A student asks Senator Duckworth to improve law and funding for developmental disabilities services

Dear Honorable Senator Tammy Duckworth

       I am from Springfield, IL, and have lived here since I was three years old. I graduated from Springfield Public School District 186, and am currently attending the University of Illinois, Springfield. I am a social work student, and I am hoping to provide change and support to the community that gave and taught me so much. 

      The reason I am writing to you is because of the lack of Transition options for Illinois students with disabilities. I work as a paraprofessional in Springfield Public Schools and am placed in a school with a high disabled population. That school is Edwin A. Lee Elementary School. According to the Illinois Report Card, 57% of Edwin A Lee Elementary student population has IEPs, 28% have a developmental delay, 33% have a speech and language impairment, 3% have autism, and 2% have multiple disabilities. Working alongside these students and trying to help them succeed, I have witnessed the lack of transition options for our students after they graduate from Lee. 

At Lee, our students with learning and developmental disabilities can attend to the age of 22. We provide them with an education that focuses on independence and workplace competence. Our hope and aim are that when our students graduate, they can get a job and be as independent as possible. After graduation, though, the lack of programs and initiatives available to our students is hindering that dream. The goal of a more inclusive society where these persons can be more independent is tragically thwarted by the cost of at-home health care, the price of adequate and safe group homes, the lack of government activities that help them get jobs, and the low number of organizations willing to employ the disabled. Some of our students graduate and get in contact with a job counselor, but the waiting list is so long it sometimes takes over a year for them to get in touch. Over that period, their skills and abilities can turn rusty and even become lost though disuse, and that can further inhibit them from getting a job. My wish is that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act gets expanded and that the result is our community offers more services. We should not “throw away” these people, and I fear that our failing to assist their transition from school to adulthood is doing just that. These persons have valuable contributions to make to their communities. What is best about our society is our concern that we help everyone develop their full potential and live with as much self-sufficiency and autonomy as possible. We are needlessly falling short when it comes to the practical help we give to persons with developmental disabilities as they transition from school to adult life.

I hope that through the act, more coordinators and transition heads are placed in every county in the state. I wish more job coaches positions are made, so that way, the waiting list can be shortened, and more individuals can be helped and not put on a waiting list. I also hope that schools with a high disabled population get their transition coach who focuses on confirming that the students get the help they need when they graduate. Through the act as well, I hope that the individuals who are not able to get a job are provided more assistance so they can go to a safe group home and not have to compromise safety for cost. I also hope that home health care costs paid by the developmentally disabled persons and their families goes down as well, to help the families who are taking care of their loved ones with disabilities. The school district should help with transition planning, so they are not leaving students in the dust where they are not able to fend for themselves. Focusing on transitioning not only helps the schools, but it improves the students. 

I know that assistance like this is at a cost, and I believe one way we can pay for is a property tax and fees that every student has to pay for public education. I am willing to pay a little more in taxes for the betterment of our disabled citizens so they can have the same opportunities. Making sure every citizen has an equal opportunity is significant. I believe that improvements to the laws and increases in tax revenue could be made attractive to voters and taxpayers if we: 1) show them the direct costs in terms of dollars per month they would be paying to help persons with developmental disabilities; and 2) show them exactly where that sort of money goes; and 3) explain the evidence that the services are efficiently helping persons with developmental disabilities and their families. 

Thank you for your time,