Its always fun to celebrate great so we attended a book signing of “You Won’t Believe This! Understanding and Managing the Habits of Gossip ” at Trinity Services. It was a wonderful event. Here’s Barbara, I and our good friend and author Art Dykstra. Congratulations Art, Tim and Elaine on the book.
Copies of the book are available at Cherry Hill Books & Media.
We are now approaching an entire year without a state budget. Everyday, we learn of more closing the toll to human services is unacceptable. See the letter to the editor in the State Journal Register from Clint Paul, CEO, the Hope Institute for Children & Families.
Tony
Give hope back to children with Autism
Posted Jun. 18, 2016 at 8:02 PM
It has been more than a month since Gov. Bruce Rauner received SB2038, a bipartisan measure that provides critical short-term funding for social and human service agencies. For more than 30 days, the governor has had the opportunity, with one stroke of a pen, to stop the bleeding for thousands of organizations that care for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Illinois residents. How much longer will his inaction cause suffering for innocent people?
For the Hope Institute, the measure includes nearly $2 million in partial funding for the Autism Program of Illinois (TAP), which hasn’t received any state funding in 11 months.
The lack of state support over that time has caused the TAP network to unravel, leaving thousands of children with autism, who rely on state funding to receive this critical treatment, out in the cold. As a result, many autism centers have closed or severely reduced operations. Those that remain in operation are forced to turn away families that don’t have the ability to pay.
Each day these children go without services decreases their chances of reaching their full potential.
For more than a decade, The Autism Program of Illinois had been a beacon of hope for families touched by autism with nowhere else to turn. The Governor’s signature on this bill would give them some of that hope back.
Clint Paul
Springfield
The writer is president and CEO of The Hope Institute for Children and Families in Springfield and a partner of The Autism Program of Illinois.
Tony Paulauski
Executive Director
The Arc of Illinois
20901 S. LaGrange Rd. Suite 209
Frankfort, IL 60423
815-464-1832 (OFFICE)
815-464-1832 (CELL)
Tony@thearcofil.org