“Expand this program.” Family Care expansion not in the budget yet

Last year, the Legislature overwhelmingly voted to support Gov. Jim Doyle's proposal to expand the program statewide. On the heels of that strong bipartisan support, Doyle put $20 million in his budget in February to expand the program over the next two years. The Senate kept the money in its budget, and the bipartisan Joint Finance Committee voted to include the money in a 15-1 vote. Journal Sentinel, September 2, 2007.

Unfortunately, the Wisconsin Legislature hasn’t allocated funds for the program, and the Conference Committee hasn’t put funding into the budget as they continue to dither about it.

The editorial writers concluded:

Time's running out. If the legislators don't act soon, they're going to be bumping up against federal deadlines and state and local timelines that could delay or even jeopardize the expansion, Doyle spokesman Matt Canter says.

Kudos to Aging Consortium and Make It Work Milwaukee Coalition members Tom Hlavacek, Altzheimer’s Association, and Barbara Beckert, Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations, for persisting in getting the story in front of the public.

And kudos to Consortium member Gwen Jackson, who wrote that it’s time to set politics aside. Scroll down in the article a bit to read her letter to the editor:

Nearly 2,500 people with disabilities in Milwaukee County are waiting; many are adult children whose aging parents are desperate to have community supports in place for their children. Many have no choice but to leave their own homes and enter nursing homes, which are far more costly than community services.

There are all sorts of good reasons to favor expanding Family Care, one of Wisconsin’s successful pilot programs for keeping low-income seniors out of nursing homes, to people with disabilities. Chief among them are the 11,000 people waiting for help the program can provide. Nearly as important is the $60 million in federal funds Wisconsin’s $20 million investment will draw.

Please write your legislators now!