Yes, if you haven't heard, Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed eliminating the In-Home Supportive Services program as part of his 2010-11 California state budget proposal. What an ugly thing to do to our state's elderly and disabled population.

Follow up:

Now you should understand, this proposal for complete elimination would only be triggered if California does not receive the expected adequate stimulus money from the federal government. And no money has been promised as far as I know. Even so, assuming the money comes, Schwarzenegger still proposes drastic cuts to the IHSS program that would have the net result of dropping about 86% of the people currently receiving IHSS. That's serious. That would mean that lots of children with autism could potentially be dropped from the program, changing the lives of many families dealing with autism. Families whose lives have already been completely changed by the autism diagnosis.

If my family were to lose IHSS it would drastically change our lives. How? First, my wife would have to go out and get a job, which would be extremely difficult because she could only work while Braden was at school or when I get home from work. And she couldn't work on the days when Braden was out of school, like holidays, spring break, Christmas, you get the picture. Not too many employers are going to accommodate that kind of request. Also, all the time we have together as a family would end. As soon as I get home from work my wife would probably be leaving. On the weekends, when I'm off work, she would likely be working. Taking away our son's IHSS would split our family. Braden wouldn't understand the change. And trust me, that would mean more behavior problems. It wouldn't be a good thing. I imagine this would be the same scenario for many families out there that are currently enjoying the benefits of the IHSS program.

The good news is that the Governator tried something real similar last year with his budget proposal and it didn't fly. The portions that weren't struck down by the state legislature were struck down by court decisions letting Schwarzenegger know that he overstepped his bounds.

So, now we await the annual budget revision to be released in May. And we hope it is revised and that it no longer includes this ridiculous notion that we can take from one of California's most vulnerable populations.

I applaud Schwarzenegger for trying to cut spending, but he's got to cut it from the appropriate places. And splitting families that are already dealing with extra challenges is not the answer. Has Schwarzenegger internalized his Terminator character? How low have we sunk when we're looking to take from the elderly and disabled? To everyone who voted him into office; What were you thinking? My family didn't vote for him, and we won't be voting for him in the next election either.