tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400857.post1893687733601075443..comments2023-09-16T05:17:59.903-07:00Comments on Developmental Disability System Reform: Things DDS (or LAO) should be thinking about, Part IDoug The Unahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04753071669562594194noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400857.post-54434051915084294642011-02-11T19:50:15.595-08:002011-02-11T19:50:15.595-08:00Thanks, Stanley;
I got a chance to talk to Art at...Thanks, Stanley;<br /><br />I got a chance to talk to Art at the 2/10 hearing. It was good to see him.Doug The Unahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04753071669562594194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400857.post-16102591709177376632011-02-07T13:56:50.321-08:002011-02-07T13:56:50.321-08:00either my computer or doug is playing games...the ...either my computer or doug is playing games...the link to art's testimony didn't post...so trying one more time:<br /><br />http://www.calchannel.com/channel/viewvideo/2012<br /><br />actually it's the entire 3Feb hearing...art is at the 3:26:46 mark.<br /><br />assume the 10Feb hearing will be at the same site...<br /><br />stanley seiglerstanley seeiglernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400857.post-65457231779028687902011-02-07T08:44:07.993-08:002011-02-07T08:44:07.993-08:00Thanks, Stanley. That's good testimony.Thanks, Stanley. That's good testimony.Doug The Unahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04753071669562594194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400857.post-51443573602116167902011-02-07T08:41:35.746-08:002011-02-07T08:41:35.746-08:00Testimony of Art Bolton: California Assembly Subco...Testimony of Art Bolton: California Assembly Subcommittee #1 - Health and Human Services - February 3, 2011<br /><br />Hello members of the committee. My name is Art Bolton. It*s a pleasure to be here in this room again. I see Jess Unruh*s picture looking down on us. He hired me in 1963 to staff the Assembly committee selected to look at our programs for people w/ developmental disabilities. <br /><br />At that time the governor, the recipient of bad advice, had a plan to expand the state hospitals. He had appropriated 47 million dollars in his budget to go ahead and start building more hospitals, because they were terribly over crowded and the conditions were bad; something had to be done. He turned to his department, he turned to Dept of finance. *What shall we do?* They came in with a number, 47 million. Why not that number? Go ahead. <br /><br />Well the families who would be affected, who had children in the state institutions and who were on a waiting list, those families were upset. They didn*t want more state hospitals. So they went to Speaker Unruh and they said: *Can the legislature do something?,* and he said: *Well I don*t know, we*ll investigate it.* <br /><br />He put together a bipartisan committee. Frank Lanterman was on that committee and they quickly decided that what was needed was not more state hospitals, but some sort of alternative in the community and there wasn*t anything, so they invented the California system for people with developmental disability, which now serves 240,000 people, employs over 100,000 workers and is a model for the nation. Great thing.<br /><br />Well now, all these years later, here comes the son and he*s the governor, and he*s got a problem. He turns to his department, he turns to finance and says: *What should we do?* They come up with a number of 750 million dollars. That sounds like a fair, reasonable number, and the poor dears, they don*t know, but they don*t look at the larger picture. <br /><br />The governor didn*t ask the right questions. For example: *How many people will get laid off?* My estimate is that with this kind of size of a cut, you*re going to loose roughly 15,000 workers. Who are these workers? These are not jobs that can be shipped to China. These are American jobs in the private sector. Keep in mind Frank Lanterman was a conservative republican and he helped to engineer this system from the beginning and stayed with it. <br /><br />It doesn*t make sense to dismantle this system andput 20,000 people out of work. They*ll all be eligible for food stamps, unemployment insurance, welfare. What*s that cost and does that offset that 750 million or maybe what portion of it? Does anybody know? Has that question been asked? I think its important because you can*t just look at the small details and have meetings on how to distribute the cuts, you have to look at the larger picture. What*s the social impact? What*s the economic impact? That*s part of the work needs to be done. <br /><br />I urge this committee to take the lead in drawing the line saying *We*re not necessarily going to play this game. We*re going to take our time. We*re going to ask the right questions. We*re going to investigate.* If some cuts are warranted, fine, but this sort of a wholesale, pie-in-the-sky cut is going to solve the state*s economic problems - that*s foolishness and is going to hurt a lot of people.<br /><br />A PDF file of this above approximation of Art Bolton's testimony is attached. To see the testimony as it was delivered, please use the following link and then move the slider to 3:26:40. <><br /><br />[NOTE this link is the complete 3 Feb hearing]<br /><br />Re: Testimony of Art Bolton <br />It [arts testimony] ranks right up there with some of my [lisa] favorite examples of advocacy of all time....<br /><br />COMMENT<br />art bolton*s comments should be posted far and wide...he is the lone ranger here to save lil nell...thundering hoof beats out of the past...<br /><br />again, lisa thanks for posting art*s testimony...he is a (my) hero...<br /><br />stanley seiglerstanley seiglernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400857.post-68685254072281366682011-02-05T22:57:45.806-08:002011-02-05T22:57:45.806-08:00doug say] Query to readers: What do you think DDS ...doug say] Query to readers: What do you think DDS should be considering while they write the trailer bill language? (Leave a comment and then go tell them.)<br /><br />DDS should consider/submit a budget based on needs (not historical data) and i have told them...NO response from DDS...what did you expect...<br /><br />further DDS should consider their mandate in Lanterman: (Lanterman 4434b) The department [DDS] shall take ALL necessary actions to support regional centers to successfully achieve compliance with this section and provide high quality services and supports <br /><br />stanley seiglerstanley seiglernoreply@blogger.com