Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Terminated Funding

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger slashed 100 percent of state funding for the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, at the same time as cuts were made to other programs for the elderly.

He used the line item veto to cut the ombudsman program out of the budget. That means a loss of almost $20,000 for the Mother Lode Ombudsman program, which covers Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador and Mariposa counties.

Additional cuts of $12,000 above the 10 percent were made to supportive services, such as CHORE, homemaker, personal care, transportation and information and assistance.

Clay Kempf, president of the California Association of Area Agencies on Aging, said: "This comes on top of a 10-percent cut in county Adult Protective Services, These combined cuts collapse the safety net for patients in a nursing home and, ironically, come at a time when baby boomers are aging and reports of elder abuse and neglect are on the rise."

Full Article and Source:
State budget cuts senior programs

See also:
State Budget Stripped

Postponing Protection for Seniors

Court Work Overload

Guardianship Legislation

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, I am steaming; what a surprise. SHAME ON YOU!!

Whenever there needs to be cuts in $$$$, the old folks are the first to get the AX!!

How much $$$$$$$$ is going to prisoner's well being and welfare? How much $$$$$$ for their rights to:

*books
*law libraries
*prisoner vs state of CA frivilous lawsuits
*computers
*work out rooms / weight equipment
*special diets for religious reasons
*PUBLIC DEFENDERS FEES
*legal fees for appeal, after appeal

Anyone have more to add to this list of PRIORITIES?

Anonymous said...

A little off point, but if lobbying were not allowed, if the FDA were restructured, if Big Pharma wasn't preventing NATURAL PREVENTIVE MEDICINE from taking care of the elderly and disabled, instead of drugging them with chemicals, people would be healthier and there could be huge savings and a surplus in the budget!

Anonymous said...

Yes, We the People, the old folks get cut first - every time.

The thing is every time the old folks are cut -- every time, it reiterates the notion that old folks just don't matter. That the young are more important than the old.

And that's just plain wrong!

Anonymous said...

Actions and the $ sign speak louder than words.

I agree. It's worse than wrong, it is un American, unethical and immoral because those old folks are the folks who deserve dignity and respect.

They are responsible for the hard work, the sacrifices for the freedoms and progress that we, and future generations enjoy and now it seems they take all of this for granted.

Heck, I remember as a child having one bathroom and one TV set and one automobile, a mere fraction of what is available to many families today.

We have come a long way and this is another shameful example of how the government and society shows appreciation and gratitude to those that went before us?