Developmental disabilities program for WA families to be cut, but not ended

Washington state officials are keeping a longstanding program seen as vital to parents of children with developmental disabilities, but cutting its funding, ending weeks of unease about its future. 

The state Department of Social and Health Services is trimming the Parent to Parent program by 10%, but won’t eliminate it as was feared this summer. Its budget for the next year is around $877,000. 

“I wish we hadn’t received a cut at all, but it certainly could have been worse,” said Tracie Hoppis, the statewide Parent to Parent manager.

Department of Social and Health Services spokesperson Jessica Nelson said the agency continues “to work to protect core services and ensure that Washington has a solid financial foundation for the long-term.”

The episode provides a glimpse into the types of cuts Washington leaders will need to consider as they face ongoing budget woes. In the coming weeks, state agencies will make their requests to Gov. Bob Ferguson in the upcoming two-year spending plan he’ll put forward in December. 

Ferguson has pledged not to propose tax increases, and has instead said he’ll look to fill the state’s latest budget shortfall by cutting spending from newer programs, though Parent to Parent has been around for decades.

Parent to Parent provides support and resources for families of children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Its name comes from pairing newer parents with more experienced ones to help guide them through the complicated system of available resources, as well as provide community in what can otherwise be an isolating experience. It also features “sibshops” to support siblings of people with developmental disabilities.

The first Parent to Parent program in Washington was established in 1980 in King County. Today, it serves families of children and adults in all of Washington’s 39 counties, with tens of thousands of calls and emails for assistance every year

Program advocates were shocked to learn Parent to Parent was on the chopping block with a contract only through August, despite funding in the state budget. The Arc of Washington State oversees the statewide program under a contract with the state Department of Social and Health Services.

If the state didn’t extend the contract, Parent to Parent would’ve ceased to exist, leaving families to traverse the complicated web of services with less support.

Supporters of the program were especially frustrated the funding could be cut outside the legislative process, without public input.

Given this, a bipartisan group of 44 state lawmakers urged Ferguson and Department of Social and Health Services Secretary Angela Ramirez to maintain the program.

Hoppis thanked these elected officials and others for helping secure the program’s future.

“I feel really overwhelmed and a bit humbled with the level of support that we received,” she said.

The 10% reduction will partly trim spending on multicultural coordinators, who help parents overcome language and other barriers, said Hoppis, who leads a Parent to Parent program in Yakima County. Many families in the program are Spanish speakers. And in Snohomish County, for example, a Parent to Parent program has a Russian coordinator. 

“When it comes to Parent to Parent and the emotional support piece, that does not happen well through an interpreter,” Hoppis said.

Broadly, reduced funding means the program potentially serves fewer families.

Advocates are asking legislators to reverse the cut and provide a modest increase in 2027. They also want Parent to Parent named specifically in next year’s budget, so the money can’t be redirected elsewhere.

Source: Washington State Standard

This article was originally published by Washington State Standard.