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State budget cuts threaten jobs for the disabled

BECOMING INDEPENDENT, WHICH SERVES 1,100 PEOPLE, WOULD FACE PROGRAM REDUCTIONS

The state budget as currently proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threatens important job opportunities here in the North Bay, jobs that can mean the difference between personal fulfillment and inclusion or a life on the sidelines for hundreds of disabled people.

It also threatens an important labor source for many North Bay employers.

Becoming Independent provides educational and job opportunities to more than 1,100 disabled men, women and children in Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties.

About 40 years ago, historic changes in public attitudes and state law led to the creation of community organizations like Becoming Independent. As a result, thousands of people with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism and other disabilities are able to live at home and in their communities.

They go to school, hold down jobs and in many cases live on their own or in group homes.

And many are able to live as independently and happily as possible because of the kinds of programs offered at Becoming Independent, including programs that help them to find jobs, earn income and be contributing members of society.

At Becoming Independent, we train men and women with developmental disabilities to be efficient, enthusiastic and reliable members of the working community. Currently, some 420 men and women served by BI are employed.

Our unique personnel work for private enterprise, nonprofits and the public sector. They work inside BI’s facilities in the three counties. And they work at jobs in the mainstream community.

Our workers tackle and fulfill the needs of big high-tech employers, such as Agilent Technologies in Sonoma County, and manufacturers like Lixit Animal Care Products in Napa. They provide landscaping and property maintenance services for organizations like Burbank Housing. They work at wineries, restaurants, supermarkets, and garden nurseries. BI workers employed by Middle Way perform all sorts of landscaping and grounds-keeping tasks in the West County.

These workers are key to the mutually beneficial partnerships BI has established with more than 125 large and small employers in our three-county service area.

They get kudos from their employers. Mike Benziger at Benziger Family Winery in Glen Ellen says BI workers bring energy, inspiration and hard work to his Sonoma Valley vineyards. At Mary’s Pizza Shack in Santa Rosa, Vince Albano says the BI staff is excellent and reliable.

And they earn their way. Last year, the men and women placed in jobs under BI’s programs earned $1.1 million in wages. They are taxpayers and contributing members of the local economy.

But now our ability to train these good workers and find them jobs is threatened.

The current state spending proposal provides a 10 percent reduction in state funds for supported employment programs under the Departments of Developmental Services and Rehabilitation.

At BI, a 10 percent cut would amount to about $50,000 a year.

That may not seem like a lot in Sacramento, looking at the big picture.

But here at Becoming Independent in the course of a year it could mean everything to as many as 45 disabled men and women who are counting on BI to train them in the world of work and help them find jobs. Should BI suffer this funding cut, we may be forced to reduce our job development and coaching staff.

So, we’d lose the jobs of BI staffers who help disabled people. And we’d lose the jobs that they would fill in the community once they are ready for work.

BI appreciates the economic challenges the state is facing. But as tough as those challenges are, in many cases they pale in comparison with the huge personal challenges disabled men and women overcome at Becoming Independent and other programs for disabled people.

We urge our supporters to write the governor and their representatives in the legislature to urge them to restore these funds and find other ways to balance the budget.

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Cami Weaver is chief executive officer of Becoming Independent, which has offices in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Healdsburg and Napa.