An Appeal to MO Voters with Disabilities and Those Who Love Them
The only way you are going to keep any of your disability services is if you get active now. But let me first tell you how I know this.
I have worked with people who have disabilities for more than 30 years. I began doing direct care with individuals who had intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) and did that for two decades. Even then, it was very stressful work and paid next to nothing compared to the national average. But it also provided me, poor as I was, with some of the most important memories of my life, some of the best people I have ever known I had the pleasure of working with. I became fascinated with the human brain and found my forever home in the social services, giving back what I had been given after many years clean from an addiction that nearly killed me. I recognized a commonality with kids I worked with on the autism spectrum, which led me to research through my bachelor’s degree when I met my wife and had two kids because I felt I should provide a better living.
After that, I began a stint as a service coordinator for a company that contracted to the state. For three years, I wrote budgets and tried to get them pushed through for state funding, and I became even more popular with kids on the spectrum as my brain found it easy to connect with theirs. After completing a master’s in counseling and already beginning to lecture as the ideas flowed out of research, I wrote my first book on autism in an attempt to coalesce my treatment for autism, trauma, and addiction. I have been a therapist diagnosing kiddos and others for 10 years. All of this is only to let you know that I very much speak as an insider and longtime professional in the IDD and autism field and have seen these money games play out on a government level.
There is a push right now to cut drastically into the social services provided to the least of these in society. It has been and continues to be that the Republicans in MO cut the social services. Whether you want to see this or not, as an actual active in my relationship Christian, I do. And it confounds the Hell out of me. It happens every five or six years it seems, maybe less, but it happens all too frequently. Teaching, daycare, and children’s services in this state too (here I take umbrage with them that claim to be “Christian” and care sooo much about life but do not put any resources there). But I digress. My point is that what the Governor did in this state in the past few weeks is by far the coldest and not just to the least of these, but to many, many middle-class families. And this state is not unique. It is a well-prepared assault across the board against those on and in social services. But the callousness of doing this after meeting with the Royals and Chiefs about funneling millions upon millions in tax abatements and the failure of the tax increase that would have kept them here. Voters don’t want to make it a priority? No worries, we will find the money.
And that, dear patient reader, is where the issue is.
In the past few weeks, the Governor of MO cut services drastically to children who were not on Medicaid in the state. So why is that an issue? Lemme ‘splain. First, kids currently on Medicaid are paid primarily through the federal funding with a small match coming from MO, and every time you hear your state rep saying we are spending XXX million dollars on social services, they are probably lying. Since Obamacare, the feds are picking up a larger portion of those funds as a bonus for opting in. These cuts meant basically the state would be opting out of helping all but the poorest families with disabilities. So, the wealthy can generally afford a child with severe autism and bear the burden without too much lifestyle change, but services to the middle-class kids are cut drastically. Primarily by cutting out all service coordination (essential resource supports) to families in the middle class. I don’t know if you know this, but autism can be amazingly expensive, and I’ve seen it break middle-class families. But given the choice of your child or a nice home, or nice car, even when you’re making good money is not a choice at all. I am including the orders posted on the state website explaining the cuts more fully.
So why would a governor claiming to follow the most compassionate of beings do something like this? Cutting the benefits of those who are disabled to help sports teams build new stadiums (even though I’m a Royals season ticket holder and fan for 50+ years) seems cruel to me and I’m quite sure Christ has a lot to say about that.
The governor did it because he is retiring and cannot lose votes. But make no mistake, this has been part of the GOP plan in MO and nationally for a long time, and they are just getting started.
I have attached the orders from the governor’s office for you to look over.
https://dmh.mo.gov/dev-disabilities/familyflexibleassistanceprogram
The only way you can change this is to get active. If you have a child or loved one with IDD or autism, get active. Call your Republican state reps (who didn’t want to take the hit on this so they let the lame duck governor do it) and let them know you are going to hold them accountable in November for this decision. Flood the governor’s office with letters, emails, and calls, and tell those who are running for office nationally, like Josh Hawley, that this cannot and will not stand.
To them personally, I plead, either start practicing what He taught, or stop using His name in vain.
Sincerely,
Robert Cox, MA, LPC
Excelsior Springs
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