Drastic Budget Cuts Mean Reduced Benefits for the Disabled
Posted by sunce on October 24th, 2008
Significant budget cut in state funding in Florida’s state capitol are resulting in dramatic cuts in services for hundreds of disabled men, women and children on the First Coast .
According to Jacksonville Legal Aid attorney Sarah Sullivan, who has joined several other lawyers who are filing appeals to the State Agency for Persons with Disabilities, people suffering from autism, cerebral palsy and various levels of mental retardation are facing serious levels of service cut backs.
Budget cuts and reduced services take on a startling reality when translated into how they affect real people. Danielle Dowe is a 23 year old who is severely physically and mentally handicapped. According to her mother, Sharon, Danielle functions at the level of a 6 month old infant. In addition she suffers from life-threatening tonic clonic seizures.
Danielle is a person, not a statistic, but that doesn’t prevent the State legislature in Jacksonville from cutting funding for Danielle and many hundreds of other severely disabled people. Unless Sarah Sullivan and her lawyer colleagues are successful, these cuts will take effect before the beginning of the winter.
Jim Whittakar is the director of The Arc Jacksonville which provides services to over 400 special needs individuals. His real concern is trying to determine which of the vital services he and his staff are currently providing their clients can be eliminated or curtailed without resulting in a loss of life. He estimates that 60% of the people under his care will be affected. Sarah Sullivan correctly refers to these “as the most fragile and dependent people in the state”.
In Danielle Dowe’s case, the immediate effect would be that she cold no longer be cared for at home by her mother and would instead be placed in a group home. Anyone with the least common sense can understand that no state institution could possibly provide Danielle with the loving care that she is now receiving from her own mother!
So, Sharon Dowe has enlisted the assistance of legal services in appealing the budget cuts. Sarah Sullivan who is leading the battle has appealed to other lawyers to join legal services to volunteer their time, knowledge and expertise in doing ‘pro-bono’ work to help the Dowe’s win this battle. Sullivan admits that although legal services can’t pay volunteers in money, the lawyers can benefit from rewards that far exceed the monetary value of their work. “Ultimately”, she points out, “we can prevent someone from being placed in an institution”. And that to Ms. Sullivan is the greatest reward of all!
With assistance and moral support from people like Sarah Sullivan, is it any wonder that Sharon Dowe, after 23 years of sacrifice and love, doesn’t feel intimidated by the power of the State authorities.
