Opinion: Will state break its promise to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities?

Jardini is executive director of the California Disability Services Association and lives in Sacramento.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a state budget in direct conflict with the promise California made decades ago to Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Since 1969, the Lanterman Act has set California apart from every other state by promising community services and support that empower Californians with developmental disabilities to live the lives of their own choosing. This landmark legislation is unique today, even as federal actions like the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Olmstead Decision have improved the lives of people with disabilities nationwide.

It’s a promise that all Californians can be proud of — if it’s a promise we intend to keep.

California faces a significant budget deficit this year, which means that lawmakers have tough decisions to make regarding limited state funds. To save money, Newsom is proposing to delay desperately needed rate increases for disability services that were promised several years ago. The proposed delay would cut $1 billion in funding expected this year, nearly half of which are federal dollars that would be lost, since the federal government matches a percentage of state funds used for developmental disability services. When the state cuts funding, the federal funding is cut as well.

As executive director for the California Disability Services Association, representing more than 115 community-based organizations throughout the state who provide the full range of services and supports, I hear directly what the proposed delay will mean for Californians with disabilities and their families. The funding delay would have real impacts on their lives. If allowed to pass as is, it will be felt by an estimated 458,000 Californians with disabilities and their families in the next year.

Unfortunately, the state is establishing a trend of balancing the budget on the backs of Californians with disabilities. California made a series of deep cuts to disability services funding during the Great Recession era. It has taken more than a decade to slowly reverse this trend. It wasn’t until 2016 that the state Legislature directed the Department of Developmental Services to commission a rate study. The rate study presented to the Legislature in 2019 found that disability services were underfunded by nearly $2 billion per year.

The Legislature recognized the need to address this chronic underfunding in 2021 and negotiated with Newsom to develop a multi-year funding plan. In 2022, state leaders acknowledged the urgency of restoring funding and agreed to hasten the implementation timeline by a year. A completion date of July 1, 2024, is required under current law. The need has only become more urgent, yet the current budget proposal disregards that by delaying it again.

The direct effect of underfunding is high direct support professional turnover and vacancy rates. Inadequate funding drives the direct support workforce into poverty wages that can’t be increased with the cost of living or keep up with competition in private industries. This results in barriers to service access and reduced quality, destabilizing the lives of individuals who rely on services.

Disability service providers already can’t compete. The State of America’s Direct Support Workforce Crisis 2023 report by ANCOR found that 95 percent of providers report staffing shortages.

More than 70 percent are turning away new referrals or struggling to meet quality standards as a result.

These nationwide issues are exacerbated in California, where the cost of living is higher, wages are more competitive and demand for services is greater. Service providers are only receiving 50 percent of the difference between the rate they started with in 2021 and the rate that Newsom has proposed to delay. Meanwhile, the starting hourly wage at fast food locations went up to $20 an hour in April. If the health care minimum wage proceeds as planned, which doesn’t include direct support professionals in the intellectual and developmental disabilities industry, those jobs will be paying $21 an hour starting in June.

Against this backdrop, the proposed delay threatens to undermine the progress that disability services have made with the previous state investments. A budget is often referred to as a statement of values. How much longer will Californians with disabilities have to wait before the state fulfills its promise?