Henrietta, N.Y.—As state leaders work to craft a new state budget, there is one major item of concern for many area non-profits. Agencies providing services to those with disabilities face a six percent across-the-board funding cut.
“Any further reductions cut to the heart of the services that we provide,” said Brian C. Klafehn, President of CP Rochester.
The proposed cut comes from Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget amendments.
It is tied to an ongoing dispute between the state and federal government pertaining to reimbursements paid by the federal government to the state for disability services.
Klafehn agency provides around-the-clock care for nearly 3,000 people coping with cerebral palsy and similar diseases and disabilities.
“They help me learn more about daily living that I might need a little help with,” said Tom Greenwood, a CP Rochester client of nearly thirty years. Greewood lives with Ataxia Telangiectasia, a disease that affects his brain and movement.
The cuts could cost CP Rochester $750,000, according to Klafehn.
The governor’s office released the following statement on the matter:
The federal government has held that for more than 20 years New York has been reimbursed in excess of what it costs to provide OPWDD services. To resolve this longstanding issue for once and for all, the state is reconciling the rate to the level that the federal government believes is appropriate. While we’re sensitive to the possible effects of less federal funding for these services, they are necessary so we can move forward and put this dispute in the past.
