A Message to Arizona Governor and Legislators: 'We Are In Your Community'

A guest column from azcentral.com by Mark Jacoby, executive director of Gompers Habilitation Center and chairman of the Arizona Association of Providers for People with Disabilities.

Gov. Jan Brewer, Arizona legislators: Are you listening?

A provider of developmental-disability services in Vail has been forced to discontinue providing respite services, leaving the community with no one to turn to. A Phoenix provider has closed six group homes. Children with autism have to endure long waiting lists in order to receive critical behavioral treatments. A children’s program in Kingman closed. A Phoenix provider closed a dental center that exclusively served individuals with disabilities. Services for children with developmental disabilities age birth to 3 have closed all across Arizona.

Editorial: Autism and the Budget Crisis

The prevalence of autism is continuing to rise, with an increasing number of families facing the reality that there will be cuts to both services and programs affecting people with autism unless we all take action. Tax revenues continue to decline during the current economic woes and the budget reserves are drained. Most states in America are proposing sweeping and deep budget cuts that will affect families through reductions in services that are proven and needed.

The cuts that are proposed are coming at a time when the experience of autism has become a national health care crisis, something that affects every single community in the nation. The current delivery system for services is often times unresponsive, ineffective, inefficient, and inappropriate where provision of quality and seamless services over a person with autism’s lifespan is concerned. The evidence is particularly noticeable in the adult services sector.