Urge Governor Cuomo to Restore the $120 Million OPWDD Budget Cut!
- by: Kira Delanoy, Springbrook
- recipient: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
The $120 million cuts to OPWDD presented in the 30-day amendments to the 2013-14 Executive Budget will have a devestating affect on thousands of New Yorkers with developmental disabilities.
With agencies that provide supports to people special needs already facing staffing shortages, an ocean of new regulations, no cost of living increases in 3 years, and nearly $300 million in cuts over that same period, the implications of an additional cut are severe:
- Health and safety risks will be increased
- The ability of people with special needs to be included members of our communities will be undermined
- Direct support professionals and employees across the state could lose thier jobs through layoffs, creating critical staff shortages
These cuts will threaten the quality of life for more than 120,000 people with developmental disabilities statewide.
Dear Governor Cuomo:
Please support the thousands of individuals, families, and voluntary agencies that will be adversely affected by the proposed $120 million cut in Medicaid funds to the NYS Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).
The cuts presented in the 30-day amendments to the proposed 2013-14 Executive Budget will have a devastating impact on the voluntary agencies that provide supports and services to thousands of individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities throughout New York State. Three such voluntary providers in Otsego County alone—The Arc Otsego, Pathfinder Village, and Springbrook—collectively provide critical services and supports to over 1,300 individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities and employ over 1,500 people. The proposed cuts would result in a $700,000-$800,000 cut for The Arc Otsego, a $300,000 cut for Pathfinder Village, and a $1.2 million cut for Springbrook.
We ask you to support our most vulnerable citizens. The impact of these cuts on their lives will be immeasurable. The loss in services, inevitable hardships faced by families, health and safety risks, and critical staff shortages will severely diminish their quality of life. The effects of these cuts will reach far beyond the direct impact on those served by voluntary agencies. They will also have a profound impact on the economy of the wider community through the loss of a significant number of jobs.
These agencies and the people they serve have endured years of ongoing fiscal and programmatic stagnation at OPWDD—year-after-year Medicaid reimbursement rate reductions and unfunded state mandates that began in 2011 and continue today. Now, the financial fallout of years of problems is being passed on to voluntary OPWDD agencies creating a very unfair and unsafe situation for people with developmental disabilities.
Please, restore the proposed $120 cut in Medicaid funds. Our most vulnerable citizens need your consideration, now more than ever.
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