Suit brewing over wait for assistance

While disability advocates struggle to persuade lawmakers to come up with more funding for caretakers of disabled Utahns, a lawsuit on the same subject has been brewing in federal court for the past six years.

The suit, filed by the Disability Law Center against the state, is similar to many other such suits filed against states that have waiting lists. But while other such suits have been settled out of court by other states, Utah's suit may be the first of its kind ever to go to trial come Jan. 23. This means the case could carry legal precedent across the country.

"I think this is the first case in the country that will actually go to trial," said assistant Utah Attorney General Craig Barlow.

There have been attempts to settle the suit, but with little success. While both sides agree that providing assistance for home care is more cost-effective, and preserves families more effectively than institutionalizing disabled citizens, they disagree as to how far the state can, or is willing, to go to fund assistance programs.

The key issue of the trial is going to be about money, said Robert Denton, attorney for the Disability Law Center, which filed the suit on behalf of The Arc of Utah and nine individuals. Denton said the suit asks the state to create a plan to reduce or eliminate the waiting list.

"Certainly a large part of the plan would have to be new money, but there are other things that potentially the state could do in the way they deliver services," Denton said. Bottom line, advocates say the state could be doing things more efficiently.

At the time the suit was filed in December 2002, Denton said some parents of disabled children had been waiting as long as 10 years for state help. In 2002, the list had about 1,300 people on it. Now in 2005, that list has grown to include more than 1,800.

Advocates say the state has procrastinated for 18 years to fulfill its obligation in this area. State numbers for 2004 estimate it would take $8.2 million to fund everyone on the list. In former Gov. Olene Walker's proposed budget, she recommended $2.1 million and the Utah Legislature gave $1 million. This year, Huntsman has recommended $1.6 million.

State officials say they agree that home-based care is ideal and costs less than institutionalizing people, but that doesn't mean the state has the funding for it.

"We don't disagree with that," Barlow said, but "we don't have infinite resources."