families network

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Hello Families Network! As many of you already know, Governor Corzine has

directed his cabinet members to cut the fiscal year 2010 budget (the budget

we are operating under now) by $400 million by December 1st. We still do

not have any additional information about what to expect in terms of the

Division of Developmental Disabilities' share of these cuts. All we know at

this point is that the Departments are supposed to deliver a list of budget

cuts to the Governor on December 1st. It is almost certain that we will be

looking at even greater cuts in next year's budget, which makes it even more

critical that we eliminate all cuts now. While budget cuts might be

impossible to fight off, we sure aren't going to lose for lack of trying!

Here are three things you can do:

If you have not done so already, respond to our action alert by going to

http://capwiz.com/thearc/state/main/?state=NJ. We have been getting an

enormous response, but we need even more letters, emails and calls if we are

going to have a shot at having an impact! Also, if you have not done so

already, ask all of your friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc. to respond to

this action alert as well. We need NUMBERS!

Email us pictures of your family and messages to the Governor. Please send

me a picture of your family or your loved one with a developmental

disability along with a small amount of information about the picture (ie:

your loved ones' name(s), where they live, and what services they are

receiving). We are also collecting personal messages from families, so

please also email me a couple of compelling sentences you want to

communicate to the Governor about your concerns related to cuts. We are

planning to deliver a series of pictures and messages directly to the

Governor.

For anyone who will be attending the Department of Human Services central

region budget forum on November 30th (details at

http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/home/budget/index.html), please join us

in making a statement about cuts. We are asking everyone who attends,

whether you are speaking or not, to bring a picture of your family member

with developmental disabilities and every time someone says the word " CUTS " ,

hold your picture high in the air.

If you know of other families or individuals who may be willing to join in

these efforts, please feel free to forward this information. As always

please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, need help

navigating the online action alert, or want more information about this or

any other issue.

Denbigh Shelton

Director, Family Advocacy Program

The Arc of New Jersey

985 Livingston Avenue

North Brunswick, NJ 08902

(732) 246-2525 ext. 49

dshelton@...

www.arcfamilyadvocacy.org

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