Utah Advocates for the Disabled Call for Increased Funding for Disability Services

Advocates for the disabled in Utah have urged Gov. Mike Leavitt (R) and state lawmakers to "fully fund" a plan to move individuals with disabilities out of institutions and "end the waiting" for those who require services, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The state has placed about 2,000 Utah residents with disabilities on waiting lists for services such as in-home care, child or adult day care and assistance in moving out of nursing homes. Blaming the problem on a "lack of funding" and a high "demand for help," Jerry Costley, executive director of the advocacy group Arc of Utah, said that the "wait can last up to 11 years." The state Legislature last session earmarked about $44 million for the state Division of Services for People with Disabilities, including $1.6 million in new funding -- less than one-sixth of the $12 million requested -- to help address the problem. However, the Tribune reports that demand for help "keeps growing," with waiting lists increasing by about 100 to 200 people each year, "outpacing funding increases." Based on last year's budget calculations, Utah would have to "kick in" an additional $17 million to "address needs of everyone currently on waiting lists and to boost community services," Costley said. Advocates for the disabled also warned that not addressing the problem could "prove more costly in the long run." Although the Utah Department of Health and Department of Human Services have begun drafting a plan to help those on waiting lists, Kay Fox, an attorney and community organizer for the Salt Lake Community Action Program, said that "it will be worthless without the funding to back it" (Estes, Salt Lake Tribune, 7/16).