Members of the intellectual and developmental disability community held a meeting Wednesday to learn about bills that are moving through the Arizona Legislature that could impact them.
Jon Meyers with the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council says the state's disability program has been chronically underfunded for years.
"Arizona has one of the largest numbers of new enrollees in DD services of any state in the country. People continue to move to Arizona because Arizona's DD system is seen as a model for many other states," Meyers says.
Meyers says several bills could affect the disability community, including measures on voting, education and health and safety. He also talked about Gov. Katie Hobbs’ budget proposals, which included proposed funding for provider rate increases, which Meyers says are desperately needed.
"Arizona has seen a number of minimum wage increases in recent years and a number of increases in costs simply to do business as a DD contracted provider," Meyers says.
The governor is proposing nearly $75 million in provider pay increases over the next three years.
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Arizona officials cut funding for a program that provides independent oversight at group homes for people with developmental disabilities, which was created in response to a sex abuse scandal. Advocates say the decision will harm the most vulnerable Arizonans. -
Advocates say a bipartisan state budget proposal doesn’t include funding for a program providing independent oversight at group homes for Arizonans with developmental disabilities that was created in the wake of a sex abuse scandal.
