Yesterday the House and Senate tentatively approved the adjusted state budget for fiscal year 2010-2011. The last of the votes is expected to happen today followed by the governor's signature. The new fiscal year begins July 1. This will be the first time in seven years.
The budget being voted on totals just under $19 billion and does include a special provision for how the state will handle not receiving the additional $500 million from the federal government in FMAP money.
The budget does restore the $40 million cut to state funded community based services for people with developmental disabilities. mental illness, and addictive disorders. The budget also allocates $9 million in recurring funding to purchase more crisis beds. Both of these items reflect the continuing need for more community based services.
A more detailed budget analysis will be posted later in the week.
2 comments:
I would like to know if the 40 million that was restored will be going back in to same place it was tooken from. The CAPMRDD program is where it was took from but we here that the CAPMRDD program is not getting that money back. The disabled individuals in that program got a 5% cut in there budget and now we hear there is going to be another cut of 1.5%. This is not fair to these people struggling in life as it is to take away from them 5% get the money back but not to them and cut them again for another 1.5%
Cwoidyla-Thank you for your comment. The 40 million dollar cut that was restored during this budget was not a cut in the last budget to CAP/MR-DD.
The $40 million cut in the 2009-2010 budget was to state funded dollars sent to LMEs to serve people with mental illness, developmental disabilities and substance abuse. This was a deep and drastic cut and advocates lobbied to get that money resorted in this budget.
During the 2009-2010 budget there was a cut of $16 million dollars to state dollar services that was directed at state dollar services being received by people who were also getting services through the CAP/MR-DD program.
Many advocates successfully lobbied to get $8 million of that cut transferred to the CAP/MR-DD program so that over 1,000 support waiver slots could be opened in our state and the comprehensive waiver slots could be opened also.
During this budget there are no cuts and no additional freezes on the CAP/MR-DD slots in our system.
The additional 5% cut that I think you are talking about was a decision by the Governor Perdue after the legislature had finished the budget last year. This 5% cut was to Divisions and Departments and was administered at the discretion of the Departments.
I hope this helps clear up what happened over the past two budget cycles at the General Assembly.
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