2011-04 Budget Cuts

The Mission of the Mayor's Disability Council is to advise the Mayor of San Francisco on disability issues;
to work with the Mayor's Office on Disability to ensure ADA Compliance; and to
provide a public forum to discuss disability issues.


Mayor’s Disability Council Resolution Urging the City of San Francisco to Actively Oppose Cuts In Funding to People with Disabilities

WHEREAS reductions in funding of In-Home Supportive Services, Medi-Cal, Adult Day Health Care, mental health, and other community-based services will have a devastating cumulative impact on the lives of people with disabilities; and

WHEREAS the State of California has already made reductions in critical programs for people with disabilities, and has further reductions proposed; and

WHEREAS the Federal government is considering reducing funding for additional programs that serve the disability community, including Medicaid and Medicare programs; and

WHEREAS people with disabilities are a distinct and often-unrecognized minority group comprising more than 15% of San Francisco’s population; and

WHEREAS public entities including the City of San Francisco and the State of California have an affirmative obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Lanterman Act, and other Federal and state Civil rights laws to recognize people with disabilities as a protected class and to ensure our full integration into the community at large; and

WHEREAS, we as people with disabilities, have asserted not only our right “to live in the world,” but also our right to the means to make that right effective, and this key principle of disability rights redefines services as necessary means for social participation and integration; and

WHEREAS people with disabilities have a well-established civil right to live in homes of our choosing and receive services in the community to avoid institutionalization; and

WHEREAS funding reductions to programs allowing people with disabilities to remain integrated in the community will inevitably result in the unnecessary institutionalization of many, and catastrophic quality of life impacts for thousands; and

WHEREAS budget cuts that force people into institutions are not cost effective; and

WHEREAS services to people with disabilities, including In-Home Supportive Services, Medi-Cal, Adult Day Health Care, mental health, and other community-based services are an important portion of our local economy; and

WHEREAS balancing the budget on the backs of people with disabilities is a violation of our civil and human rights; and

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor’s Disability Council calls upon the Mayor of San Francisco and the Board of Supervisors:

• To aggressively advocate for funding at the state and federal levels;
• To backfill any funding cuts from the State and Federal government for community services for people with disabilities, and
• To join in litigation to challenge service reductions at the state and federal levels.
• To demand that any cost efficiencies in programs for people with disabilities not come at the expense of individual choice.









Common/MDC/MDC Resolutions/Resolutions2011