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Parents, caregivers urge Arizona senators to pass supplemental funding for DDD services
Summary
Multiple parents and caregivers addressed the Arizona Senate during introductions and personal-privilege remarks, asking lawmakers to pass supplemental funding and preserve programs supporting adults and children served by the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD).
Dozens of families and caregivers told the Arizona Senate on April 22 that uncertainty over Division of Developmental Disabilities funding is threatening care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Several senators used the introductions and points of personal privilege to put individual families on the record, and family members described a narrow timeframe for action. Cynthia Elliott introduced her 25‑year‑old daughter and pointed to staffing shortages and financing gaps that, she said, put nearly 1,000 DDD group homes “in jeopardy” and left parents “panicked about where their children will live in just 14 days.” Other speakers echoed that timeline and urged a “clean supplemental bill” that would stabilize services before negotiating longer‑term financial safeguards.
The testimony included several examples of people who rely on DDD for habilitation, speech, occupational and feeding therapy, and for in‑home or group‑home staffing. Senators introduced parents and caregivers who said workforce shortages and the prospect of lost hours threaten daily care and progress toward independence. One parent described being able to stay home as a paid caregiver only because an agency hired her spouse; others described recruiting and training respite providers themselves to keep services in place.
Speakers asked lawmakers to preserve the Paid Parent Caregiver (PPCG) program and to pass gap funding that would keep approved service hours intact. Several senators framed the appeals as urgent and personal, noting that children and adults with complex medical and behavioral needs rely on multiple caregivers and specialists each week.
No formal motion or vote on supplemental DDD funding occurred on the floor during the session recorded here; the comments were given during introductions and points of personal privilege rather than during a committee hearing or a bill debate.
The remarks were concentrated in the session’s introduction period and were repeated through several senators’ introductions, bringing multiple family stories to the Senate record. The Senate later recessed and continued its calendar business, with no immediate floor action tied to the DDD funding appeals recorded in the introductions.
Lawmakers who spoke in support of the families characterized their comments as urgent requests for prompt legislative action; those requests will need to be translated into a formal supplementary spending measure or floor motion for any immediate change to state funding.
