Fw: Arc Testimony of DHS Budget

[Guest guest]

Hi all:

You might want to consider sending this to your State legislators...

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Arc Testimony of DHS Budget

The Arc of Illinois

March 22, 2011

Leaders in The Arc:

Yesterday the House Human Services Appropriation met in Chicago to discuss the

proposed state budgets for Health Care and Family Services, Public Health, the

Guardianship and Advocacy Commission and the Dept. of Human Services.

It was a marathon hearing lasting six and a half hours! The Human Services

budget was the last item on the agenda and Director Teninty and I were the last

people to testify at the hearing.

Obviously, The Arc opposed the Governors Proposed State Budget because of its

funding of state institutions and cutting community services/supports. The Arc

called for closing all state institutions and rebalancing the entire

Developmental Disability System.

I have attached a copy of my testimony in case the Fact Sheet and graphic do not

show up in this email.

The Senate Human Services Appropriation Committee will hear the Dept of Human

Services Budget on Tuesday, May 3rd, 4:00 p.m., Room 212 in the Statehouse,

Springfield.

Tony auski

The Arc of Illinois

815-464-1832

The Arc of Illinois

March 21, 2011

TESTIMONY HOUSE HUMAN SERVICES APPROPRIATION HEARING

The Arc of Illinois represents 220,000 infants, children and adults with

intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in Illinois. We

have an individual membership of 10,000.

The Arc of Illinois opposes the proposed State Budget for Fiscal Year 2012.

This budget in the wrong direction!

It invests $30 million in state institutions while it cuts community services by

$76.3 million!

It hires 950 new state employees while direct care community staff will be laid

off!

It grants state employees an 8.25% wage increase while community wages will be

cut by 6%!

The per person state institutional cost will rise to $192,000 in this proposed

budget and not one of the 21,000 children and adults will move off the states

waiting list!

The proposed budget does nothing to pay community providers promptly!

It is time to rebalance the Developmental Disability System in Illinois. The Arc

recommends closing all state institutions within the next five years and

redirecting those resources into the community system.

This budget increases the reliance on institutional services and spends new

monies on the state institutions while cutting community services!

This budget has all the wrong priorities!

In the past few years, both the Senate and the House have passed resolutions to

rebalance the state budget. These resolutions have supported investing in

community supports/services and moving away from costly, ineffective

institutional services.

This year Senate Joint Resolution 15 has been introduced calling for rebalancing

the community system.

The Budget Cuts

$76.3 million is cut from community developmental disability services in the

proposed Fiscal Year 2012 budget. The budget eliminates the following services:

1.. The Family Assistance Program

2.. The UIC Family Clinic

3.. All Epilepsy Grants

4.. All Dental Grants

5.. SIU Telemed Grant

6.. All Respite Grants

In the proposed Fiscal Year 2012 budget the following services are cut by 10%.

These services directly assist families supporting their children and adult

children in their homes:

1.. Childrens Home-Based Services

2.. Adult Home-Based Services

In the proposed FY12 budget, all Medicaid services are cut across the board by

6%. Those services include but are not limited to:

1.. CILA

2.. Day Services

3.. Therapies

4.. ICFDDs

5.. PAS Services

6.. Individual Service and Support Advocacy

7.. All Community Services

Rebalancing

This budget is rebalancing the developmental disability system in the wrong

direction!

It proposes a $30 million increase in state institutions over the FY11 budget

even with the closing of Howe!

It proposes increasing the cost of institutional services per person to $192,000

in FY12!

See The Arcs Fact Sheet on Institutional Costs.

The average cost of a community group home (CILA) is $50,000. We can support

four individuals in the community for each person in a state institution.

Small community living options like CILA are safer, more effective and healthier

for individuals with developmental disabilities.

The Illinois Developmental Disability System has been studied many times. All of

those studies recommend downsizing the institutional system and investing in the

community system. Here is a list of the most recent studies with those

recommendations:

1.. A Quest for Equality: Breaking the Barriers for People with Disabilities A

Call to Action for Illinois Leaders, Chicago Community Trust, 2010

2.. The Illinois Blueprint for System Redesign, 2009

3.. State Funding of Community Agencies for Services Provided to Illinois

Residents with Mental Illness and/or Developmental Disabilities

4.. Financing Services to Individuals with Developmental Disabilities in the

State of Illinois

5.. 2011 State of the States in Developmental Disabilities

The List to No Where

There are now over 21,000 children and adults with intellectual and

developmental disabilities on the Illinois Waiting List. The list to nowhere!

Many families believe their children will never be supported with community

services here in Illinois.

The proposed FY12 ignores these children and adults. No one moves off the

waiting list in FY12!

Local Workforce

One in fifteen workers in Illinois is employed by non-profits.

We estimate there are 35,000 employees in the community developmental disability

system.

These workers are an economic force in the community. In many communities, local

Arc Chapters are major employers supporting the local economy.

Beginning January, 2011 to February, 2012, state employees will receive an

increase of 8.25% for their work.

In the proposed state budget, community employees will receive a 6% cut in their

wages! In addition, most employees in the community have not received a salary

increase in past three years!

Community employees do similar work as state employees, and they, too, deserve

annual wage increases.

The FY12 proposed budget calls for the hiring of 950 new state employees.

The FY12 proposed budget will require layoffs of community staff and further

harm local economies!

Our state has a long history of supporting expensive state institutional

services at the expense of community services. See The Arcs Fact Sheet on State

v Community Increases.

Outcomes

The Governor and members of the General Assembly are making outcomes a priority

for state funding and services. I want to recommend specific outcomes that

should be considered in the Developmental Disabilities System:

1.. De-institutionalization of individuals out of Specialized Nursing

Facilities for Pediatrics, ICFDDs and State Operated Facilities.

2.. Preventing institutionalization.

3.. Incentivize specialized services for individuals with developmental

disabilities and behavioral health conditions.

4.. Incentivize specialized services for individuals with developmental

disabilities and special health care needs.

5.. Incentivize services that are delivered in natural settings.

6.. Incentivize services that result in employment of individuals with

developmental disabilities.

7.. Incentivize best practice preventive health care.

8.. Incentivize reduction of emergency room care.

Class Action Lawsuits

There are no less than three major class action lawsuits here in Illinois for

violations of Olmstead and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Illinois Disability System is about to become managed by the courts.

Advocates see this as the future for disability services. We are being forced to

turn to the courts for necessary relief for community services. We have no other

options. The General Assembly ignores the need to reform and rebalance

disability services in Illinois.

Statewide Grants

The proposed state budget does contain on-going funding for some unique

statewide grants supporting individuals with developmental disabilities and

their families. Those grants are The Autism Program, Best Buddies and The Arcs

Illinois Life Span Program. Each of these grants has seen major cuts in their

funding but they are supported in FY12. We recommend the continued funding of

these unique, statewide services.

Summary

This budget is headed in the wrong direction and needs to be rewritten to

support children and adults in the community.

The Arc of Illinois is willing to assist in redrafting a state budget that

supports infants, children and adults with developmental disabilities in

community supports/services.

Tony auski

Executive Director

The Arc of Illinois

815/464-1832

708/828-0188 (cell)

Tony@...

The Arc of Illinois

Institutional Costs

March 1, 2011

1.. Illinois ranks 4th in the number of individuals with developmental

disabilities in state institutions.*

2.. State institution budgets will increase $30 million in FY12.**

3.. In FY12, Illinois will spend $340 million supporting 1,772 individuals in

state institutions.**

4.. In FY12, the average cost for a person in a state institution will be

$192,000 per year!**

5.. In FY12, the average cost of supporting an individual in the community

will be about $13,500 per person!**

6.. In FY12, Illinois will spend $400 million supporting 7,000 individuals in

ICFDDs.**

7.. In FY12, Illinois will spend $600 million supporting 45,000 individuals in

community services.**

8.. Illinois ranks 47th in community spending for children and adults with

developmental disabilities.*

9.. Illinois ranks 51st in the number of small group homes for children and

adults with developmental disabilities.*

*2008 State of the State in Developmental Disabilities

**Governors proposed FY12 budget

Green represents increase to state institutional services

Blue represents the CPI

Red increases increases and decreases in funding for community services

This chart does not inlcude the 6% cut to community for FY12 and the state

increases for FY13

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[Guest guest]

I read the numbers and I think the way the state is spending money should

be the headline in our local papers. That is the big problem, how we are

spending scarce money, big dollars for a few people, while thousands are

getting nothing. Yes I think our legislators need to see this, but I am

wondering about the power of the media, print and electronic can make hay

out of this. It is really distressing when you see the numbers in print.

Maybe two calls, one to the legislator, a visit with the newspaper in our

town.