News After Developmental Disabilities Awareness Day

TALLAHASSEE, FL (wfsu) - Hundreds of people, many of them with disabilities, gathered in the space between the two Florida Capitol Buildings today Wednesday. Tom Flanigan reports they heard from many speakers and one of them, Governor Rick Scott, received less than a warm response from the gathering.

The event was the yearly Developmental Disabilities Awareness Day at the Florida Capitol. Among those showing awareness, Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Adam Putnam.

"Special societies take care of special people. And I just want to thank you for being here and being a part of this effort. Even as we face difficult economic challenges and difficult decisions in the days and weeks ahead, it's important to take care of our citizens who need our support."

Putnam's fellow state cabinet member, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater was also aware of the plight of those Floridians who have developmental disabilities
"Press onward that Florida may become all it can be by allowing just the opportunity for everyone of us to become all we can be."

Miami Republican State Senator Anitere Flores was there to speak.

"But we know that you all are a group of incredibly, incredibly dynamic Floridians, of people that are active in the legislative process. You know, I love the We Vote' stickers. Incredible individuals and that we as Floridians, as your leaders, need to do what we can to make sure that you continue to have the tools necessary to be productive members of society."

Then Senator Flores presented a special leadership and advocacy award to Kara Tucker of Jacksonville. Besides being the admissions coordinator for her alma mater, the University of North Florida, she is the state's youngest female elected official, serving as vice mayor on the Neptune Beach City Council.

"I started advocating for myself going through the Duval County Public School System and being orthopedically impaired was classified that, I started school in 1989 in '88 was signed and 1990. So we definitely have grown up with all the laws passed to help people with disabilities."

One of those laws created a program called "Early Steps". It now serves thousands of Florida children from birth to age three who have developmental disabilities. It's run by the Florida Department of Health and faced a shortfall of more than twelve and a half million dollars going into this year's legislative session. That's why there was applause when Florida Developmental Disabilities Council Chair Renee Valletutti announced.

"The good news is we learned yesterday that the House and Senate Health and Human Services Budget Subcommittees have included funding for Early Steps in Florida."

There's another big need still unmet. Deborah Linton with A-R-C Florida says it involves the Home and Community Based Services waivers.

"There are thousands and thousands of individuals on the wait list who receive no services from this great state. Our elderly parents who can no longer lift or transport their grown adult children and our young parents who are financially strapped and must work long hours and come home to four or more hours of personal care."

At the moment, there are more than nineteen-thousand people on the wait list, which is growing by more than seven hundred new names a year. On top of all this, Richard Stimson with the A-R-C of Brevard County says there are more pressing issues

"One of the big things would be to fund transportation better because transportation is one of the biggest problems for people with disabilities to get around. After that I would say privatized case management, because privatized case management means they work for a person who is mentally challenges and not for the state and not for an HMO, because by definition people with intellectual disabilities can't understand the process."

That last item has many people who care for and advocate for the developmentally disabled concerned. They fear that the push to place Medicaid patients in H-M-Os would be particularly hard on the developmentally disabled. Many in the legislature and Governor Rick Scott have been pushing for managed care. So when Governor Scott showed up at the rally to speak briefly, there was already a certain degree of wariness in the audience. Things only went downhill from there.

"For individuals with disabilities, you know best where the barriers to access are. And you are best equipped to provide guidance to policymakers on those issues. I especially want to applaud the work of the Florida Disability disabil developmental I should have read this a few more times."

At the end of the governor's remarks, there were rising chants of "No More Cuts" from the crowd and a number of signs bearing the same sentiment appeared. After posing for a few photos with some of the other speakers and officials with the various organizations involved in the rally, Governor Scott made a hasty exit.