Just The Facts

This is a blog post about facts.

On July 18, 2007, David Braddock, who at the time was the Executive Director of the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, provided testimony to a Colorado Senate/House interim committee on developmental disabilities.

In his testimony, Braddock argued that Colorado was at a “turning point” in terms of its need to reframe and/or significantly expand its resource commitments for intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) services. Historically, Braddock argued, Colorado’s fiscal effort for I/DD services (spending for those services as a fraction of aggregate statewide personal income) had been significantly below the average US state for 30 years, and that the gap was widening.

Did this powerful testimony help Colorado act on the turning point he mentioned? No. The gap is wider still.

There is plenty of data to support this fact, but I’ll just focus on a few numbers. In 1977, Colorado’s fiscal effort for I/DD services was $2.17 per $1000 of personal income. Nationwide, that number was $2.24. Fast forward to 2015, the last year we have data for this, Colorado’s fiscal effort was $2.29. Nationwide, that number was $4.30. (Just for fun, the top state is investing $9.20 per $1000 of personal income).

In 1977, Colorado was essentially average among states in its fiscal effort toward serving our fellow citizens with I/DD. Now, we are substantially below average, ranked 47th in the nation when compared to other states. Colorado was already poorly ranked when Braddock presented in 2007 (46th), so we have seen a further decline.

Meanwhile, Colorado’s population continues to grow and its economy is consistently ranked among the top 10 in the nation, and recently as high as 5th in the nation. So we could have acted at any time since Braddock’s testimony and haven’t.

Who is responsible for our state’s inability to act on Dr. Braddock’s dire warnings over a decade below? Any number of stakeholders could have stepped forward and worked to implement some of his suggestions, including taxpayers, voters, professional advocates, policy makers, legislators, the Joint Budget Committee, and various Governors, but none did. Colorado lacks a true champion for people with I/DD at the decision making level, and it shows.

The turning point in Colorado referenced by Dr. Braddock is still there. It’s not a secret. However, we can still act. The next time you are in a group of people, simply explain this situation and ask, “Are we OK with this?” “Show of hands.” Let’s see if we can discover the conscience of Colorado.

At some point, our state needs to make a decision: is this lack of support for people with disabilities what we want our state to be known for? If the answer is yes, then ethically we should encourage families to shop other states. We don’t need to change anything. If the answer is no, then put the state’s conscience to work; figure out how to enact real, meaningful, and lasting change to its support of individuals with I/DD.

Then again, what do I know?