USA|Kansas

Fifteen statewide organizations, including USA|Kansas, delivered an open letter to members of the Senate Ways and Means and House Appropriations Committees as they returned to deliberate on the state budget. These organizations represent education, the elderly, the disabled, state/municipal employees and many more.

An excerpt from the statement is printed below.

An open letter to members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and House Appropriations Committee as they return to deliberate on the state budget

Our organizations have come together under the umbrella of Kansans for Quality Communities. We serve every community in Kansas and our constituents touch every Kansas family. We educate Kansas children, we care for our neighbors with disabilities and mental health issues; we ensure that our seniors can stay in their homes.

We represent the spirit of a Kansas that pulls together for one another. We stand for safe, healthy and vibrant communities, with strong economies and sound infrastructures and for social assistance for citizens who need a little help for a chance to succeed.

The scenario before us today is not pretty.

The series of budget cuts enacted during and after the 2009 legislative session have been devastating. Since the conclusion of the 2009 session, waiting lists for Kansans with disabilities eligible for services have grown, the demands on the education system have increased dramatically, and road projects have been put on hold.

To put a real face on it…

While the war of words continues, 65 Kansas citizens with disabilities who were eligible for services but languishing on waiting lists have died.
Medicaid cuts have resulted in 13,000 pregnant Kansas women losing dental services and in depressed wages for critical care workers like certified nursing assistants.
As we debate, schools are cutting extracurricular activities, library services and counselors, and preparing nonrenewal notices for hundreds of teachers and education support professionals.
Social workers are forced to increase their workloads by 80 percent possibly putting children from at-risk homes in harm’s way.
Corrections Officers continue to protect us from convicted criminals as their facilities suffer mass overcrowding and their safety is threatened even further.
Seventy-five percent of Community Mental Health Centers have eliminated programs, closed local offices, and have begun rationing of mental health services to 90,000 Kansans at a time when 90 percent of the Centers are experiencing increased demand for services.
Courthouse doors have shut on all Kansans as state courts close for four budget-related furlough days, delaying justice and making it even more difficult for cases to resolve quickly.
5,600 seniors have lost access to oral health care, support services and assistive technology – services that keep them living in their homes.
The number of children entering SRS custody, which had been reduced by 14 percent, is once again increasing.

This is not “trimming the fat”; this is cutting the bone, amputating a limb.

If this Legislature does nothing, the next round of cuts will choke off the hopeful signs of economic recovery, and damage the long-term prospects for future prosperity.

To read the rest of the statement, download the document at the bottom of this page.