Interior Delegation Chair
Pete Kelly
Weekly Legislative Update Contact: Lorna Ramert (907) 465-2327 March 12, 1997
Key Campaign Lobbies Legislature Seeking Funding for Disabled
Grassroots coalition came from the Interior to share with legislators the successes of the programs and to lobby on behalf of continued and increased funding of non-profit agencies to deliver services to the disabled.
Opening the key to opportunity for disabled Alaskans, community based non-profit service providers receive slightly more than 20 million dollars in state funding. This funding provides efficient services that allow handicapped individuals to live at home, or independently in the community, rather than in more expensive institutional care.
Without the willingness of Key Campaign participants to come to Juneau to explain the programs that are important to them it would be difficult to understand, for example, how the Alaska Crippled Children and Adults Agency receives funding through the Infant Learning Program Grant component of the Health Grants in the Division of Public Health, Department of Health and Social Services budget. Key Campaign volunteers explained what the program means to families with disabled infants. They also described how this specialized assistance and training ensures that the family remains the central focus for the child, rather than an institution.
Through the assistance and respite care one participant received, she was able to keep her daughter out of an institution and at home following an automobile accident. Her daughter is now able to continue college, and is independently living in Fairbanks with a paraplegic injury not too dissimilar from that of Eric Drygas, the injured UAF hockey player. The young lady is moving ahead and plans to complete a Ph.D. at the UAF. She receives assistance in independent living of about $35,000 per year through the non-profit organizations. Had she been institutionalized the cost would have been over $100,000 per year.
Community based care programs are not only more user friendly and allow the patient or recipient to stay at home, but they are also very efficient uses of our shrinking supply of petro-dollars.
David Maltman, Executive Director of the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, explained that the Key Campaign programs total a little over $20,000,000. Tracking the BRU (Budget Reserve Units) through the Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Mental Health and Developmentally Disabled, Community Development Disabilities, and into the component for Community Disability Grants is no small task.
Representative Mark Hanley has shepherded these programs over the past few years. As the Department closes down the Harborview facility in Valdez, the millions of dollars once spent on institutionalized care has been redistributed back to the communities. The Harborview institution is scheduled to close next year, and the final dollars are a matter of interest to the Key Campaign. Their hope is that these dollars will become available to the non-profit care providers, enabling them to receive an additional $1 million from the Mental Health Trust, and enabling them to catch another $2 million in matching funds from the federal government.
Matching real people and their personal needs to the intricate lines of the State’s budget is a very difficult task. The Key Campaign volunteers deserve kudos for their efforts. As we stare at the huge gap between the decreasing funds coming in from declining oil reserves and the ongoing levels of state spending, it is easy to lose sight of the personal stories and critical role a few of these dollars make in the quality of lives of many Alaskans.
There will never be a constituency supporting the elimination of any single budget item. Comparing the relative importance of budget items is a challenging task. It is incredibly valuable to be able to understand how these vital programs allow Alaskan families to stay together, and allow individuals to stay at home instead of resorting to more expensive institutions.
Cutting the budget is no fun. Key Campaign volunteers help to give the task vital focus.
Guide Dog Legislation Introduced -- Allows More Effective Training
House Bill 170, introduced earlier this month, will allow service animals in training the same rights as trained animals. The current state law is vague and allows dogs in training to be turned away from establishments. HB 170 will extend the law to mandate that service animals in training be allowed in the same places as certified trained dogs. This is necessary to ensure these dogs get the same exposure as trained service animals, enabling them to handle the various circumstances they will be faced with as a guide dog. Rep. Brice has sponsored this bill which has been given three committees of referral. It is now awaiting a hearing in the House Health, Education and Social Services Committee.
Brown Bag Lunches
Brown bag lunches for the Interior Delegation to meet with constituents visiting the capitol are scheduled for the following Thursdays:
Please come join us if you will be in Juneau. We are happy to schedule lunches for an off Thursday. Just let us know!
Teleconferences
Legislative Teleconferences with the Interior Delegation are scheduled for the following alternate Tuesdays from 7-8pm:
These meetings are broadcast over KUAC and we welcome you to participate. You may go to the LIO on Cushman St. or call 1-800-478-7612. We hope to hear from you!
We're on the Internet
Come see our web pages! The members of the Interior Delegation are accessible via the Internet! You will find legislation, speeches, sponsor statements, photos, profiles and more! Please come visit majority members at:
All members at: