ST. LOUIS COUNTY – It’s clear that Lisa Jackson, 57, needs special help, but she’s not getting it from the state of Missouri.
The services have been fought for by her sisters for nine months now, since their mother died, leaving Lisa alone at home.
“The left side of her body is paralyzed because she had meningitis.”Vanessa Barton-Green added, “She lives alone, and I have two other siblings here. So every two or three days, one of us goes down to take care of her, and then we all go back to our own homes.”
If it were up to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Jackson would get help. He proposed a $79.4 million budget for 1,952 new people with developmental challenges.
Then, after being warned by the federal government, the General Assembly took the money out of the final budget that was passed without giving a reason.
In June, the U.S. Department of Justice said that Missouri had broken the Americans with Disabilities Act because of this very problem. In a letter to the Attorney General, the DOJ said, “The State of Missouri institutions adults with mental disabilities in nursing homes for no good reason.”
Tim Weaks, the public administrator for St. Louis County, said, “Missouri is already on notice.” “This will cause people to lose their homes.” More people will be homeless because they won’t have work or things to do. These are people who are not getting the help they need for mental health issues or developmental challenges.
He also said, “People younger than you might think.” People who get lost are weak and shouldn’t be there.
“I’m getting cases of kids who are aged out of the care of the Children’s Division.” That means these people are 18 or 21 years old. Weaks said, “They don’t have many skills at all.”
We asked the heads and vice heads of the budget committees in both the House and the Senate for answers.
In response, Parson’s office said that the budget for fiscal year 2025 was “disingenuous” and that there would “nearly certain need for a supplemental budget in the next session.”
In a few months, denials like Lisa’s will likely reach about $2,000. To deal with her stress, Lisa works four days a week as a packager.
“Working is easy for me.” “All I want to do is work,” she said.
Her family says they will keep fighting for her and the other hundreds of people who are being turned away.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she’s not forgotten,” Barton Green said.
Tuesday afternoon, Cody Smith, the budget chairman for the Missouri House of Representatives, replied that lawmakers had added an extra $34 million to the scheme this time.
“So that the state’s ongoing costs and ongoing income would be equal, fiscal year 2025 did not include money to add more people to the existing program beyond what was already approved.” He said, “As of September 16, general revenue collections were -1.9 percent, or $45,723,982.25 less than this time last year.”