Guest guest Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 Hey, if I am duplicating posts ... ignore me! ;-) Miserly index Is Virginia aiming for the bottom of the heap? The Daily Press February 3 2004 How low can you go? A new national study ranks Virginia 50th out of the states and District of Columbia in the proportion of spending on mental retardation and developmental disability programs that goes into community services rather than institutions. Mississippi is the only state below Virginia on this ranking, issued by the University of Colorado. Sound too technical? Try another embarrassing statistic: This one is called " state effort " because it measures state spending on mental retardation services as a percentage of income, taking into account the relative wealth of states. Virginia's dismal ranking for community services: 47th, a two-place slide since 2000. That means 46 states did a better job of spending on community services, considering what they could afford. Virginia ranked higher on spending for institutional programs, but institutions are not the best place for most retarded people. And Virginia ranked 47th in spending per family to help families care for retarded members at home. Making the state's dismal numbers more appalling is that Virginia is a fairly wealthy state - ninth in the nation in household income. It could afford to do better. How did Virginia get into this sorry state? Governors failed to propose and General Assembly sessions failed to provide adequate funding for community care. Virginians seem content with long waiting lists, even for those who need help urgently. Virginians seem content to ignore the families in their midst who are in crisis, struggling to care for aging retarded members. Virginians seem content to leave mentally retarded people in institutions when, with a little help, their families could care for them at home. So why not, with a few nips and tucks in the state budget, strive to do even worse? Worse than every other state. Worse than Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Nevada and Kentucky, which perennially bring up the rear. Is that where Virginia wants to go? Because that's where Virginia is headed. Copyright © 2004, Daily Press The Arc of Virginia * 2025 E. Main St., Suite 120 * Richmond VA 23223 * (804) 649-8481 * www.arcofva.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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