Tri-Valley Developmental Center looks for help from legislature

The recent economic turmoil has had a dramatic effect on Southeast Kansas.

Newly released unemployment numbers from the Kansas Department of Labor show that unemployment in Bourbon County has increased from 5.1 percent in December 2008 to 6.4 percent in January 2009. Some area businesses, including Tri-Valley Developmental Services, have experienced layoffs and the elimination of some positions in recent months.

To assist Kansas in dealing with its economic problems and to soften the blow of the state budget crisis, the federal government created the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, of which Kansas will receive $1.7 billion for education, transportation, weatherization, law enforcement, water projects, and others, but is not expected to receive any funding for developmental disability services.

Some lawmakers in Topeka argue that there are too many strings attached to the ARRA. Research shows that the only stipulations attached for the Kansas Legislature is that it cannot put the money into a reserve; it must be used to stimulate the economy.

The inability of the state government to support and fund developmental disability providers, as required by the Kansas Constitution and the Developmental Disabilities Reform Act of 1996, has had an even greater impact on TVDS during this economic crisis. Over the past year and a half, the agency has had to eliminate 18 positions and freeze nine others due to lack of funding and the statewide waiting list, which includes nearly 4,000 names of people waiting for services. That number includes 71 people in the four counties within the Tri-Valley service area.

During the current fiscal year that ends June 30, Tri-Valley has had a 10 percent cut in their ability to fund obligations financed through state aid. Next year, the agency is looking at another 10 percent cut in state aid, a reduction in Family Support Grants, a 2 percent reduction in the HCBS waiver, and a change in eligibility determination that will require TVDS officials to notify seven families that their son or daughter can no longer receive services from the agency. One individual in that group has received services from Tri-Valley for more than 20 years.

How do you tell this individual they can no longer come into the service center?

There is a solution to this problem that will have a positive economic impact on our community and provide the necessary funding that agencies need to continue to provide quality services. Rep. Jerry Henry, D-Cummings, has created a bill that would eliminate the state's waiting list for children and adults with developmental disabilities within four years. The bill, known as HB 2094, would build community capacity to serve Kansans with developmental disabilities by providing a much-needed boost in funding for the organizations that provide services to the developmentally disabled.

The bill would create 17 jobs in the four-county Tri-Valley service area in Southeast Kansas, and 1,140 jobs statewide. It would also raise wages and benefits for thousands of direct care workers who support the developmentally disabled. The economic impact for the four-county area would be $8.5 million and $420 million statewide over the next four years. The resulting economic impact will assist communities in every county across Kansas.

To fund the bill, money from the ARRA could be used or HB 2094 would provide an opportunity to draw additional federal Medicaid dollars if state funds are used. The state would gain $1.50 in federal funds for every dollar of state funds invested. This could result in tens of millions of new federal dollars invested in Kansas.

TVDS Executive Director Tim Cunningham said he believes the time is right to pass the bill.

"This is a very tough year for everyone, not just people with developmental disabilities," he said. "We have a fantastic opportunity to utilize federal money to solve a state responsibility. HB 2094 puts an additional $10 million a year into our services statewide over the next four years and when you add in the federal match, you are able to increase funding to our state. It is a win-win situation."

Currently, HB 2094 is in the Aging and Long-Term Care Committee for which Rep. Jerry Williams, D-Chanute, is the ranking minority member.

"Two days of hearings were held this week on HB 2094 with a high degree of support being expressed for the multi-year phase in of funding to address the waiting list for individuals needed community-based services," he said. "The SRS budget for 2010 is essential to HB 2094 due to funding which will start the four-year process of distributing the money."

On Monday, the House Appropriations Committee began working on the SRS 2010 budget, which is the next step in the process of moving the bill forward.

Editor's Note: This article was submitted by Tri-Valley Developmental Center and was edited only for clarity.