Email/Letter Template
Dear Senator Sarlo/Assemblyman Schaer, As you make decisions about the FY16 Budget, I ask you to please remember the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. I believe the State must take action to address the growing Community Services Waiting List and move 1,000 people off the list over the next three years. To make this plan a reality, I ask you to increase funding for the Waiting List within the Division of Developmental Disabilities by $11 million in FY16. This will ensure 330 individuals move off the Waiting List in the next fiscal year. More than half of the individuals on the Waiting List are deemed by the State to be Priorities because they either live with aging caregivers or their circumstances are such that they may become emergencies in the near future. Please act now to help individuals on the Waiting List in need of services so they may continue to live integrated lives in the community. Finally, I ask that you include an additional $5 million for Family Support Services within the Department of Children and Families for families caring for a child with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the home. Supporting a loved one every day can be overwhelming and family support services, like respite, offer a necessary break so that there can be a balance between caregiving, job responsibilities and other family members who deserve attention. The funding decisions you make in the next few weeks will have a significant impact on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Please do everything you can to include these requests in the final FY16 Budget. Thank you. |