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SALT LAKE CITY -- The state agency that works with the disabled is trying to reassure them, even as a plan moves forward to cut workers and privatize.
That plan, set to go into effect July 1, would eliminate 24 support coordinator and 19 administrative staff positions statewide. The Division of Services for People with Disabilities is working, though, to get these people placed in the private sector ahead of time, to avoid that outcome as much as possible.
On Thursday, advocates expressed concerns over availability and quality at a hearing at the State of Utah Department of Human Services in downtown Salt Lake.
"It's going to be a change," says Andrew Riggle, a public policy advocate with the Disability Law Center. "Concerns around quality of service and appropriate oversight are always possible when [privatization] happens."
Accessibility is a concern among advocates because the number of division offices in Utah would also be reduced under the plan. Officials ultimately hope the only difference that is noticed is better service.
"We're hoping the difference they will notice will be in improved quality," says Georgia Baddley, associate director of the division. "When you have competition and choice, then you can move to the higher quality choice."
The division tried to address the concerns in Thursday's public hearing.
"We are reassuring them of the fact that right now we're looking at 24 out of over 100 employees, so yes, we will continue to have a presence and they will continue right now to have a choice," Baddley says.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
