As long-term advocates for people with developmental disabilities, we strongly disagree with The Post’s recent editorial on Amendment 51 ( Sept. 26).
The time to help Coloradans with mental retardation, Down Syndrome, autism and other developmental disabilities is now. They have waited for basic services for far too long.
Amendment 51 helps people who need it most. When passed, it will create a critically needed safety net for 12,400 eligible children and adults with developmental disabilities who need, but do not receive, care. It provides new funds through a modest sales tax increase of two-tenths of 1 percent, or two pennies on $10, excluding tax on essential items such as gasoline, groceries and prescription medications.
This statutory (not constitutional) proposal helps people like Russell and his mom. Russell is a 63-year-old man with mental retardation who lives with his 85-year-old mother because he needs help to eat, dress, bathe, and use the bathroom. His mother put him on the waiting list more than 15 years ago. Because of age and failing health, she worries constantly about who will care for Russell when she dies.
Amendment 51 helps children like Sam, a 4-year-old with autism and multiple physical disabilities, who could learn to walk, talk, feed himself, and play with other children if he was not waiting at the bottom of the list for services.
For Sam, Russell and his mother, and thousands more Coloradans, there is absolutely no safety net for the vital services they need. They have already waited far too long. The time to help is now.
Under Amendment 51, the spare change in our pockets, the pennies on the sidewalk we often just step over, will add up to more than $186 million each year. For most of us, it is an unnoticeable amount, but those pennies will help more than 12,000 children and adults who, through no fault of their own, face tremendous burdens every day just getting by.
Regardless of political affiliation, people generally agree that government has some basic responsibilities to our most vulnerable citizens. In this regard, our state is failing. At 46th in the nation, Colorado is near the bottom of the list in fiscal support for people with developmental disabilities. Given that fact, it is no surprise that admissions at the Pueblo Regional Center and similar facilities in Wheat Ridge and Grand Junction have been frozen. There is not even space for known emergency cases.
Because of a lack of funds, thousands of Coloradans with developmental disabilities have been waiting 10 years or longer for critical services to allow them to live dignified and healthy lives: daily living support, 2 4/7 supervision, employment training, nursing services, or transportation. Many of their family caregivers can no longer help due to age or illness. Many caregivers will die before their sons or daughters receive the services they need. In fact, more than 9,000 Coloradans with developmental disabilities are being cared for by parents 60 years or older.
Some may question why two fiscally conservative Republicans like us support Amendment 51. We are not alone. The constraints on our state budget prohibit any other way to provide the necessary funds to tackle a problem of this magnitude. We know the developmental disability levee is about to break, and there is no realistic alternative available to address this growing crisis. Unless we do something now, there will be no end to this wait for people with mental retardation, Down Syndrome, or cerebral palsy.
For us, this is a tax that matters. As a state, we owe it to our families, friends and neighbors with developmental disabilities to consider this measure. As voters, we have the right to remedy this situation. The wait for people with developmental disabilities and their families has lasted far too long.
Now is the time to help those who need it most. Vote “yes” on 51.
State Rep. Bob Gardner is a member of the 2007 Interim Committee on Develop- mental Disabilities. Frances Owens is a former first lady of Colorado.
