The recession that has had a crushing effect on DC’s finances now appears to be affecting services for people with disabilities, who make up 1 in 5 District residents. Proposed cuts in the FY 2011 budget have the potential to add up to big reductions in services for DC residents with disabilities, including employment services, temporary cash assistance for poor residents with disabilities, and monitoring compliance with disability rights laws.
Cutting Employment Programs for Residents with Disabilities: The District’s Rehabilitative Services Administration (RSA) helps DC residents with disabilities obtain job training and employment. The FY 2011 budget proposes to cut DC’s contribution by $2 million, which also could result in a loss of up to $2 million in future federal funds.
The $2 million cut could result in fewer people receiving services and potentially, a waiting list. Additionally, unless RSA can obtain a federal exemption or find spending at other agencies to count toward its share, federal funds in 2012 will be cut by $2 million. RSA indicates it will use carry-over dollars from 2010 to prevent service reductions in 2011, but with disproportionately high unemployment among people with disabilities, it’s surprising that RSA will have any unspent funds in 2010.
Reducing Cash Assistance to Residents with Disabilities Who Cannot Work (Interim Disability Assistance): DC residents whose disabilities prevent them from working are eligible for a monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit from the federal government. However, it often takes several years for the federal government to approve SSI benefits, leaving applicants without any income during this period. To fill this gap, the District (and 38 states including MD and VA) provides Interim Disability Assistance, a small monthly cash assistance benefit to pay for rent and other basic needs while they wait for SSI approval.
The FY 2011 budget would cut IDA by $7 million, forcing the program to cap the number of individuals served at 1,500 per month ‘ a reduction of nearly half. It also would require the city to continue a waiting list that was established in June 2009. Operating a waiting list for a program that provides support while residents are waiting for federal benefits to be approved defeats the purpose of IDA and likely will discourage individuals from applying for assistance. Moreover, residents on the waiting list are left at risk of eviction and other hardship while they wait for their applications to be processed.
Decreasing Funds for Monitoring DC’s Compliance with Disability Rights Laws: DC’s Office of Disability Rights (ODR) ensures that DC is complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as other local and federal disability laws. ODR’s budget for these activities is proposed to decrease by 11 percent, including reductions to funding for sign language interpretation services.
The affected services are critical to the quality of life for a large number of DC residents with disabilities and their families. As the District wrestles with the impacts of the recession, preserving services such as these are critical to the wellbeing of DC residents now and into the future.
