CPAD Information (April 2015)
09 四月 2015
Legislative Connection
“We Speak With One Voice” Letter Writing Campaign Day – April 13th
WHY? Because our Developmental Disabilities System is in Crisis
Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center is collecting letters and emails from our community regarding experiences with service limitations and reductions experienced in recent years. Our service system is in crisis and we need your support in sending a message to your California Assembly member and Senator that reform needs to happen now.
When: Monday, April 13, 2015 Time: All Day
Where: Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center offices (Whittier & Alhambra)
Who should write: Parents, individuals served by regional center, family members, service providers, and friends.
What: Letters and emails will be hand delivered to California State Senators and Assembly Members in Sacramento on April 15th…..We need your letters and stories!!
Letters should have a personal message about why regional center services, and service provider services are important to you and your family. Your letter should also include the 3 key points listed below.
Key Issue 1 - 10% in the Current Year
The developmental services system is in crisis. Service providers are being pushed to the brink. Where new programs once opened, long-serving ones now close, their budgets unable to be balanced with state-mandated rates. Regional centers’ service coordinators are carrying caseloads larger than California has assured the federal government they would. Individuals with developmental disabilities now face a shortage of needed services and case management support. For both service providers and the regional centers, the 10% across-the-board increase for developmental services funding will serve as a stopgap measure that will mitigate the damage long enough for real reform to occur.
Key Issue 2 – 5% Annual Investment
Real reform is a complex process that will require the input of many stakeholders, and the careful review of volumes of data. It cannot be rushed. But inflationary pressures will not grant us such courtesy. California’s service system needs the assurance of 5% annual increases while work is ongoing to prevent the temporary gains of the 10% increase from being eroded.
Key Issue 3 – Reform
Most service provider rates have been frozen for over a decade. Similarly, most salary levels in the “core staffing formula” used to create regional centers’ budgets have not been updated since 1991. Service provider rates and the core staffing formula must be reformed to guarantee that future funding levels are both adequate and sustainable. Through that comprehensive funding reform, California’s developmental services will avoid collapse and be able to serve a changing population.
To find your California representatives, letter sample, and where to send letter, e-mail, deadlines and etc., please visit ELRC web at: http://www.elarc.org/Home/Components/News/News/1179/17?backlist=%2fnformation
To view2015 April Newsletter, please click: CPAD 4-15 eNewsletter
