Disability News Service, Resources, Diversity, Americans with Disabilities Act; Local and National.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Letter to editor: State of Illinois should support people with disabilities : Posted May 11, 2011 Cambridge Chronicle

Cambridge Chronicle : Posted May 11, 2011

Geneseo, Ill. — If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. I have always been a firm believer in this philosophy.
But, when it is broke, you have to fix it. We can all agree the State of Illinois is broke (in more ways than one), and it needs to be fixed. But how are the state legislators going to fix it, and who is going to suffer?

Many social service providers such as Abilities Plus have experienced budget cuts and delayed payments by the state since 2009.

We have been forced to wait for payment —sometimes as long as six months — for services we provide to children and adults in our community with developmental disabilities. We have never seen a situation this bad in more than 50 years of providing services.

We know our state is broke, and we know it needs fixing. On behalf of the people with disabilities in our area, I am asking our state legislators not to fix the problem by breaking the backs of agencies that serve people with disabilities.

Mike Zerull, Executive Director, Abilities Plus

# Visit Abilities Plus, click headline or go to: http://www.abilitiesplus.org/

No comments: