Where Should the $$$ Go To?

by Kristina Chew · 2009-07-10 14:09:00 UTC
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Should 350 employees of the Fresno-based Central Valley Regional Center have received bonuses of $1400 each, at a time when the state of California is facing a major fiscal crisis----a crisis that will most likely substantial cuts to programs for individuals with developmentally disabilities? The July 7th San Jose Mercury-News reports that all of California's Regional Centers were forced to cut their budgets by 3 percent, after the legislature was unable to fix the state's budget deficit.

"We're not saying that their staff don't deserve raises—our staffers would love a raise, too," said Ron Killingsworth, who represents the Central Valley Caucus of the California Disability Services Association. "But to spend half a million dollars on employee bonuses when we're facing huge cuts to programs for the developmentally disabled? We just don't understand."

The grandfather of a 9-year-old autistic girl, Chuck Genseal, is quoted as saying "'They're giving their employees bonuses at a time when the disability community doesn't know if they're going to have a safety net at the end of the week.'" Regional Center administrators argue that the bonuses will help employees with increased health-care and other costs and that "'there are tough times ahead.'"

The parent (bill-paying, bank account balance watching) part of me says, of course, the dollars should go to the people who need the services---seems like a no-brainer. Then other realities come to mind, like the therapists who've told us they had to stop working to "find a better paying job," or my extreme annoyance at seeing how much 1-on-1 aides earn---the very individuals who spend hours after hours with my son, patiently teaching him, helping him through his anxieties, and much more---versus, well, people who choose other more "prestigious" careers. If there aren't staff for programs, doesn't that mean there won't be programs? Or could the funds have been given directly to individuals with disabilities, so they could get the supports and services that they need?

And were individuals with disabilities asked about what they thought about all this?

Kristina Chew
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