Fight Cuts to Services for Developmentally Disabled

Dear Editor:

Assemblyman Greg Ball understands and appreciate our state’s current fiscal crisis, but knows that Governor Paterson’s current proposed cuts to developmental disability services will:

Devastate the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) service delivery system

Compromise the quality of care delivered to individuals with developmental disabilities

Shut down critical programs in the Hudson Valley which serve everyone

Create job loss for direct support professionals and other key members of the workforce in our field

Negatively impact local economies which are already suffering

Result in loss of federal Medicaid funding as well as loss of revenue to the State

As Executive Director of Putnam ARC, I urge Hudson Valley residents to join Assemblyman Ball in not accepting the Governor’s 10 percent across-the-board cuts to mental hygiene programs, which is critical to the well being of individuals with developmental disabilities and the staff that work so hard to meet their needs.

Thank you, Assemblyman Greg Ball, for your support.

To help stop these devastating cuts, please contact Herman Farrell, Chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, by writing to him at ‘LOB 923, Albany, NY 12248 or calling 518- 455-5491.
Susan Limongello
Executive Director, Putnam ARC
BREWSTER