PRESS RELEASE Dramatic Cuts to Vital Services for Individuals with Disabilites, March 9, 2010
3/22/2010
Contact
Dave Holscher
KCOMM
949-295-5515
Dramatic Cuts to Vital Services for Individuals with Disabilities
Drive Heartfelt Appeals to Legislators for Attention to Funding Issues
AIM Mail Centers CEO Joins Other Business and Non-Profit Leaders in Speaking Out
for Programs Deemed Essential at Event Themed “Their Lives. Your Choice.”
IRVINE, Calif. (March 9, 2010) – Michael Sawitz, CEO of AIM Mail Centers, a national retail chain of franchised business solution centers, recently provided the employer perspective presentation at the annual legislative breakfast held by the Inland Empire Caucus of the California Disability Services Association. The caucus is an advocacy network of local associations serving thousands of individuals with disabilities to provide personal growth skills, vocational training, job placement services and independent living skills. The theme for the event was “Their Lives. Your Choice.”
“In the state’s current budget climate, services for individuals with disabilities are continuing to come under severe financial pressure. Access to these essential services can mean the difference between living independently or being institutionalized,” Sawitz said. “We implore legislators and the public not to abandon these members of our communities. They deserve our collective commitment to ensuring access to mainstream society and a quality of life that we all value so highly. Plus, it makes solid sense financially as well in terms of maximizing opportunity and productivity.”
The developmental disability system in California, which serves some 249,000 individuals statewide, has seen cuts of more than $500 million since October 2008. In addition, hundreds of millions of dollars in federal matching funds have been lost due to these reductions. With the state faced with continuing deficits if historic proportions, ongoing reductions in services will have a significant impact on communities, families and individuals.
Particularly hard hit are people trying to find and maintain jobs. A 10% reduction in job coaching has made it more difficult for programs to maintain their supported employment programs, resulting in a loss of services. Services to children between 0-5 that help mitigate their disabilities have been eliminated, creating a need for more costly services as they get older. And a severe reduction in respite services, which allow families to keep children/adults with disabilities at home, will result in more costly out-of-home placements due to the impact of the disability on family members.
It costs $300,000 per bed every year to house an individual with disabilities in a government-funded facility. However, the cost for an individual enrolled in one of these programs and gaining skills to become self-sufficient is less that $100,000.
The legislative caucus event was designed to present significant ideas, information and case studies supporting work programs for Californians with disabilities to the assembled group of legislators. Attendees included 140 associates of service organizations as well as legislators representing the districts of 15 service organizations in San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties.
Two touching testimonials were presented, one from a mother on behalf of her 40-year-old son and the other from a man in his 60s, that illustrated the life-changing benefits of these services. In addition, Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter of California’s 62nd District was honored as Legislator of the Year.
The illustrate the theme, program participants seated at each table were initially provided a breakfast without utensils to symbolize the decline in support services to help individuals with disabilities function fully in their lives and communities. When each participant was given the proper eating utensils, they were first given only a knife or a spoon to indicate that services being provided for these individuals are not necessarily the services which best meet their needs, but services that others decide are more appropriate or more often less costly.
Sawitz was the event’s featured employer speaker, at the invitation of the Fontana Rehabilitation Workshop (FRW). The AIM Mail Centers store in Rancho Cucamonga is owned by the non-profit FRW, operated as a separate entity, and contracts with the ISS business division of FRW for employees, work groups and administrative services. AIM Mail Centers has been involved in this program for nine years. The company has similar relationships with non-profits for its stores in the cities of Huntington Beach, Calif., and Lakewood, Wash.
“We are very proud to of our long association with this excellent program. It is perfectly aligned with our commitment to supporting the local communities served by our stores,” said Sawitz. “We challenge other companies as well as state and local governments to advocate for these kinds of programs that offer opportunities for everyone in our communities to gain work skills and experience. Simply put, here is a proven approach to moving these individuals from being viewed as liabilities to functioning as assets as productive, tax paying citizens.”
Positions for program participants at AIM Mail Centers include retail clerk, checkout register, shipping, packaging and mail handling. These opportunities offer a chance for individuals with disabilities to gain work experience that has led to employment in other businesses.
“The Fontana Rehabilitation Workshop has been providing work skills development and employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities since 1964,” said Workshop CEO Joseph Mitchell. “Our organization’s efforts to expand community employment opportunities for program participants began with our relationship with Michael Sawitz and AIM Mail Centers. The results of our work together have provided more than 20 program participants from the Workshop with training and employment within a retail environment.”
###
About AIM Mail Centers
AIM Mail Centers, headquartered in Irvine, California, is a national retail business services provider with nearly 90 locations in 19 states. Each franchise is an active member of the local community with expertise in providing business solutions for the specific needs of small businesses, virtual employees, independent contractors, entrepreneurs and others seeking a local business services partner. AIM Mail Centers offers a unique mix of products and services, supported by a commitment to building long-term relationships as a value-added partner for its customers. For information, visit www.aimmailcenters.com or call 800-669-4246.
|
