Video of Perdue Interview on website as well. Considering the importance of the question and how Gov. Perdue answered it, that answer is run in its entirety. Link to the full article is at the bottom of this entry.
Q: Advocates mental health and developmental disabilities felt like they were disproportionately hit hard last year. Can you talk about whether they’ll be facing more cuts in 2010?
“I don’t believe the cuts will be as severe as they were last year. But the fact of the matter is any cuts to the system are severe. If you happened to see our Christmas card, you’ll see our granddaughter Rachel on the card. Rachel is 100 percent special. She has 24/7 care. She can’t be alone and I was with her mom (last) weekend in Atlanta. We talked about Rachel’s nurse. She has a nursing assistant that comes in. She was there 10 hours. So Michelle has 60 hours of help a week so Michelle can keep a full-time job with two other children who are out in the community.
“I kept thinking when we read the stories here about the mental health cutbacks of those special children and adults who need so much care. But for those services, our Rachel would be in an institution. I think those are the decisions that (Secretary) Lanier Cansler and the department have to make as you go into the summer.
“What are you going to do if the General Assembly tells you to cut $10 million from here and $20 million from here and $50 million from here? What are the priorities that you’re going to outline with where you take those cuts? And in my mind the cuts that were taken around mental health were hard, hard cuts. … Horrible decisions, horrible choices, nobody wants to make them.”
