Special needs children lose services after budget cuts

Patrick Paeper and his 4-year-old daughter Lucille. Due to California State budget cuts, special needs early-intervention programs will no longer be funded.

[SNR]

This is absolutely heartbreaking. Early intervention is crucial in the development of these children I can say with confidence that my son's early intervention is what made the faces of his doctors drop when he walked into his two year appt doing all the things they said he would not! There has to be somthing that can be done???

[Nicole]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, we cannot cut programs that will jeopardize the lives of our future citizens. If we give these children what they need now at an early age they have the best chance possible to be capable, independent adults. The Governor needs to sit down and look over his numbers and find other less important places to make cuts. It's awful to take from those who need it most who look to others to provide and protect them!

[George W Bush]

Never would have happened if McCain/ Palin had won..this is all thanks to the Pelosi,Feinstein,Boxer,Waxman crowd

[stacey in nyc]

shame on you california. how can you take these services away from the children who need it most.

[Rick Roll]

FYI - It is mandated that when these children with special needs hit public school 50% will be placed in mainstream (regular) classrooms or face fines and punishments including dismissal. Whether or not they are ready and regardless if the teacher is trained to meet their needs the will be forced into these classrooms.

For the rest of the parents this may mean your child's teacher will have 5 special needs kids and 30 other kids. Guess who will take all of the teacher's time? And sorry, no money for aides.

[LMR]

Sad state of affairs when kids with special needs have to suffer due to political shortfall in fiscal responsibility. These programs should be considered a "no-cut zone" as what does it say about our society when money dictates morality and financial matters are used as a means of turning our back on the people who most need the help. Funny how people who don't have to deal with these kinds of problems can simply turn a blind eye as they feel it doesn't affect them. Let them walk one day in the shoes of a family who deals with these problems and realize how much more of a challenge life becomes when families face these obstacles.

[Concerned]

This is such a disgrace where is the govenor and his morals at a time like this What would Eunice be saying to him and her daughter. Shame on you state of California...This should be being covered by all local news papers and TV . Our bias media was in full force a few weeks ago when the Gov saved 20 from being evicted. so where are you know

[Ronald Wolff]

How sad!

[AH --Newfane Vermont]

Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s life’s work was dedicated to helping children with disabilities. Years ago we had a broken system and she helped to mend it. Taking funding away from the disabled children is not only a big step backward, it is downright cowardly. These children cannot fight back. I long for the vision, voice and advocacy of Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

[Sheri Proctor]

This is truly a disgrace for these children. I cannot imagine if my son was denied services 8 years ago when he first was referred to Regional Center in San Gabriel Pomona. Those services he received back then were invaluable for him. This saddens my heart for all those kids who may end up falling through the cracks and later will have further issues that will need to be dealt with in a much more significant manner.
Help these kids NOW!!!

[VAI]

Cutting early intervention services affect ALL families in California. Where do we think these children are going to go in the future? Not addressing their needs does not make their needs just go away. They will become students at our schools, and part of our community as they grow up. Educating a child with special needs comes with a huge price tag to the school district. Money spent on early intervention now will save us money later.
Our country has decided that we will educate all children, regardless of ability or disability. Wasting those early intervention years by not giving children what they need is going to cost us dearly once children are school age.

[CAM]

It is proven that early intervention services are effective in resolving or lessening developmental delays in young children. It makes no budget sense to cut these services, as it will only result in higher special education costs later on. Common sense and good budget planning is severly lacking here!

[Rosa]

Somehow the State of California found the money to keep some State Parks open why not the early intervention programs like in this article? Just a note: Children Hospital Autism Intervention in Oakland, CA is closing it's doors as of OCT. My son went through this program, they created miracles with him. Thank you DR. MIMI LOU.

[Allison]

This is tragic for both the children affected and for the community. The state should be finding other areas to trim the budget. These programs are crucial to raising children who are able to function in society. And state funded programs are often the only option for most parents. I hope the state will re-consider this soon before the damage is irreparable.

[A Lucky One]

It' breaks my heart to know that if my daughter had the same problems today that she had about this time last year, she wouldn't qualify for services. Because of Early Intervention, her speech has improved 100% just in the last 6 months. She started out with no speech and today comes up with 3 and 4 word phrases out of the blue. We the Parents need to be incdrediblly strong advocates for our children and come together. We are much stronger together than we are alone.

[CRS]

Absolutely horrifying!!!I don't understand how anyone especially our government can possibly justify this...taking something so important away from the children who need it most...what has America come to???

[CRS]

Absolutley horrifying!!!I don't understand how anyone can possibly justify this,especially our government...taking something so important away from the children who need it most!!!What has America come to???

[Sandi Soliday]

The elimination of both services and programs is tragic and ultimately not cost effective. Thank you for addressing these issues in your article.

[Richard M]

From a moral perspective, this seems unconscionable. However it appears moral considerations are being overlooked, and the only consideration here is financial.
But talk about afalse economy! A relatively small sum spent in early childhood to ensure a fully functioning member of society vs. potentially years of social services / other community support later in life? You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out than a small investment now is the way to go!

[Steven]

George W Bush wrote:

Never would have happened if McCain/ Palin had won..this is all thanks to the Pelosi,Feinstein,Boxer,Waxman crowd

GW - please go back to retirement. We are all grateful to not have your dismal administration continue into the next 4 years. I hope you are joking that Palin would have helped - for those of us with special needs kids - it was clear that she was using her son as a PR prop.