House budget cut hits home

Citizen Kane

BOSTON – Baby Chris is working on his language development skills and getting stronger every day while Tim Jr. runs circles around him like other normal kids in our neighborhood.
There was a time when our two baby boys were not so fortunate. When Tim was born, four precious years ago, he had some muscular development issues. He couldn’t walk a step until he was almost two years old and struggled afterwards. This was not just a late bloomer thing. He had serious gross motor skill challenges.
We thought things would be different with our tiny bear, Chris, who will turn two next month. He can walk well now, but he still doesn’t speak a word – not even mommy or daddy. Like Tim, he suffers from a different kind of development delay. But he is making progress as did Junior during his ordeal.
My wife Danielle and I feel very lucky and blessed to have such a healthy family and private home life, so I usually refrain from discussing my personal life in print. However, budget news delivered through my wife yesterday compels me to write today.
The only reason – other than God hearing our prayers – that both boys are making progress is because of a state-funded program, titled “Early Intervention.” The state House Ways and Means Committee recently recommended a 31 percent cut to that program affecting at least 10,000 of the 30,000 enrolled babies and toddlers.
Incredibly talented and dedicated professionals come to our home weekly and work with Chris on language skills. They did the same for Timmy for more than a year. They don’t make much more than entry-level teachers, yet their dedication and professionalism is unsurpassed. This is not a program rife with fiscal abuse and hidden fat.
The sad news is there are thousands of children and parents in Massachusetts desperate for this service, who may not even receive a chance at consultation come July 1, 2009. A 31 percent budget cut to Early Intervention equates to a $10.3 million reduction in programming. The current budget is only $33 million, and, if slashed, would be the lowest funding level in more than 10 years – during a time when special needs children are on a sharp increase and many parents are out of work and cannot afford services on their own. Danielle and I certainly could not have funded Early Intervention on our salary and we are considered a modest middle class.
The other Early Intervention point to consider, other than to help our most delicate and needy baby citizens enjoy life later on, is it absolutely prevents children from entering public school special needs programs. If fewer children receive specialized help as babies and toddlers, SPED ranks will swell later on, only exacerbating public education costs, given how much SPED costs each school district in services and transportation.
One state senator recently told me, “we have no money” after I suggested a local tourism idea. Find the money senators and representatives, not for tourism, but for the sake of our children in need. The only way “we the people” can fight this devastating cut is by writing and emailing our local state representatives, and appeal to our state senators to not make the same mistake in their budget version.
There are scared parents – just like Danielle and I were – now feeling helpless that their children will not obtain critical intervention services so their babies have the same chance at healthy lives that we all did. The program is a miracle. Our two baby boys are a testament to that fact.

Tim Kane is executive editor of Turley Publications, publisher of 15 weekly newspapers reaching 120,000 readers in more than 65 Central Mass and Pioneer Valley towns.