Advocates for developmentally disabled keep wary eye on budget process

Oct. 03--NORWALK -- By the time both the proposed Democratic and Republican budgets were in the queue for discussion in September, advocates for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities thought they were in the clear.

"Both of them adequately funded day and employment services by the time they were going to be voted on," said Win Evarts, executive director of The Arc Connecticut, an advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

"Some will say one leapfrogged the other or whatever, but we felt that if either budget passed, those services would be adequately funded. Now, with the budget being vetoed, all bets are off," he said.

In other words, despite ultimately receiving bipartisan support to fully fund day and employment services for people with disabilities, advocates are no longer so optimistic.

Katie Banzhaf, executive director at STAR, Inc., a Norwalk-based nonprofit provider of day and residential services for children and adults with developmental disabilities, said the biggest concern now is that as legislators head back to the drawing board, they'll start making cuts that once again affect the state's most vulnerable population.

"On both sides the big concern is they'll start making cuts again," Banzhaf said. "We've been advised not to assume that because it's in both budgets it's safe. Everything is back on the table. Now the worry is -- since the Republican budget has been vetoed -- is that the governor will pull from each and we'll lose funding again."

State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, and State Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton, both said they encourage advocates to keep up the work they've done thus far, which has had an impact on state budget talks, particularly on the Democratic side where funding for day and employment services, as well as funding for high school graduates, was restored in the final proposal.

"What they say, we take very seriously," Duff said. "I've had a long-standing relationship with STAR over the years and I know they do good work. We all know there will be cuts in our state budget, but we try and mitigate them the best we can, especially in the area of human services and developmental disabilities. We worked hard to make sure that as much funding as we could was put into the Democratic budget for these services ... Until a final budget is done and signed by the governor, people need to keep up their advocacy."

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy originally cut $23.6 million from day and employment services in his resource allocation plan -- the executive order that goes into effect in the absence of a state budget -- but restored roughly $9.6 million when he revised the plan in August, which helped service providers avoid a scheduled furlough day in September.

But that revision will only go so far. The next furlough day is scheduled for Oct. 25 and there will be no avoiding it if a budget isn't passed and signed by Malloy. Additionally, many people with disabilities who graduated or aged out of the public school system last spring, have been without services for months as they wait for a state budget.

"Even before this whole thing with the budget, there are a lot of people who have been on the waiting list for years and can't get services," Lavielle said. "There are a lot of people whose children have aged out of the system and they haven't been able to get access. STAR is very concerned because of the disruption caused by the furlough days, which has a significant impact on development and the families of people with disabilities. Despair is a good word. There's a lot of really justifiable worry. There are people who have to stop working because there's no other way to care for their children."

Evarts said ARC will continue to do what it does best -- advocate for those who cannot do it themselves -- until a budget is signed and in effect.

"Our priorities are to obtain funding for services that people need and for services that allow people to develop," Evarts said. "These are very difficult times in Connecticut. We understand the legislature and the governor are facing a lot of very tough decisions, but it would be a mistake not to fund programs that are widely available in the rest of the U.S. for people with disabilities."

kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt

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