Please help a little one ...

The family of a darling little 2 year old girl I know, Ariana, is working on raising funds so that they and Ariana, who has a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, can travel outside of the U.S. (likely to China or to Mexico) one year from now so that she may receive umbilical cord blood stem cell therapy treatments which may very well make all the difference in Ariana's future abilities.


Her mother, Elisa, published a very well-written post on her blog about why she and her husband feel strongly about obtaining this treatment for their sweet daughter. Rather than re-post it in this space, please click here to read the post "Hope for Ari" on their family blog.

Of note is that Ariana's parents, Jake & Elisa, are part of the group of plaintiffs in the court case that was filed by AAPPD recently - the result of which, so far, has been the halt of the DDD cuts to services and provider rates, which, for now, has made an indescribable difference for individuals with disabilities throughout the state!

As the parents of three young children, Jake & Elisa have a lot on their plates - a major understatement - in spite of that, since the shocking announcement of the cuts to DDD and AzEIP services last month, they have not only made the time and put forth the extra effort to tell their family's story as part of the AAPPD lawsuit(Ariana has a twin brother, Gabriel - both children have received and benefited greatly from early intervention services) but they have also written letters, made phone calls, and are doing all that they can do as parents to advocate for all of the little children in the state of Arizona whose all-important support and therapy services are on shaky ground.

If you run across this blog, and this post and have stuck with me this far, please consider taking the time to learn more about this family's cause and then, if you would like to help, please click on the "ChipIn" widget on their sidebar and donate whatever you feel you are able to (even just $1! Every little bit counts!) and watch the "Hope for Ari" fund grow!


Thanks for reading . . . and for considering helping out sweet, beautiful Ariana! : )

Capitol Building Rally - March 19th

The Tungland Corporation has organized a rally at the Capitol for this Thursday, March19th, to raise awareness of the DES/DDD cuts. Click here to see the details that are posted on Stacy's "Early Intervention" blog!

Important info for Parents: talking points, due process info!

The following information was passed onto me by Maureen Casey, Chair of the Arizona Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) for Infants & Toddlers and it has been published via this blog with her permission:

1. Tips for telling your Early Intervention story when writing to Governor Brewer, and members of the legislature to protest cuts in early intervention services. (Although there is a current hold on the cuts to those services, it is only a temporary fix ... we are not out of the woods yet!)

2. Key statement to include in a letter requesting a due process hearing (see highlighted text at end of document)

If you want more information and to have your questions about requesting a due process hearing answered, I strongly encourage you to click here to view the AZ Early Intervention Parents/Caregivers Yahoo! Group messages. You may read the AZ Early Intervention ... Yahoo! Group messages without joining the group (if you would like to post to the group you must first joing the group using your Yahoo! ID).

Maureen Casey & Kristina Park - Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, of the AZ ICC for Infants and Toddlers moderate and are active members of the AZ Early Intervention ... Yahoo! group and they are SO knowledgeable and helpful!

The injunction was excellent news, but keep making those calls & writing those letters!

I could write a post on this, but I don't believe in re-inventing the wheel:

Click here to read the excellent post of Stacy's (local early intervention provider) about the need for families to continue to make noise even though the preliminary injunction was granted yesterday.

COURT CASE MINUTES - from March 11, 2009

Click here to read the 21-page minutes from the case that was filed to block DDD budget cuts!

DES news release re: court ruling

Click here to see DES's news release regarding yesterday's court ruling.

News Story about the Preliminary Injunction

http://www.kpho.com/health/18912232/detail.html?taf=pho

Possible positive news ... UPDATE 3/6/09

3/6/09 UPDATE to this news item: The info I posted about the preliminary injunction in the AAPPD case vs. The State re: DDD cuts was incorrect. The judge has not yet made any rulings in the case, and is not scheduled to until next week.

Info available online re: AAPPD court case vs. State of AZ & DES

The civil case was filed in Superior Court of Marciopa County - (to find docket entries use case # CV2009-006509).

The Honorable Joseph B. Heilman initially presided over the case, and it appears - based on the minutes of 2/27/09 - that the case will be (or has been) changed to being presided over by The Honorable Bethany G. Hicks.

Official minutes recorded and posted regarding the proceedings can be found by searching here using the following case number: CV2009006509

Video of last week's Rally at the capitol

Click here to see a news story/video from last week's rally at the capitol.

DES cuts hit elderly, children, families

Michelle Reese
Feb 28, 2009 (The Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --

The cuts made by the state Department of Economic Security in the last few weeks have been reported in headlines and spreadsheets, on Web sites and editorials.

While the governor is taking steps to restore one of the most noted cuts -- childcare subsidies to working poor families -- through the use of federal stimulus funs, still many others are going forth.

More than 700 employees in DES programs are without jobs, including some Child Protective Services investigators. About 9,000 must take furlough days between now and June 12. Not every case of abuse or neglect will be looked into, the DES Web site reports. Not every child will get services that may help development.

For Carrie Reed of Queen Creek, the financial impact of these cuts may be seen in the face of her 8-year-old daughter, Lauren.

"Lauren is nonverbal," Reed said. "Her only way to communicate is through song."

To read the rest of this article, click here: http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=97106506

Write Governor Brewer re: using Federal Stimulus funds to restore services!

I learned at a meeting this morning, that it is imperative that families, service providers and concerned citizens of Arizona should write to Governor Brewer directly (contact info & link below) to request that she allocates Federal Stimulus funds that will be coming her way to the restoration services in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009-2010 for children and adults with disabilities that have been swiped out from under them as a result of the recent DDD cuts!

The responsibility to decide how to use the Federal Stimulus funds will be solely Governor Brewer's, not DES's ... not DDD's ... not the State Legislature's ... only Governor Brewer's! These funds will be coming to Arizona very soon, so is vital that she receives letter after letter after letter urging her to use Fed. Stim. package funds to help restore services to the children and adults with disabilities who may very well suffer irreparable harm if their support and therapeutic services are not restored, and soon!

• Here is a nice fill-in-the-blank letter (which you can personalize!) via the Children's Action Alliance website: http://action.voiceshub.org/campaign/fedstimulus_DEScuts

• Here is the link to contact Governor Brewer via email (also includes snail mail address & phone numbers): http://azgovernor.gov/Contact.asp

What? You're still here?? Go! Start writing those letters and spread the word!! : )

"Families worry about (Early Intervention) DES cuts

Families worry about DES cuts

by Melissa Gonzalo - Feb. 24, 2009 06:25 PM
12 News

Advocates and parents are concerned children under the age of three with developmental disabilities will have to go without therapy after the Department of Economic Security announced budget cuts about a week ago. According to Southwest Human Development, the cuts would take away state-funded speech, occupational and physical therapy for these children, and essentially leave them without these therapies as they are too young to receive federal funding.

Parents like Shawnie Huff say they can't afford to wait three years. Huff has three children with down syndrome. Five-year-old Tyler knows how to write his name on his own. His older sister Tia is functioning in a normal first grade classroom despite both of them having down syndrome. Huff said these accomplishments would be impossible if it weren't for the therapy they received since they were just a few months old. "I can't imagine my kids not having it, because I know the growth that they did in the first three years," she said.

Developmentally disabled children are eligible for federal funding once they turn three, but that delay could end up costing the state more in the long-run. "There's a tremendous amount of research that says early intervention makes a huge difference," said Dr. Trudi Norman-Murch of Southwest Human Development. "Every dollar you spend helping children during the first few years pays off tremendously...just purely economically in terms of how much special ed they need later on, how much help they need in being independent."

Huff and her husband adopted two-year-old Max nine months ago and have seen major progress in his development. He also has down syndrome, and Huff said she can't imagine him no longer receiving therapy. "I keep telling my husband I hope I know enough," said Huff.

DES said all the cuts are difficult, but they have to manage within the resources the state gives them. The cuts are set to take effect March 1st. But advocates and parents are appealing to lawmakers and the governor to reconsider.