Even disabilities advocates, who closely follow all the state budget developments, have found their heads spinning trying to track the ups and downs of the drama on Beacon Hill. While nearly every bit of news from the State House has serious implications for thousands of people and families, the general public need only recognize the big picture of disability services funding.

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In an 11th-hour turnaround, Governor Deval Patrick announced last week he no longer plans to make $100 million in cuts aimed at addressing a deficit in the MassHealth budget - reductions that would have left some of the state’s most vulnerable residents without services they had been receiving.

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Long before Patrick took office, previous administrations neglected disability community services, causing Massachusetts to lag nationally for years. Now, the recent worldwide economic downturn has compounded this problem exponentially, resulting in fiscal year 2010 budget cuts (set in stone in July) whose repercussions are hurting thousands of individuals and families across the state. read more ...

Late last month, disability advocates were thrilled when Gov. Deval Patrick spared services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in his round of mid-year cuts. Then two weeks later, on Nov. 13, he announced major cuts to critical long-term disability services to fill a $307 million Mass Health budget gap. The consequences of these cuts will be dire.

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In among the millions of dollars of cuts the state intends to make is one that will do real harm to a worthy Newburyport institution.

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THE GLOBE is right to support Representative John Rogers’s anti-bullying legislation that is now before the Legislature. (“Bullying bill won’t solve all, but it’s a needed first step,’’ Nov. 23, editorial).  read more ...

“We are extremely disappointed at this turn of events,” said Leo Sarkissian, executive director of The Arc of Massachusetts, the largest disability advocacy group in the state. “If they follow through on these cuts, it will compromise the safety net for many thousands of the state’s most disabled individuals and their families.”
 “Governor Patrick is a good friend to us, and we remain hopeful that he will intervene to stop these cuts from being followed through on,” Sarkissian added.
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Whether their interests lie in computers, arts and crafts, video games or photography, The Arc of Greater Fall River’s new resource center on Pleasant Street has something to offer individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
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Cambridge — I participated in a recent vigil in Gov. Patrick’s office sponsored by Arc and Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change to advocate saving what’s left of our diminishing safety net for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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The Arc of Massachusetts www.arcmass.org has prepared a "thank you" message link to send to the governor, along with a personalized email area to detail your family's disability situation and concerns. Please take the time to visit The Arc and send your thank you and personal message to the Patrick Administration.  read more ...

RE “PATRICK should cut local aid, ease up on human services’’ (Editorial, Nov. 2): Although I appreciate the Globe’s support of human services, Governor Patrick took a balanced approach in dealing with human services, preserving a range of programs that were at risk. We had expected deeper reductions given the state’s financial picture.  read more ...

The Patriot Ledger talked to many so-called “experts” – including activists, people at partisan think-tanks and lobbyists – many of whom have had strong opinions about what’s happening (and what’s not happening) on Beacon Hill. What would they do if they were in charge? How would they raise the funds needed to run the state? What programs would they cut?  read more ...

Unlike many people, who find work a daily grind, Amaury Mejia of Beverly says he likes going to work each day. Mejia, 33, who's developmentally disabled, trained at Northeast Arc's Heritage Industries, earning a small wage under supervision. Now he's working a real job cleaning Heritage's new 18,040-square-foot facility in the Danvers Industrial Park.  read more ...

Boston -- Citing a history of discrimination, advocates met at a forum Wednesday to address problems those with disabilities face in receiving adequate medical care.... Among the speakers at the forum attended by some 50 disability advocates, Amanda Nichols, health care policy director for the Waltham-based disability advocacy group the Arc of Massachusetts, said people with disabilities have been historically viewed as "deficient."

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We are at a crossroads here in Massachusetts. As economic recovery struggles to gain a foothold, state revenues are lagging and human service consumers, employees and advocates are bracing for what is likely to be a withering series of budget cuts. The governor is set to soon announce his proposed 9c cuts and a shaky community system is holding its collective breath. As the CEO of an agency that provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities, I know the faces behind future budget cuts.

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Hope McKenna said she is very worried about state budget cuts. Two of her three children are involved in the ARC program of Greater Plymouth, a nonprofit that provides support to those with developmental disabilities and their families.  read more ...

"While other parts of state government suffered a 6.5 percent decrease, you know, our services were somewhere around 1 percent," The Arc of Massachusetts Executive Director Leo Sarkissian said. At a conference Friday, several agencies came together as MA 21, to implement a disability policy handbook for the 21st century, and as a way to avoid future cuts.

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We’re psyched,’’ said Leo Sarkissian, executive director of The Arc, which advocates for 180,000 individuals and families with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “No one likes a cut, but this is good. Families and advocates are thrilled.’’  read more ...

Leo Sarkissian, executive director of the Waltham-based Arc of Massachusetts, a disability advocacy group, said he had anticipated a $70 million cut from the department. Instead he was relieved the department was only cut by $7.7 million.  read more ...

Mary Ellen Mayo, whose 21-year-old wheelchair-bound son James is among those applying for benefits, said streamlining the process should be the state’s goal. “I worry about a lot of people with some of the cuts,” she said. “It’s almost a life and death situation. It’s the only way a lot of people can have a decent life.”

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The Bay State’s most vulnerable citizens - those with physical disabilities, intellectual challenges, and autism - are sitting vigil right outside the governor’s office.  read more ...

Most visibly to the governor and his aides, folks with developmental disabilities have been camped out in the Corner Office for more than a week to protest looming program cuts.  read more ...

Story is primarily about the potential for state furloughs but Patrick is also asked about vigilers camped out in his lobby. "These are not just line items for me, these are human beings behind every one of those line items," he responds, adding that he can't make any promises.  

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The deaths of Eunice (Kennedy) Shriver and U.S. Senator Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy struck a heavier blow with one Armenian in particular. Leo V. Sarkissian was as close to both Massachusetts icons as anyone due to his role as executive director of the Arc of Massachusetts, an organization that furthers the goals and ideals of disabled individuals throughout the state.  read more ...

"Children with special needs are more apt to be bullied," said Lucie Chansky, a member of the government affairs committee at The Arc of Massachusetts, a Waltham-based disability advocacy group. "If they're weak, and someone thinks they can take advantage of them, often they will."

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The Arc of Massachusetts is joining a coalition of statewide disability advocacy organizations and trade groups in a “virtual rally” Tuesday, Oct. 20, to remind Governor Patrick and the state Legislature to put People First!  read more ...

About 30 advocates for the disabled, some wearing “Do I Matter?” and “Where Will I Work?” stickers, filled seats in the lobby outside Gov. Deval Patrick’s State House office on Thursday. The crowd spilled out to the nearby hallway and staircase.  read more ...

In Massachusetts, freefalling tax revenue will mean no more dental and hospice care for legal immigrants. Maryland is closing a mental health center. And Illinois has $2.9 billion in unpaid bills.
((also appeared in Seattle Times, Wall Street Journal, Newschief.com, and others)  read more ...

At the Western Regional Department of Public Health in Northampton on Oct. 29, The Arc of Massachusetts and the Disability Policy Consortium will be reporting their health care research and findings along with their recommendations.  read more ...

Led by The Arc of Massachusetts,  and other disability organizations throughout the state, vigil attendees having been jamming the lobby and speaking  with the Governor and Cabinet Secretaries as they enter and exit the area.  read more ...

A public forum focusing on how the state tax policy impacts local government, economic development, job growth, vulnerable populations, property and income taxes, and working families will be held in Framingham Tuesday as the second stop of five stops on the Joint Committee on Revenue’s “Listening Tour.”  read more ...

The bus broke down, they hit traffic and arrived an hour later than planned, but members of The Arc of Cape Cod participated in a vigil yesterday in the lobby of the governor's office to protest possible budget cuts.  read more ...

Saying they fear the state's continuing budget crisis will lead to loss of services for thousands of vulnerable residents, organizations representing people with disabilities announced they will hold a vigil in the lobby of Gov. Deval Patrick's office starting at 9 a.m., Thursday. read more ...

As siblings, Ted Kennedy and Eunice Shriver left a considerable legacy on social issues. They both worked tirelessly to build a network of community supports and services for individuals with disabilities. For that reason, it is terribly ironic and sad that barely a month after Sen. Kennedy's death, our commonwealth's leaders are starting to plan a state budget that may be balanced by disassembling the Kennedy siblings' dream of protecting the most vulnerable of our citizens.
(also appeared in Danvers Herald, Patriot Ledger, Daily News Tribune, and others)
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 The Arc of Massachusetts' Director of Development, Brenda Asis, is quoted in this article, discussing the issue of lifelong medical coverage for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

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