Fwd: Gainesville Sun - 8/12/04 - Talking Back

[Guest guest]

For your information.

Gainesvillesun.comThis is a printer friendly version of an article from www.gainesvillesun.comTo print this article open the file menu and choose Print.Back

Article published Aug 12, 2004TALKING BACKDeflecting blameAllegations of misused funds and lowly salaries are not based in facts and detract from the real issues.There is a need to elaborate on comments made for a follow-up story about services for people with development disabilities regarding the unfortunate incident that occurred in a group home reported in your paper on July 28 and 29.The comments by Brantley of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities Program are apparently meant to imply that providers of these services are able to pay direct care staff more than we currently do. Further, she seems to imply that we are making some obscene profit and/or paying unreasonable administrative costs.Brantley is also the individual who was claiming repeatedly in the fall of 2003 that the deep cuts her office was unilaterally making to providers' already extremely low rates (Florida is 49 among the 50 states in per capita spending on these services) were the result of deficits caused by the providers "gaming the system" and billing inappropriately and/or illegally.Since that time, DCF's own Inspector General has issued four written reports looking into these allegations. The IG's conclusion in all of these reports was that all of these allegations had no basis in fact. Further, there was, in fact, a surplus at the end of the state fiscal year. The public needs to know that Brantley's "calculator" must be programmed and calibrated for "political spins," not traditional mathematical algorithms. The simple truth is, the typical direct care worker at a private provider in this area makes somewhere around $7 an hour and many start at $6.50. An entry-level worker at Tacachale, on the other hand, begins at around $9.50 an hour. These wages hover around or below the poverty level. That is what being 49 among the 50 states gets us.All chapters of The Arc are IRS Code 501© (3), Not For Profit Corporations. There is no incentive among the Arcs to reduce costs to gain profits and become relatively wealthier. Many of the ARCs have been forced to spend charitable and local public income for basic operational costs that are not adequately funded with state dollars.Brantley is attempting to reallocate and stretch state dollars to meet unfunded need. Unfortunately, as your story reports, the approach is ill-advised, naive, and can in the worse of circumstances result in harm to the health and safety to our consumers and your neighbors. Implying dishonesty and greed among providers to deflect criticism and to obscure the real issues is only making the problem worse.The writer is Executive Director of the Association of Retarded Citizens, in Tallahassee.

Bob Wessels, Chairperson

Family Care Council, District 10

Email: FCC-10@...

Fax: