lost in Budget Crisis


Editorial by ADDP executive director Gary Blumenthal, published Friday, June 12 in MetroWest Daily News and Waltham Daily News Tribune

Twice in my life I have been member of a distinct minority. Beginning in 1982, I was elected to the Kansas Legislature six times, a liberal Democrat in the Kansas House. The second is more recent - now a resident of Massachusetts, I am a fan of the legislators on Beacon Hill and the legislative process.

Growing up outside of Kansas City, I had few local role models to emulate. Instead, my inspiration came from the great progressives in the Northeast, giants with names like Kennedy and O'Neill, whose politics may have been local, but whose reach and influence were national, even global.

It was their policies of taking care of the most vulnerable - the poor, elderly and disabled - that inspired me to run for public office. Focusing on issues affecting people living with development disabilities, my career took me from Kansas to the Clinton Administration to various positions around the country. When I was hired to run the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers in Massachusetts in January 2007, I was thrilled to be coming to a state with such tremendous history.

But the progressive Massachusetts I grew to love may have been more image than reality. As the state's fiscal resources have dwindled, I worry that the heart and soul of progressive Massachusetts, and the health and safety of the most vulnerable people in the Commonwealth, may be sacrificed.

The current effort to balance the budget is particularly disheartening for people with disabilities. Unless the conference committee supports the House version of developmental disabilities programs, plus adds another 15.2 million, nearly 8,700 of the state's most vulnerable citizens will be tossed aside and lose essential day and employment services.

What is most shocking is disability advocates have done everything by the book to save our programs. At their urging, President Obama and Congress inserted a provision in the Stimulus Bill to bring millions of dollars to Massachusetts to protect human services programs.

When legislators complained they couldn't pass a sales tax increase unless we convinced the public that it was needed, we wrote thousands of letters, marched thousands to the State House and promised to help legislators explain their pro-tax vote at election time. Despite this, disability programs have been cut and on July 1, thousands of people will lose services.

While I have worked closely with some truly committed professionals, both within the Legislature and the Administration, my faith has been tested by others. While there have been some heroes in the Legislature such as Speaker of the House Bob DeLeo, Reps. Tom Sannicandro and Barbara L'Italien, and Senators Karen Spilka and Fred Berry, who have fought gallantly on behalf of people with disabilities, I have been saddened to see the Commonwealth collect millions of dollars, and then turn and use that money for other "priorities."

Thousands of people with disabilities and their families are discouraged. Time and again, disabilities services get cut by budget officials, denied the funding for essential services that were the triggers to lure the money here in the first place.

Just last week, we learned that 90 million in enhanced Medicaid funds generated by developmental disabilities programs will instead "be diverted for general state spending."

People living with disabilities are more than used to being on the short end of budget appropriations. They are ignored when the economy is strong and the state is flush with revenue, and they are among the first to be cut when times, like now, are exceptionally lean.

But there is precious little left to cut. Thousands will soon be cut off from essential services needed for their livelihood and their survival if basic funding is not restored. We can't be told the money isn't there - it is. People with disabilities helped bring it here.

For me, more than a thousand miles away, Massachusetts was a beacon of all that was good and caring. But the view is a lot different, a lot less inspiring, the closer you get.

What will be the legacy of our Legislators?

As the Budget Conference Committee gets down this week to working out the final details of the FY 2010 budget, we will soon learn the fate of thousands of Commonwealth citizens with developmental disabilities.

The House of Representatives passed budget restored Family Support cuts that had been recommended by the Governor, but regrettably underfunded Day and Employment Services (line item 5920-2025) by 7.4 million.

This cut will force over 500 people with disabilities to lose services and the forced layoff of 214 direct support professionals.

When combined with the Governor's elimination of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission Extended Employment Program, the number of people with disabilities losing service is increased by 474 people, bringing the total to 974.
On top of that 740 will lose transportation services.

The Senate budget has a much worse outcome for people with disabilities. Day and Employment is short 13.1 million, cutting 908 people from service, laying off 379 direct support professionals. Respite and Family Support is cut another 13 million cutting 6600 people from service.

Consumers, family members and disability advocates are in a continued state of panic and anger over this year's budget developments.

The disability community feels disheartened by this year's developments. When the Governor proposed his deep budget cuts, we worked closely with the Obama White House, our national organizations, and the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation to secure a crucial provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to increase Medicaid Reimbursements to each state. The goal of this provision was two fold: preserving safety net programs and helping legislators balance state budgets, along with the over all goal of the ARRA to preserve jobs.

The ARRA Enhanced Medicaid Reimbursement has brought another 90 million to the State generated by Department of Developmental Services programs, however it appears that our programs are not receiving the benefit from this increase. Instead, it appears that Enhanced Medicaid is going everywhere but to the programs that have generated those increases and rather than receiving an increase of it's portion of increased Medicaid, DDS services and supports are being cut up to 70 million.

When the House and Senate considered increasing the sales tax, legislators asked disability advocates to take the lead in educating the public about the need for a tax increase. Disability advocates wrote thousands of emails to legislators, hundreds of letters to the editor, and dozens of op eds across the state. ADDP and The Arc brought over 2000 people to the State House in one of the largest demonstrations in state history for a tax increase. Legislators explained their pro-tax votes as a vote to save our services and have asked us to help them explain their pro-tax vote at election time.

And still we have been cut.

ADDP will continue to ask the Budget Conference Committee to approve the House DDS line items and provide an additional 15.2 million or an agreement for a FY 2010 Supplemental to maintain current services.

We will continue to ask the Governor and the Legislature to explain "why construction stimulus dollars must be used for construction, highway stimulus dollars must be used for highways, energy stimulus dollars must be reserved for energy projects but safety net dollars, in the form of Enhanced Medicaid Reimbursement, don't have to be spent on safety net programs, such as DDS."

On June 9, 2009, Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby will testify before the Joint Committee on Federal Stimulus Oversight, addressing the state's use of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as well as formula and competitive grants offered by the health and human services departments. The committee has asked Bigby to testify about how much the state can expect from the federal government, and for a breakdown of the stimulus' effect on Medicaid funding. The Committee does not plan to take public testimony, however ADDP members will be in attendance to urge Legislators to not treat us like the date all dressed up for the prom but stood up for the final event.

We'll be there wearing our Prom carnations and sharing a few carnations with legislators to remind them to not take people with disabilities for granted.

We need all of DDS Community line items restored.

The Commonwealth's fiscal problems should never be balanced on the backs of thousands of Commonwealth citizens with disabilities.