Hundreds of advocates for those with developmental disabilities rallied outside the Maryland State House on Thursday, less than 24 hours before the Senate plans to announce its state budget proposal for next fiscal year.
In an effort to help balance a $1.5 billion projected budget shortfall, Gov. Wes Moore announced in January that his administration is proposing cutting the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) by $150 million.
CEO of the Maryland Association of Community Services Laura Howell explains DDA receives federal matching Medicaid dollars, so the cuts would ultimately end up totaling $300 million if implemented.
Including federal funding, the agency operates under a $3.3 billion budget, meaning if adopted, the proposal would be a 10 percent slash.
“I think because the budget is so tight for the state, and is projected to be tight for the next several years, and because this is the second year of budget challenges with DDA, we are very, very concerned about what announcement we'll hear tomorrow, and whether there will be any relief,” Howell said.
This year is somewhat of déjà vu for Howell — Moore proposed close to $100 million worth of cuts to DDA in fiscal year 25 and almost $230 million in cuts for the current fiscal year.
The governor ended up shifting some money around after community backlash, and the House Appropriations Committee also reinstated some of the funds; all in all, DDA lost about $200 million in state and federal funding over the past two fiscal years.
Spending within DDA has also significantly grown in the past several years.
Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Chair Guy Guzzone (D-Howard County) told reporters on Tuesday “there is no question that there has to be some sort of cost containment.”
He explained DDA recently implemented a new record system that is a “good system” and is “doing the right thing” but has led to significant increases in the aid that members of the disability community receive.
He also said more people with disabilities are choosing self-directed care options, rather than using community services, which has led spending to “quadruple.”
Self-directed care allows individuals to hire and fire their own caregivers versus a model where home health agencies cover payroll and staffing.
About 4,000 Marylanders choose the self-direction care model and about 15,000 use community services.
Advocates point out while spending on care has undoubtedly increased, the disability community has seen better health outcomes and longer life spans.
The proposed administrative cost-saving changes would include capping individual budgets for those who need developmental disability care at $500,000, better enforcement of dedicated hours policies and reducing wages for self-directed service providers.
Howell says these cuts would hit people with the most intensive care needs.
“We have been urged by legislators to give them ideas about where, if they have to make cuts, how could we do it in ways that don't target people with the highest intensity needs?” she said. “And so we have certainly talked about some ideas, but again, with the ultimate goal of trying to to really oppose as many of these cuts as possible.”
She says the disability community has been in active talks with the Moore administration and lawmakers throughout budget negotiations, and she hopes more fiscal stability is in DDA’s future.
“I think that the developmental disabilities community has an incredible grassroots presence in Annapolis, and they are really frustrated by two years of major cuts to their services from the Moore administration,” Howell said. “I don't want to give the impression that [the administration hasn’t] been communicating, but we really have to get to a place where we are not on the chopping block year after year.”
Several people with developmental disabilities spoke on how the cuts could impact their quality of life during Thursday’s rally, including Danielle Bustos.
Bustos has been utilizing self-directed care since 2015, telling the crowd her independent lifestyle would be impossible without her personal care assistant.
“These budget cuts aim to destroy everything I've worked so hard to build and everything I've accomplished so far,” Bustos said, adding she is worried she would end up in a nursing facility if the cuts were enacted. “It aims to set me so far back that I can no longer afford a decent personal care attendant.”
“This workforce is already in crisis. When rates are cut, workers leave, when workers leave, services collapse, and when services collapse, it's the participants and their families who suffer,” said Cody Stevens, whose son Luke lives with Polymicrogyria and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome.
The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee was initially slated to release its proposed state budget on Thursday, but the big meeting was moved to Friday to give lawmakers more decision time.
On Tuesday, Guzzone told reporters, “Everyone wants to come to a good conclusion. We want everybody to be in on the discussion. At the end of the day, I'm sure people aren't going to be completely happy because that's just the nature of it, but everyone is involved.”
