A new coalition is forming to oppose expected cuts in state spending for services to the disabled and elderly.
Kansas AFL-CIO, the state's largest labor organization, has joined the protest.
"A lot of our people get disabled on the job, so we're very sympathetic," said Jim Dehoff, executive secretary of the Kansas AFL-CIO.
AFL-CIO members will participate in a Jan. 14 march and rally in Topeka, coinciding with the start of the 2002 legislative session and Gov. Bill Graves' State of the State Address.
Representing 242 labor unions in Kansas, the AFL-CIO also has helped organize the Disabled, Elderly and Workers Coalition for Budget Fairness, an assembly that includes several advocacy groups for the state's disabled and elderly.
"These folks have pretty much been on their own," Dehoff said. "They've had to fight and scramble for everything they've got. We'll help them get the word out."
The coalition came together shortly after welfare officials announced plans to cut spending by $123 million over the next 18 months. The cuts, they said, are needed to offset revenue shortfalls.
The coalition supports raising taxes to maintain services.
Many of the reductions affect programs that help the elderly and disabled live in community settings their own homes or apartments, usually rather than institutions.
"A lot of what they're talking about is going to make it difficult for people to survive," said Bob Mikesic, advocacy coordinator at Lawrence's Independence Inc., 2001 Haskell Ave.
Independence Inc. and Cottonwood Inc., 2801 W. 31st St., plan on sending representatives to the Jan. 14 demonstration.
Independence Inc.'s programs are geared toward the physically disabled, Cottonwood's toward the developmentally disabled.
Cuts affecting the elderly and disabled include:
l Reducing support for attendant care workers those who do the chores that help the disabled maintain their own homes or apartments by about a dollar an hour.
l Reducing the number of senior citizens receiving attendant care services by roughly 3,000 statewide.
"In our area Shawnee, Douglas, and Jefferson counties that's 400 people," said Maria Russo, director of Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging. "It's a 56-percent cut, which really is unfathomable."
l Lowering to $475 a month the amount of money the disabled are allowed to keep from their Social Security disability checks. Currently, they're allowed to keep up to $696 a month.
Out of this $696, they are now expected to pay their rent, utilities and other living expenses.
l No longer buying "durable equipment" wheelchairs, ventilators and oxygen, mostly for disabled adults.
"If they eliminate oxygen and if they reduce protected income to $475 a month, that means people who need oxygen will have to take it out of that $475 and a month's worth of oxygen costs about $200," said Gina McDonald, president of the Kansas Association of Centers for Independent Living.
"That leaves $275." she said. "You can't live on $275 a month you can barely live on $696 a month."
Many of those who need oxygen, she said, have suffered "high spinal cord injuries" or have cystic fibrosis or other lung diseases.
"To say these are 'Draconian' cuts is not an inappropriate use of the word," said Jim Beckwith, a coalition member and a past president of the Kansas Association of Area Agencies on Aging.
"For seniors affected by this, it will be devastating."
Finding the dollars
So far, no one knows whether the money will be there.
Gov. Bill Graves has said he'll use his State of the State Address to introduce a plan for raising about $200 million in new revenue, about half the amount needed to balance the budget with current spending.
It's not clear how much if any of this new money would be set aside for social services.
Also, Senate President Dave Kerr, R-Hutchinson, and Senate budget committee chairman Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, are expected to introduce a plan next week for balancing the budget without a tax hike.
Neither plan is likely to strike a sympathetic chord with coalition members.
"When you're looking at a $4-million or a $40-million dollar deficit, there are some things you can do," said Graves spokesman Don Brown. "But when you're looking at a $400-million hole, there's only so much you can do. The governor is willing to look at other ideas, but at this point he's confident there won't be a plan that's more palatable than his."
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