At Cerebral Palsy Agency, Costs Are Up and Morale Is Down

It’s a beautiful late fall morning in Santa Ana, the air so crisp and dry the San Gabriel Mountains look like sugar mounds on the horizon.

Inside United Cerebral Palsy Assn. of Orange County, a stately two-story house that could have been lifted from a Midwestern farm, five children sit around the curl of a horseshoe-shaped table, gluing little red bits next to their pictures on cards that can double as Christmas tree ornaments.

It should be a festive time. But twin currents of pain and grief have converged here.

A 2-year-old client with Down syndrome died a few days before, unable to survive a third surgical procedure on his heart. And about 25 of the agency’s 90 employees are being laid off as the association prepares to close its adult-services unit by next month.

“We can’t afford to do it any longer,” executive director Paul Pulver said. The culprit: stagnant state reimbursement fees and donations, combined with skyrocketing costs for everything from supplies to insurance.

Most of the agency’s 85 adult clients will be taken in by programs run by other agencies, as will many of the laid-off workers, Pulver said.

But that does little to ease the pain as the 50-year-old organization refocuses on its other programs, which help 1,100 children and their families adjust to a wide range of developmental problems, including cerebral palsy, the agency’s namesake.

Among its services is Respite Connection, in which trained adult caregivers go to the homes of about 150 developmentally disabled children, allowing parents to take a break from what can be an overwhelming responsibility. The program occasionally gives parents a night away at a local hotel.

“Many times, the impact on the family is very intense,” said Pulver. “A lot of families will never take a break.”

The agency received a $10,000 grant from last year’s Times Holiday Campaign, which was established in 2000 as part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund. Last year, the program raised $653,000, which was granted to 56 service organizations in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

These agencies provide a range of services to disadvantaged children and youth, including food, clothing and shelter, early childhood literacy programs, services for developmentally delayed and developmentally disabled children and programs to prevent drug abuse, violence and teen pregnancy.

The Times Family Fund is a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which matches the first $700,000 raised at 50 cents on the dollar. The foundation and the Los Angeles Times cover all administrative costs. This year’s Holiday Campaign will collect donations through Tuesday (gifts received after that date will be accepted).

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