A Letter to My Legislators
My first contact went nowhere. With time running out before the 2027 budget vote, my second attempt took a saucier tone.
Dear [Legislator],
Protecting disabled Marylanders should not be a partisan issue — it should unite the entire General Assembly. Yet it did not escape my notice that the proposed amendments to restore DDA funding to the budget came from only one side of the aisle. I urge you to work with all of your colleagues to restore the money. As you move to conference, I hope you’ll remember Marylanders like my daughter Leah, a young woman with autism whose life will be upended if these funding cuts are implemented.
Self-direction costs are the smallest per person of all the care options in the state, a fact that seems to be getting lost in the dialogue around the budget. I wonder about other misconceptions about DDA constituents in self-direction.
We are:
People whose loved ones were rejected by traditional agencies. Wage cuts that result in loss of staff will not push self-directing participants toward provider agencies. In most cases, the provider agencies have already rejected them. Lost staff actually will mean lost services. Qualified applicants will be harder to find at the lower rates.
People who are vehemently anti-fraud. We are trying to create a life for our loved one that’s secure and sustainable. We’re not trying to game the system or line our own pockets. In fact, we would like to see DDA do a much better job of preventing waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the system — among provider agencies, fiscal management providers, participants, and DDA staff themselves. These issues aren’t confined to one category of people. Dollars lost or wasted are dollars that can’t be spent on the people who need them most.
Employers who believe in treating staff well. Imagine telling your own employees that they’re expected to do the same job at a 30% lower rate. Oh, that doesn’t appeal? Enough said. Give us a reasonable reduction in our allocated budget amount and let us determine where to cut. Just about everyone will prioritize retaining staff.
People who voted for you. I am not sure how or why members from only one side of the aisle are advocating for self-direction, because self-directing families have a variety of political views. In our family’s case, we don’t simply live in your district. We cast ballots for you.
We are not:
The people responsible for $118 million in missing funds. That’s DDA’s own failing, along with the provider agencies who were overpaid.
The people who failed audits. Again, that rests with DDA employees.
The people who have been unable to provide accurate data about program utilization and expenditures. Yep, DDA again.
I agree with every legislator who has publicly said that operations at DDA need a closer look. I’m not sure how you can make any financial decisions while so much information is missing, or be clear on whether cost neutrality is an immediate issue. For now, why are 20% of DDA participants expected to shoulder 50% of the funding cuts?
Make that make sense.
[Love, Me]