More on the Webb Center and the state budget

After I drafted the previous post, the Charleston Post and Courier ran another article about the Webb Center. Apparently the decision to close five (the previous article said four; I'm not sure which is correct) daycare centers for disabled children was made in part in order to keep residential facilities open. The Department of Disabilities and Special Needs operates a number of facilities, including, near Charleston, the Coastal Center in Ladson, where adults with severe mental and developmental disabilities can live and receive care. The Coastal Center houses 180 such adults and employs about 450 staffers. According to a Department spokeswoman, the decision was made to keep residential centers open at the expense of daycare centers because while the children attending the day centers have homes to go back to, the adults have nowhere to go, either because they don't have families they can stay with, or because their disabilities are so severe that their families cannot care for them without expensive professional help.

If that is truly the alternative, then I think the Department made the right decision. But surely there are other places in the state's budget that can be cut. To name a small but powerfully symbolic example, I went to Columbia this weekend and observed a beautiful, very tall Christmas tree in front of the State House. At the Governor's Carolighting, the tree will be lit with thousands of bulbs, and every night it will use a good amount of electricity. The money saved by having an eight-foot tree instead of a 25-foot tree would be miniscule compared to the vast budget shortfall, but as they say, it all adds up. Surely we can find nice but unnecessary expenditures to cut. Surely there is more waste in our budget. And what about the policy of budgeting for agencies the amount they used the previous year, which encourages "use it or lose it" spending sprees? Hard times call for drastic measures, but we have to prioritize our most vulnerable citizens.

Conservatives traditionally like to cut government services and keep people off the welfare rolls. But they can't have it both ways, unless they want to put children on the streets, an outcome I don't believe they truly desire. What will happen if lower-income parents have to quit their jobs and stay home to care for their disabled children in the event that the Webb Center cannot be kept open? The state will then end up caring for them via welfare checks. Would conservatives rather pay to care for people's children while they work productively, stimulate the economy, and better themselves through their own efforts - or would they rather pay them to stay out of the workforce because of an aversion to government-run or government-subsidized daycare?

I do have an update on where to send donations to help keep the Webb Center (and similar facilities) open. Send checks to the Disability Foundation of Charleston County, P.O. Box 22708, Charleston, SC, 29413. I will continue trying to track down the petition. I'd love to see it circulating among pro-life groups and even church groups. Most of all, please contact your state legislators. Tell them we need to make tough, good choices that protect the most vulnerable among us, promote work, AND value life.

- KPE