In the next few weeks, the members of the House and Senate will begin meeting with the Chairs of the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees.

In the House, Representatives will meet with their Chairman, Rep. Brian Dempsey to share with him a list of three or more key priorities individual members want to see placed into the Legislature's FY 2015 Budget.

In the Senate, Senators will meet Chairman Steve Brewer.

Dempsey and Brewer try to then build a budget that reflects the interests of the Members of each house; thus it is critical for our cause that disability issues be mentioned by as many members as possible during those early budget discussions.

Can you help us?

If so, please call or write your individual House and Senate Member and ask them to pledge to make disability issues, as listed below, a key part of their budget requests to the Chairs.

To find out who your members are click here.  Phone them, visit them or send them an email.

Let your legislator know you are counting on them to represent disability interests.  Let me know how your calls go.

Thanks.

Line Item 5920-3000 DDS Family Support & Respite Services

• We support the Governor's recommendation adding $2.5 million to support in home therapies & respite services that keep families from dissolving from stress & no relief, in addition to preventing or delaying out of home placements for both children & adults.

Line Item 5948-0012 & 7061-0012 DESE/DDS Family Preservation

• We request $2 million increase to help families keep their school aged child in their local community, school district or educational cooperative.   

Line Item 5920-3010 Autism Services

• We request a $3 million increase to help reduce the 400 person waiting list for kids applying for service and supports and to aid Autism Support Centers as the demand for these services continues to escalate. 

 
We request an additional $6 million over the Governor's Budget to move people into more inclusive supported employment and community based day services. 

DDS/The Arc/ADDP have collaborated on a Blueprint for Employing People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.  We believe the state is likely to be sued by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Labor for Olmstead integration violations, as has been the case with our neighbors in Rhode Island and other states.  We have joined together to write a plan to move the Commonwealth and people with developmental disabilities ahead and avoid litigation, but it requires more the amount the Governor funded in his budget.

There are over 3800 people with traumatic brain injury in Massachusetts who are either under-served or unserved.  The Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts and ADDP ask the Legislature to add $26 million to Line Item 4120-6000 to address residential, day and employment, transportation, respite services, regional service centers, assistive technology, and social isolation programs.