Arizona Budget Coalition

Early intervention services for disabled children and working adults could loose significantly under the proposal being discussed in the Arizona House of Representatives. Services like these could loose as much as $100 million under the current plan.

Helping children with disabilities when they first appear not only ensures a happy childhood and productive adulthood, but could save millions in future health care costs to the state. Just like providing high quality education, making sure disabled children are well-cared for is a question of protecting Arizona's legacy.

The Arizona Republic reports on the impacts to service providers in the Valley:

Randy Gray, president and CEO of Mesa's Marc Center, said he believes services for the developmentally disabled are cut disproportionally because his clients are an easy target.

"I believe it was a convenient decision . . . to make because it's a vulnerable population and they can't speak for themselves," Gray said. "We have reverted our entire system of quality care back to the early 1970s."

...

According to the proposed House budget plan, the state Department of Economic Security's share of state revenues is being cut 9.8 percent. But when federal revenue and other sources are factored in, the net impact of the cut is only 2.7 percent. That is below the 3.4 percent average for the seven largest general-fund agencies.