A call for help for severely disabled

Advocates for people with severe disabilities heralded their recent victories Thursday but were cautious about prospects for extending help to everyone who needs it.

About 12,000 people statewide have developmental disabilities such as cerebral palsy but are stuck on a waiting list for services because there's not enough money. The waiting list in El Paso, Teller and Park counties includes 1,555 adults.

In a meeting convened by The Resource Exchange, an agency that coordinates services for disabled people, lawmakers said prying loose additional money from the state budget will be tough.

"There are many, many needs. They are all urgent," said Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs.

About 170 disabled people and their families attended the meeting to make the case to lawmakers that they need more help. Tax-supported services for people with developmental disabilities range from job training for those with relatively high skills to 24-hour care for people who can't manage on their own.

Lawmakers at the state Capitol approved a raft of measures in the session that ended last week aimed at helping people with disabilities. Among the measures were a tax credit for businesses that hire people with disabilities, a state fund designed to reduce the waiting list for services and a plan allowing people to get paid for helping developmentally disabled family members. The bills aren't laws yet because Gov. Bill Ritter hasn't signed them.

Significant change probably won't come for at least a year. The state government is studying the system of 20 so-called Community Centered Boards, including The Resource Exchange, and might enact sweeping changes in 2009.

But those efforts will have to compete against other interests such as education, prisons and transportation.

Rep. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, said education lobbyists are especially well-equipped to hold onto their piece of the state budget.

"They will fight like rabid dogs to keep every dime that they get, and they always get more," he said.

Another solution could come from a measure proposed for the November election ballot to enact a statewide sales tax for people with developmental disabilities. The measure isn't approved for the ballot. Marijo Rymer, executive director of The Arc of Colorado, said the needs of people with developmental disabilities are too great to be solved in the Legislature.

"The only way that we are going to address the needs that we know exist is through more taxes," she said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0187 or perry.swanson@gazette.com