KristinaB

Gov. Rick Scott: Florida governor orders emergency cuts for programs serving disabled - OrlandoSentinel.com

Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered deep cuts Thursday to programs that serve tens of thousands of residents with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other developmental disabilities.

Though a range of state services face cuts from this year's Legislature, the governor invoked his emergency powers to order the state Agency for Persons with Disabilities to immediately roll back payments to group homes and social workers by 15 percent — an amount providers say could put them out of business and threaten their clients' safety.

"lt's not like, 'Gee, does this mean I have to skip a vacation this year?'" said Amy Van Bergen, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida. "Potentially, these cuts have life and death implications for these people."

An estimated 30,000 Floridians with severe developmental disabilities receive services that help them live outside of nursing homes — typically with family or in small group homes. Aides help them eat, bathe, take medication and otherwise care for themselves.

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But the governor said the Agency for Persons with Disabilities' ongoing budget deficit — currently at $170 million — had reached a critical point and needed to be addressed immediately.

The cuts go into effect Friday and last at least through the fiscal year, which ends June 30. Lawmakers are currently debating what will happen after that.

Providers had not been informed of the cuts.

"No one has gotten any notice," said Linda Cumbie, an Orlando social worker who coordinates services that clients need to live outside of a nursing home — which would be a more expensive arrangement for the state. "We have to find out through the newspapers."

Cumbie said funds for the disabled already had been pared back to skeletal levels. She personally is holding a carwash and bake sale to help out one young disabled client so he can attend a daily workshop program.

Katie Porta, president of Quest Inc., which operates a series of group homes and programs for those with disabilities, said provider rates in Florida already rank in the bottom 10 percent for all states.

"We are almost to the point of impossibility in providing for our clients' basic health and safety needs," she said. "I just fear for our people."

She wasn't the only one. Alan McIntosh, a 57-year-old Orlando man with cerebral palsy, relies on an aide to do just about anything requiring movement. "I don't know what he [Gov. Scott] is thinking," McIntosh said. "As it is, I'm just trying to survive."

His aide, Debbie Pascascio, works 24 hours a day, four days in a row, to care for McIntosh and two other people with severe disabilities. Though she did not want to reveal her salary, other aides say $800 a week for round-the-clock care is typical, and many workers receive no health insurance, sick leave or retirement benefits.

APD Chief of Staff Bryan Vaughan said his department had no choice. "These actions are necessary … so that we are not forced to eliminate services to this vulnerable population," he said in a news release issued late Thursday. "APD is committed to protecting the health and safety of Floridians with developmental disabilities while living within our budget."

But at the Threshold Center for Autism in Winter Park, former CEO and current board member Bob Wright said something has to give. Staffers there work with children and adults who are severely impaired and sometimes violent.

"If this were any other workplace, you would consider it a war zone," Wright said. "My staff gets bitten, hit, kicked, spat upon, defecated on, urinated on — for $8.23 an hour. And every time we start talking about giving our guys a pay raise, the governor comes along and cuts the rates."

The center has not had a rate increase for its services since 2005, and it has had several rounds of cuts since then. At the same time, training requirements for staffers have increased.

"The state can cut my rates by 15 percent, but I can't cut my staffing 15 percent or I'll be in violation of staffing ratios," Wright added. "This may break our backs."

Deafness

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shel90

Stupid politicans!

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Foxrac

Yup, just dirty political game.

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In Moto We Trust

netrox

Stupid politicians? So, what do you suggest then? Remember, we got no money at all.

whatdidyousay!

When Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts he close down the mental health center in my city and other cities! If Mitt Romney became president it would be real bad news for people use these programs!

netrox

Well, and we're not dying sooner despite the cuts. Our lifespan has stayed pretty the same.

Bebonang

Stupid Governor!

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TXgolfer

Desperate times.....desperate measures.... We Are Broke!

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Sometimes at night, I see their faces. I feel the traces they've left on my soul

planetdoodle

Good.We need to cut everything a little.

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Beowulf

We need to take a hard look at military spending and rearrange the pie pieces. The military gets over half the money. Is there something wrong with that picture?

Reba

That's Federal, not individual state, money.

Each state needs to examine its own budget.

To be honest, where does the Constitution provide for Federal funding of disabled services?

Just asking.

The Constitution does provide for defense spending. Article 1, Section 8.

Beowulf

I know it is Federal money. I just think that the states will have more to work with if we cut the military spending. The USA spends several times more on the military than the rest of the world combined. That is ridiculous.

Reba

We are getting spread too thin, that's for sure.

Do you think military spending is too much because we're trying to do too much in too many places? Or do you think it's because we provide our troops with better pay and benefits, and the best equipment and technology? Wasteful spending, especially with letting of contracts? A combination of all? Or some other reason?

Beowulf

I can say it on one word: imperialism.

Reba

What countries are we trying to add to our "empire?" In other words, whose burden do we want to take on as our own?

Beowulf

That's just it: we simply cannot afford to take on any burdens when our our citizens are starving and in dire need of help.

whatdidyousay!

I heard of a woman that had diabetes and she had a very sick husband at home too. The woman was not able to afford to buy her meds and heat the their home at the same time! She decides to use the little money she had to heat their home so her husband would be warm in the winter! This woman was not alone, there where a lot of people having to chose to buy oil for their home or buy their meds! People should not have to go without their meds so they can have a warm home or food on the table!