Edited from a press release by Sheila Stasko, PA Waiting List Campaign

Yogi Berra said, You can observe a lot just by watching. We made too many wrong mistakes."                         

Waiting List Initiative

The Waiting List Initiative this past year received a one-third reduction in funding. The Campaign is positive that had it not been for your legislative contact and calls the amount would have been even less. Thank you for your hard work. What the Campaign fears most is that in January, with a newly elected Governor and legislators on board, we will be facing an even more aggressive battle in the (2003-2004) fiscal year.

In reviewing the candidates web pages, it should come as no surprise that disabilities are not even mentioned as issues. As people whose lives are touched by disabilities we urge you to visit the web pages and make a disability agenda an issue. Contact Mike Fisher at www.mikefisher.com and Ed Rendell at www.rendellforgovernor.com. They both have email contact areas available. You might want to ask them what their Disability Agendas or proposals for Mental Retardation services are, xplain to them what waiting lists are and ask what they will do to end waiting lists? Education and direct contact are the key. Use this as an opportunity to make and establish ongoing contact with your legislator.

The PA Waiting List Campaign also invites you to use us. We are ready and willing to travel to your group and talk about Waiting Lists and issues surrounding the Transformation Project, both of which will have an impact on you or someone you know. Don't have a group? All you need to do is contact people you know, invite them over and clear your kitchen table. Small groups of people provide the energy and muscle needed to change the system. We need each other! We are a community! You can call us at 610-767-2437 or toll free at 877-372-WAIT. Our email address is sstasko@ptd.net.

The Transformation Project: Another Wrong Mistake?

Are you aware that the PA Transformation Process is being modeled after a project in Wyoming? The PA Waiting List Campaign considers this a real problem. It points out that only Alaska of all U.S. state is more sparsely populated and that the entire state of Wyoming serves only 1,112 people in their MRS system. Pennsylvania is serving over 70,000 people. The Campaign asks, Is this the right model to use for Pennsylvania? Consumers, families and advocates have persistently pointed out sticking points that could cause harm to people using the mental retardation system and have asked for them to be reworked. Nothing has changed, another wrong mistake. Still, the Transformation Process continues down the path of developing programs for people without them. The budget process, Individual Estimated Resources (IER), continues to raise concerns. If the IER is given to people before planning takes place then people will continue to want existing programs and not createnew community programs . You will be asked an assigned set of questions based on the old medical model and how you answer those questions will determine your budget. We will all look very much alike. How does self-determination and creativity fit into this process?

How many people receiving services understand the impact Transformation will have on their lives? We implore every reader to take the time to contact your Legislators and the Gubernatorial Candidates and send them a clear message that we are here, we are waiting and we need their help. We need further investigation into the Transformation process and the proposed Individual Estimated Resource (IER) plan that must include meaningful consumer/family input before people with disabilities are put at possible risk. If you are unsure who your legislator is call the League of Women Voters at 1-800-692-7281.

Stand Up! Add your voice to the Campaign so that the many who are struggling to get off of waiting lists will be heard. You can help end the Wait for thousands of people across Pennsylvania!