Good Afternoon,
Thank you, Senator Kruger, and members of the Senate Finance Committee for the opportunity to speak today regarding the Governor’s proposed deficit reduction plan. My name is Jackie Yingling. I live in Rochester, NY. I am the parent of a charming and engaging 25 year-old daughter, Rachel, who happens to have a developmental disability.
I am concerned about the proposed cuts to OMRDD Family Support Services and Local Assistance funding. These cuts would have a tremendous adverse effect on individuals with disabilities and on agencies such as The Advocacy Center in Rochester, NY. The subsequent negative effect on families will be devastating.
For over 5 years, my daughter was able to continue to live in our home only because of the supports provided by OMRDD Family Support Services and The Advocacy Center. If we did not receive those services, she would have had to have been removed from our home and placed in a residential setting. This would have been terribly traumatic for Rachel and our family. This would have also cost the State of New York many tens of thousands of dollars more.
Many families are in the same situation today. These people (voting citizens) are surviving with their family unit intact because of the supports and services they receive. Julie Buick, a fellow parent, asked me to tell you this: New York State cannot afford to cut services to individuals with disabilities and their families. Cutting funding for OMRDD will affect programs such as Family Support, Respite, Family Reimbursement, Individualized Funding, and Home of Your Own, as well as OMRDD financial support to provider and advocacy agencies. Every one of these programs allows individuals with disabilities to live with their families or in their own homes with supports they choose. The current situation is bad enough, with thousands of people on waiting lists for residential services. Cutting these programs will result in significant cost to the state of New York by forcing people with disabilities into institutional and restrictive settings.
Providing individuals with disabilities and their family members with advocacy and OMRDD support services makes good fiscal sense. These efforts promote solid, productive citizens who become contributing members of their communities.
Everyone benefits.
Our lives, and that of our daughter’s, have been significantly improved because of the services we received. Please ensure
that now, and in the future, all New York residents have the
same opportunities.
Jackie Yingling
(Jackie's daughter Rachel signed with Jackie and her picture was on Jackie's written testimony, but I can't transfer it here.... grrr!)
