The pediatrician from West Haven, whose daughter has autism, was moved by the governor’s triumph over his intellectual disability, achieved partly though his mother’s fierce determination.
Advertisement
“I voted for the Governor”, said Rivelli.
Rivelli said she curtailed her medical practice after the birth of her twins, Jessie and another daughter now in college. She is autistic, intellectually disabled and about to turn 21. “So this is Jesse… this is why I’m here….Gov. Malloy is doing his best to take Jesse’s future away from her”.
The cuts are also at odds with Malloy’s fiery pre-election speeches when he referred again and again to the tragedies at Newtown and around the nation and championed the need to not only increase services for the mentally ill but also deliver better and more timely services.
“There’s no avoiding the fact that these spending cuts will affect the lives of real people”, said Jeffrey Walter of the ‘CT Community Providers Association’. He added that “as we monitor the budget in the coming months, the full legislature will have the opportunity to reverse these cuts in the next regular session”. Malloy’s administration blamed stock market losses for a drop in state revenues. The bulk of the reduction – $63.4 million – took the form of reduced Medicaid payments to hospitals.
There is nothing new in social-service providers bemoaning budget cuts, but the tone Wednesday was striking. However, while we understand there is continued demand for service, it’s important to note that we spend about $1.1 billion per year on these important issues. “We have to make hard decisions and do the fiscally responsible thing while planning for our long-term future”.
Socialization and other skills developed through special education will be lost if no services are available after reaching the age of 21, she said.
“Now with these new recsissions we’re unsure if an when our daughter will be able to attend a day program or receive any funding at all”.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have blasted the governor’s emergency cuts. “So, I can’t stand here and say that I’m in favor of these rescissions”. Are you going to put transportation before families?
One state lawmaker, who is on the Appropriations Committee says they plan to meet next week to see if there’s somewhere else to find this savings.
Abercrombie, a Democrat, even called for a special session, something Republicans have called for.
While Democratic leaders have acknowledged concerns, thus far, they’ve been unwilling to call a special session.
“I’m probably going to be in the hot seat going against my leadership, but you know what?” She said she’s personally disappointed in Malloy, who has spoken publicly about his own personal challenges with a disability.
Advertisement
“When somebody points out that a not-for-profit organization is paying their chief executive $3 million and – by the way – growing in essence their profits, and then pointing their finger at the state and say – by the way, you should give us hundreds of millions of dollars more – I don’t think there is anything such as a red herring”, Malloy said.
