Don’t Cut Help for Those With Disabilities

To the Editor:

In recent weeks we have heard from Governor Paterson that the state fiscal crisis is getting worse and that budget cuts need to be made this year and more next year. There is no doubt that cuts in state spending need to be made, but not on the backs of people with disabilities.

The Governor’s Deficit Reduction Plan calls for a reduction of 10% in OMRDD funding for this year. OMRDD is the state regulatory agency that funds services for people with developmental disabilities and supports programs and services at Madison Cortland ARC. A 10% cut may not sound like much, but at Madison Cortland ARC this will devastate our programs and will call for a reduction in services that we provide to people.

There was a time in recent history that people with disabilities were shunned and the only option was institutional care. We fought for the closure of institutions and inclusion in the community. As a result we learned that people with developmental disabilities, if given the necessary supports, can be valued members of our community. Now programs and services at Madison Cortland ARC are at risk.

Many of the people we care for require care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. At ARC we provide 24 hour care to 100 people, but the other 700 people we provide services for are cared for by family members. What are they to do when services are cut?

I am asking for your help to contact Governor Paterson, and our representatives in the State Senate and Assembly to stop these cuts. Many of the proposed cuts in state funding also has a federal dollar match. So for every dollar cut in state funding we will lose $ 1.61 in federal dollars and in some cases more.

This is a moral issue. Please tell the Governor that New York State has a constitutional responsibility to take care of our most vulnerable citizens.

Sincerely,

Ray Lewandowski
Executive Director
Madison Cortland ARC

One Comment on "Don’t Cut Help for Those With Disabilities"

Patrick McGrath on Thu, 5th Nov 2009 11:11 am

Ray is spot on with his comments. I operate a program in Rochester, NY that will be affected in the same fashion. One of our member agencies completed a study that projected 10,300 jobs lost due to the 10% cut, and that did not take into consideration the federal dollar match. The majority of jobs that we provide are low-paying, direct care positions. These people are on the margin as it is, so a loss of a job will have the end result of receiving subsidized benefits that the state will shoulder.

Our agency prides itself on maintaining a low overhead cost of 11%, and we are striving to reduce it further. Our main expenses for operation are staff salaries and inventory (food for the homes being the largest inventory expense). So, for every dollar that the state invests, it is matched by $1.61. Take out our overhead for operations, and that is $2.33 that goes back out into the community in the form of staff salaries and our agency’s spending in the community. We have always been an economic stimulus program!

Please do as Ray says and contact Governor Paterson and our reps in the Senate and Assembly.

A sister organization has created this website that sums up the position of many providers of service to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities:

http://savemyomrdd.org

Patrick J. McGrath
Executive Director
Grace Community Services
Rochester, NY

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Don’t Cut Help for Those With Disabilities

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