Cuts Stun Maryland Disability Community

Dr. Bob Ireland didn't think the state could cut his resources any more.
The executive director of Bello Machre, a Glen Burnie nonprofit organization that provides services to Marylanders with developmental disabilities, has gotten used to working with a tight budget. Even in a thriving economy, his clients' needs grew as state funding shrank.
When the state Board of Public Works decided Wednesday to slash the budget for community service providers by 2 percent - saving the state an estimated $21.7 million - Ireland cringed.
That reduction in funding was on top of the $1 million cut from the Developmental Disabilities Administration's Rolling Access program, which gives grants to families who need immediate services, and cuts to state adult respite care and service coordination programs.