Subject: SRS Budget

Date: Wednesday, October 09, 2002 8:40 AM

Yesterday Janet Schalansky announced the proposed budget cuts necessary to meet the budget shortfalls for this fiscal year as well as next year.

After reading the newspaper, listening to the radio and watching news on TV I wondered if I was at a different meeting than the reporters. The only thing described in the media was the closing of SRS offices. No doubt those closings will affect services, but staff will be "repurposed" or offered other positions.

The rest of the meeting that no media described are the devastating cuts

proposed for Home and Community Based Services, Children's services and welfare, including job training.

We have so much work to do. We're not even interesting enough to be in the news. We'd better change that. We'd better get commitments from candidates on what they plan to do to avoid having freezes on waiting lists, waiting lists for services from Vocational Rehabilitation (which, I found out is already in place), and raising eligibility for people on all waivers or in institutions to get services.

Once again, I implore you, do not shoot the messenger! SRS didn't make these cuts by choice, let's fight the real problem. Why were taxes cut so deeply years ago and who did that? When are people going to be the priority?

When can we expect that people can get basic support without advocates having to set up tent cities in order embarrass legislators into putting us above a mile of concrete? What will it take?

It was pointed out yesterday that Dean Carlson, Secretary for K-DOT wasn't having these kinds of meetings. We do know that meetings to protect the K-DOT budget are occurring, but what's at stake is concrete, not people's lives.

This is a partial list of the proposed cuts.

- Reduce Mental Health Centers Grants

- Reduce Child Care Quality Grants

- Reduce Community support grants to CDDO's

- Reduce Child Care eligibility threshold from 185% of FLP to 170% (later reduced again).

- Reduce Family Preservation Services

- Reduce Funding for PD Waiver waiting list (and eventually freeze it)

- Reduce protected income level for people on Waivers (NOT FE Waiver) from $716 to $645.

- Modify disability eligibility for PD and DD Waivers.

- Reduce medical transportation reimbursement

These are only a partial list. Please contact me if you'd like a complete

list, or go to the SRS web site and get it there.

ACTIONS:

We will be meeting soon to get suggestions on formal actions to take, but for now:

1. Contact candidates and Senators and ask them what they will do to protect services?

2. Support those candidates who promise to find solutions.

3. Get human interest stories in the media describing how this will affect

real people.

4. Don't give up, get busy!

5. COME TO THE CANDIDATES FORUM IN TOPEKA NEXT WEEK! ( for information on the forum contact KACIL or SILCK office)

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