State officials were in Huntington Friday to highlight an organization that could be impacted by cuts, if budget proposals aren’t passed by the legislature.
WV has a budget crisis. Governor Jim Justice’s budget proposal includes more than $450M in tax increases to cover the majority of a $500M deficit. But still programs like the Intellectual Developmental Disabilities Waiver are at risk.
The IDD Waiver works with special needs individuals to help them to become more independent through services like the Autism Services Center. An alternative budget Justice has presented, would make cuts to programs like the IDD Waiver Program.
Bill Crouch, the Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Resources was at Autism Services in Huntington Friday.
“But obviously a 25 percent reduction in the budget is going to reduce services and probably the number of slots in the waiver program,” Crouch said. “We’ve just added 50 to the enrollment of the IDD program right now.”
More than 4,600 people in the state receive services through the IDD Waiver.
The cuts to the IDD Waiver Program would hurt the Autism Center. Many people on the waiver receive services at the center.
Crouch says there are 1,260 people on a waiting list for the IDD Waiver program.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.