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URGENT!

From the beginning, the Community has argued to keep the cuts as far from the lives of people with disabilities as possible. Instead, the Department of Developmental Services has proposed and the Legislative Budget Conference Committee has voted to take more than 90% of the $334 million cuts directly from community services.

This number doesn’t include a 10% reduction to supported employment approved in October and a 3% reduction to all other programs finalized in February. All told, service cuts exceed $400 million in State dollars and another $200 million in lost federal funding.

The Department has told Legislators that these cuts are painful but have been agreed to by stakeholders. This is simply not accurate. We accept that cuts must be made, but we have proposed solid alternatives that reach the goals while preserving services!

Community alternatives include maximizing federal dollars and cutting costs in the expensive state-owned and –operated Developmental Centers. Until just a couple of weeks ago, the Department continued to insist that they had already budgeted for all the additional federal funds they could expect to get and that no closure or consolidation of developmental centers could be done in time to score savings in the Budget Year.

But in just the past few days the Department has announced up to $80 million more in federal waiver dollars are available and the closure by December 31st of the 40-bed developmental center in Yuba City.

These are positive developments that would not have happened without the continuing pressure from the community to save funding. And more can and must still be done!

Why not further reduce the DC population in the remaining DC’s? And why not maximize our current waiver by enrolling the additional 5,000 consumers for which we are eligible?

URGENT ACTION REQUEST

Make Phone calls! Or Send Faxes to the Governer and CDSA members listed here. Use a sample letter or fax your own letter to the Key Legislative Targets.

If you can’t make all the calls, call the Governor and members from your region of the State - either Northern or Southern California - and your own Senator or Assembly Member.
(Don’t know your Member? Go to www.assembly.ca.gov and click on “Find my District”, enter your address and it will provide you with the name and contact information for both your Assembly Member and Senator!)

The Message:

• The cuts to our community services will be devastating if they are done the way the Department of Developmental Services proposes!
• The Legislature has been misled that these cuts are agreed to by stakeholders. They are not!
• We accept the need to reduce the impact on the General Fund. But we have identified better alternatives – alternatives that have not been adequately studied or submitted by the Department.
• The approved cuts haven’t been equitable – 93% of the cuts come from direct service dollars.

These cuts will

• Deny transportation services to consumers
• Force consumers into programs they do not want or need
• Deny services to 6,000 infants 0-3 years of age at risk for lifetime disabilities without early intervention
• Impose special holidays for people with disabilities – different days than those celebrated by people without disabilities

These are 5 short points. They can easily be made in a brief phone call. Or they can be converted into a short one-page letter. A letter must be faxed – we don’t have time for the mail!

If you, your agency or your families are directly impacted by one of these cuts, say so!

We have a very few days to take action. The characterization that the current proposed cuts are a matter of consensus by stakeholders has in great part negated the thousands of letters already written. Legislators are under the mistaken assumption that the concerns have been taken care of. They have not!

Please take action TODAY!

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