Letter to the Editor

Your view: Budget hurts children

Tuesday, February 8, 2005

Have you thought about running a story on the governor's proposed cut of the First Steps program from the budget?

First Steps is an early intervention program for the birth to 3 population who have a 50 percent or more delay in at least one area of development (cognition, speech/language, motor, social emotional, self-help skills). The program serves over 8,000 children statewide including many in this area. The governor has proposed eliminating it from the budget as of June 30, 2005. His spokesman suggested that there would be few gaps in services since children could receive the same services through Medicaid, private insurance and Parents As Teachers.

This is false information. Many of the families served by First Steps already do not qualify for Medicaid and will find it even more difficult to do so if the governor has his way. If families have private insurance, it usually will only cover a few sessions of occupational or physical therapy. Speech is not generally covered by insurance unless it is "restorative speech" (i.e. the child had speech and lost it due to illness or injury). Parents As Teachers is a comprehensive program that serves approximately 47 percent of birth to 3 children statewide. It is designed to educate parents regarding typical development. When they have concerns regarding the development of a child, PAT educators refer them to First Steps. Just as regular educators in the public school system need the expertise of special educators with certain children, PAT educators need the assistance of Special Instructors from the First Steps program to assist with infants and toddlers with significant delays. First Steps serves 1-2 percent of the birth to 3 population statewide. Special Instruction is a service offered through First Steps presently. However, if the program is eliminated, needy children will no longer have access to this service. Special Instructors provide an educational service, not medical, and are paid through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. They cannot bill Medicaid or private insurance.

Many children in our area will lose services if the governor's budget is adopted. As a result, schools will be overburdened with special needs children in the next few years. Early intervention has been shown to be very cost-effective. It is obvious that the governor can save money in the short term by eliminating this program, but there certainly will be a price paid for his uninformed decision.

Terri Stinnett