Jo Ann Van Druff is convinced Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ budget plan poses a danger to her child and others like him.

Van Druff’s 43-year-old son, Tim Gibson, lives in a Lawrence facility for people who are severely disabled.

Under Sebelius’ budget proposal now being considered by legislators, these facilities would — beginning July 1 — receive about 10 percent less state money.

“We cannot stand to lose any funding,” Van Druff said. “Tim won’t be taken care of properly. He’ll end up getting hurt very seriously.”

Tim lives in what is called an intermediate care facility for people who are mentally retarded, or ICF-MR. There are 29 ICF-MRs in Kansas, with a total of 295 beds. Historically, they were set up to help reduce patient populations at state hospitals.

The ICF-MR in Lawrence is run by Community Living Opportunities, a nonprofit group that provides services for people with severe developmental disabilities.

Community Living Opportunities serves about 260 people in Lawrence and Johnson County in a variety of programs. For Tim, and 43 others, the organization provides around-the-clock care in seven homes in Lawrence.

Under Sebelius’ proposed budget, Community Living Opportunities and other ICF-MRs would face about a 10 percent reduction from last year’s levels, administrators say.

And Community Living Opportunities officials say they don’t know how they would handle such a cut on top of escalating costs.

Heather Bowyer, a teacher and counselor, works with Terilyn Mechtley, 37, who's lived in a care facility nearly all her life. Reduced funding from the state could decrease services for people with severe disabilities.

“We’re really in a world of hurt,” Executive Director Mike Strouse said.

Kyle Kessler, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, said the reductions were being proposed because revenue was so tight.

“There are so many things that we needed money for,” Kessler said.

This isn’t the first time ICF-MR funding has been threatened. The facilities were cut by 10 percent during the last fiscal year, but SRS was able to rearrange funds to negate that cut, officials said. But for the six months remaining in the current fiscal year and for the entire next fiscal year, SRS will not have the funds to smooth over that cut. The agency requested the necessary funding from the governor’s budget division but was rejected.

Strouse said he understood the state had budget problems, but that those problems “shouldn’t be borne on the backs of people with the most disabilities.”

Community Living Opportunities administrators say they have appreciated the work SRS has done in recent months to sustain funding levels in the face of shrinking revenues. And CLO representatives said they planned to meet with Sebelius’ staff this week to explain what they’re up against.

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To restore funding to the current level would require about $1 million more in state money. For every 40 cents the state spends on the Medicaid program, the federal government provides an additional 60 cents.

But if the cuts go through, CLO said it would probably result in cutting staff or reducing how many residents could be served.

Such talk frightens Van Druff, whose son has been disabled since he was a young child. He suffers seizures and without constant attention can injure himself.

“Without the individuals who take care of him, I’m just terrified of what might happen. He absolutely needs everybody. They don’t waste money, believe me,” she said.