DHS Budget Hearing 5/25/04 - testimony

 

My understanding is that the Staley Lawsuit was brought against the State of Oregon by a group of parents whose adult children with Developmental Disabilities were receiving nothing more than a rare meeting with a case manager.

 

Anything they were getting for services was being paid for out of pocket.

 

The state's response was to Admit neglecting these individuals, and commit to righting what was obviously unfair and wrong. There were no reparations asked for even though this neglect had been going on for many, many years.

 

A settlement was reached and it was decided that these people and others who have been waiting for years would finally be able to purchase long needed services through Brokerages throughout the state.

 

Here’s what your employer; the State, did in reality:

 

1. They stopped paying for existing family support and used the money from the settlement to cover the cost.

 

2. They enrolled high school students into the Brokerages who were already receiving services at school so that they wouldn't have to spend money on them.

 

3. They stopped paying for existing day program services and used the money from the lawsuit to cover the cost.

 

4 They began to slowly chip away at the long waitlist of people who have been waiting for services for many, many years.

 

In Fact, there are several people with developmental disabilities in our communities who are in their 40's and 50's and have never gotten any help in their struggle to survive.

 

I want to be clear that all this was going on BEFORE Measure 28 failed.

 

Here's what your employer has done since then, to step up the effort to save money off the backs of people with disabilities.

 

1. They stopped paying for vocational slots, using money from the lawsuit to cover the cost. In many cases the amount isn't enough to preserve what these people had.

 

2. They stopped paying for services which were previously paid for by Aging and Disability Services, using money from the lawsuit to cover the cost. In many of these cases the amount isn't enough to preserve what they previously had either.

 

Your employer has been so gracious as to give this group a year to restructure their lives before they're cut off completely from previous funds, and turned over to the smaller dollar amount that the Brokerage offers.

 

3. Recently it's been revealed that the next group coming into the Brokerage system are people who have Semi-Independent Living services currently being paid for by the State. Where does this cruel shell game end?

 

4. Of course they've slowed down the chipping away process for people waiting many, many years for services. Way down.

 

And while they continue to wait, some are losing the one benefit they COULD count on... their health insurance.

 

So... where are you in all of this? Are you speaking out to the public, exposing your neglectful employer'? Are you not mandatory abuse reporters?

 

Perhaps you are organizing a strategic campaign to let your employer know you won't put up with this?

 

What ARE YOU doing?

 

Are you carefully combing over your most recent PERS statement to make sure you got yours when you retire? Maybe you're figuring out what your next career move will be after this stepping stone. What Are you doing'?

 

As of this moment you are officially on notice that the quiet, subtle way that this has happened is over. There is a group of individuals in this community who are unwilling to sit by and watch as this travesty continues. You, your employer, and the other "players" who have sold out the wait list will be exposed.