Organizations that provide care for the developmentally disabled breathed a sigh of relief this week when Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s announced budget did not include proposed cuts that advocates had called a “critical threat.”
At the beginning of this budget season, Haslam asked each state department to come up with 7 percent reductions to their budgets.
For the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, that translated to a 2.75 percent cut to a Medicaid waiver program that pays providers; a 4 percent cut to “intermediate care facility services” designed for the most medically fragile cases; and elimination of a program called Family Support services, which helps needy families pay for everything from wheelchair ramps to doctor visits.
Organizations across the state — including Orange Grove Center and Open Arms Care in the Chattanooga area — rallied to protest the cuts. But when Haslam unveiled his budget this week, not only were most of the department’s proposed cuts avoided, it also received an increase in its waiver funding. That means moving 100 patients off the state’s 6,581-person waiting list and into care, department spokeswoman Cara Kumari said.
“We are thrilled with the budget we got,” Kumari said. “It shows that the governor places a priority on the disability community in this state.”
The department still faces cuts, chiefly in the recently announced closure in 2016 of Green Valley Developmental Center, an institution for those with developmental disabilities — the result of a 20-year lawsuit.
Kyle Hauth, executive director of the Orange Grove Center, said the governor’s decision to maintain funding was reassuring, especially since those programs help provide services to 800 people at Orange Grove alone.
He also was encouraged by the swell of community support that rose when the proposed cuts were announced. More than 7,000 people signed a petition asking the governor not to cut those services.
“This clearly demonstrates the empathy this community possesses for the underserved,” Hauth said.
Lisa King, director of Open Arms Care, said she believes the campaign helped Haslam see “just how important these services are.” While she praised the governor’s decision, she said the organization still faces challenges as the medical needs of its client base only grow as those clients age, and as funding remains at a plateau.
“While this takes the pressure off of having to find any cuts, it doesn’t take off the pressure of trying to cope with an increase in services without an increase in funding,” King said.
Contact staff writer Kate Belz at kbelz@timesfreepress.comor 423-757-6673.