Oh, don't even get me started.  I live in a double Bush state.  Talk about a
bunch of unfunded mandates.  Schools are so bogged down with the minimally
funded No Child Left Behind act, that special education has become even more
of a fight for the children I work with.  Funding cuts to federal programs
has caused many good therapists to leave private pediatric practice.  How
can you expect people to keep being paid less?
I'm lucky, the program I work for doesn't accept federal funds, but, we do
pick up the remains of federal and state programs that don't reach the
children.  If you ask the families in Florida who have to wait 5 years or
more for serves if they are better off, well you know the answer.  And don't
even get me started on the state of mental health services in this state
(especially for children).
Now with the hurricanes, the budgets will be strapped even further.


Beth t the OT



-----Original Message-----
From: St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kat
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 6:32 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [DGV] Halting Progress for the Disabled (fwd)

Oh but I disagree with you.  Because of federal funds drying  up and the
states not willing to spend money, children in my state are being forced to
leave special learning programs and more often than not, end up back where
they started, at an disadvantage.  A case in point - a local boy who is
autistic and mentally retarded was doing very well in a special program at a
private school.   The feds stopped paying for the program, the state doesn't
have the money, and now the boy will be forced to go to a state school that
is little more than an institution.

Do you call that aiding the disabled?  I don't.  And that's not the only
case
- there are many more here and around the country.  The Bush Administration
has not lived up to its promises.  And he certainly hasn't done his part to
expand health care to every citizen - we have more and more people without
health insurance in this country.  I certainly see no signs of the Bush
Administration doing anything about those who are  not yet eligible for
Medicare or Medicaid.

And let's not forget the largest budget deficit in our history.  Do you
think that doesn't affect social welfare programs?  Of course it does.

Kat

On Wednesday 29 September 2004 06:06 am, [log in to unmask] wrote:
> I disagree that Bush opposes the disabled! Besides starting "No child
> left behind" which has been very beneficial to advocate for children
> to be in regular classrooms instead of with children displaying
> violent behaviors, he has also started Classroon Plus with provides
> money reimbursement for summer tutoring for these children which has
> also been beneficial for my son because the school district refuses to
> ever support summer tutoring programs for him. These have been
> necessary because he learns at a slower rate and it provides some
reinforcement and hopefully catch-up.
> Cindy
>