OKPOLICY.ORG
From time to time, we use the OK Policy blog to post submissions we receive from Oklahomans who have interesting perspectives on important policy issues for the state. This entry is from John F. Gajda, Executive Director of TARC, an organization that advocates for the rights of citizens with developmental disabilities.
It’s hard to read a newspaper or listen to a local news programs without hearing about new or planned funding cuts for services provided by Oklahoma state and local governments.
As advocates for people with developmental disabilities and their families, TARC is concerned about how changes in state funding will impact services for these individuals.
The Developmental Disabilities Service Division (DDSD) of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) is the largest provider of services to individuals with developmental disabilities in Oklahoma. When talking about cuts to the OKDHS budget it is easy for the needs of the people served by DDSD to not receive much attention. Cuts of the magnitude currently being proposed for OKDHS in State Fiscal Year (SFY) ’11 must, however, trickle down to DDSD and directly impact the lives of thousands of individuals.
Managing cuts to OKDHS in DDSD means lowering the cost of providing waiver services to all those currently served by DDSD. Each of the options being considered offers its own set of problems Do you lower provider rates? Do you reduce the number of people served? Do you cut the amount of service each individual can receive? None of these options would be good for people with disabilities and their families. Yet some or all of these changes will be implemented if OKDHS and DDSD must manage a further reduction in funding. How large each adjustment will be depends on the level of cuts imposed by the legislature.
In Oklahoma we have a community service system in which actual services, funded by the state, are provided by a network of community-based provider organizations. These small private businesses provide employment to thousands of employees throughout the state that work with and provide support to individuals with disabilities. The major cost of running these provider organizations is employing the necessary personnel to serve individuals with developmental disabilities. Staff salaries have not been increased over many years and community provider organizations are finding it more difficult to retain qualified staff. Most have already made adjustments in their operations to cut costs. Rate reductions, which are now on the horizon due to looming budget cuts, will push some organizations out of business. The continued viability of the current community service system is threatened. We might not end up with sufficient organizations to continue to serve current DDSD clients.
For those on the DDSD waiting list, the biggest news this past year has been what has not happened. – for the first time, no individuals have been moved from the waiting list and provided waiver services. In SFY ‘10 those served by waivers will actually decrease and the waiting list has grown to over 5,300 individuals. The number of individuals on the waiting list is now for the first time larger than the number of individuals currently being served by waiver programs. Thus, while the numbers of people requesting services grows and their needs remain unmet, fewer people are being served. The outlook for SFY ’11 offers no hope if there are larger budget cuts and any hope of actually receiving services is fast becoming an unattainable dream.
Further cuts in the DDSD budget for the coming state fiscal year that begins on July 1st should be a great concern for people with developmental disabilities and their families who currently receive services and those who on the waiting list. To prevent crippling budget cuts and a dramatic change in services, concerned citizens of Oklahoma need to let the Oklahoma legislative leadership know that they support revenue enhancement measures that were proposed in the Governor’s Budget. At current revenue levels dramatic cut must be made to balance the state budget. There are proposals on the table that could make a difference in the lives of people with developmental disabilities in SFY ’11.
Allowing funding cuts of between 7 and 25% is a gloomy option that looms over the future of the disability service system and the lives of many individuals. Only the immediate outcry of advocates can prevent it.
The opinions stated above are not necessarily the opinions of OK Policy, its staff, or its board. This blog is a venue to help promote the discussion of ideas from various points of view and we invite your comments and contributions. To see our guidelines for blog submissions, click here.
