Countywide : Center for Disabled Facing Major Cuts

The Developmental Disabilities Center, which serves more than 7,000 developmentally disabled Orange County residents, may be forced to drastically curtail services because of a state budget shortfall, officials said this week.

The agency is facing a budget shortfall of $1.4 million through the June 30 fiscal year, which may force elimination of day programs, employment and respite services, residential placement and transportation assistance, said spokesman Don Sizemore.

“We are the money of last resort for our clients,” Sizemore said. “For a lot of people we’re talking about regressing, of not continuing the progress they have made in integrating into society.”

The center, at 530 S. Main St. in Orange, is one of 21 nonprofit regional centers in California that are responsible for assessing, funding and monitoring the care of children and adults who suffer from mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism or other neurological disorders.

Twenty of the other regional centers are facing budget shortfalls that total $14.3 million statewide, Sizemore said.

Elaine E. Bamberg, the center’s executive director, said the state Department of Developmental Services is appealing to the state Legislature for funds to continue services until July 1.

The Developmental Disabilities Center, with a budget of nearly $45 million, is one of the county’s largest human service organizations. It subcontracts with 600 other agencies for such services as job coaches and therapists. Those agencies could also be cut back, Sizemore said.