Dear Editor:
On behalf of the over 13,000 families The Arc of New Jersey represents, I would like to extend my sincere thank you to Governor McGreevey and the New Jersey Legislature for their dedication and commitment to individuals with developmental disabilities in the FY 2005 budget. This budget will have a significant impact on the lives of over 250,000 New Jersey residents who have developmental disabilities as well as the thousands of state citizens who care for them.Once again, Governor McGreevey and this Legislature have shown its steadfast commitment to the most vulnerable citizens in this state by appropriating a 4 percent cost of providing care increase in the FY 2005 budget.
For this, The Arc of New Jersey, our families and the individuals we serve owe this Governor and our Legislature a great deal of gratitude. Community agencies will now have the capacity to keep pace with the escalating costs associated with providing essential services. It is because of them that community agencies will not have to turn away families or tell individuals that the services they have come to rely on will no longer be there. It is because of them that people, who have made their career taking care of the state’s most vulnerable citizens, will get a salary increase. We all feel like we matter and that is because of Governor McGreevey and the New Jersey Legislature.
With gratitude,
Thomas Buffato
Executive Director, The Arc of New Jersey