TALLAHASSEE - Yvonne Mason wrote to the state Agency for Persons With Disabilities in early September, challenging a 42 percent cut in funding to care for her autistic, schizophrenic son.
"You're afraid to go out of town for any reason - you don't know what will happen when you get back," said Mason, of Seffner.
The delay is symptomatic of the tidal wave of paperwork and legal work that has flooded the agency as a result of changes lawmakers have made to the way the state cares for the developmentally disabled.
About 5,400 individuals and families filed appeals in response to the service changes, which are intended to rein in spending and deficits.
"It's paperwork we don't even have file cabinets for," said John Newton, general counsel for the agency. "It's boxes in windowsills and conference rooms. I've been practicing law for 30 years. ... I've never seen anything like this." Director Jim DeBeaugrine said the agency has called on virtually every state agency to provide extra legal help.
Of the 5,400 people who have appealed, the agency has judged that about 800 are "legally sufficient" for review by the Department of Administrative Hearings. The agency is still mailing out response letters. About 2,000 denial letters went out last week, and more people will get letters in the next several weeks. Those turned down have 10 days to amend their complaint and try again.
So far, DOAH has received 60 of the 800 cases approved for a hearing - and not ruled on any.
DeBeaugrine said he expects most service changes to take effect about April 1, as opposed to Dec. 1, 2008, the prior prediction. The cost of the delay: about $9.5 million.
People who are appealing the changes suffered a blow Wednesday when the 1st District Court of Appeal denied a petition from the Advocacy Center for Persons With Disabilities. The center had argued that everyone facing service cuts deserves a hearing.
"We remain committed to finding a remedy for those persons APD has denied a hearing," Sylvia Smith, the center's public policy coordinator, says in a written statement.
The Agency for Persons With Disabilities stresses that no one challenging service changes will experience a reduction until they have exhausted appeal options.
That includes Mason and her son, Sean. "That's all they think we care about," said Mason, who is 70 and fears that she will have to place her son in a residential facility. "But when it stops, you've got to make a decision - fast. And the choices are nightmarish. The anxiety is terrible."
Story by Reporter Catherine Dolinski she can be reached at (850) 222-8382.
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