University of Arizona imposes job cuts, reductions
Feb. 3, 2009
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/02/02/20090202ua-cuts0202-ON.html

The University of Arizona will eliminate some 600 jobs as part of about $57 million in budget cuts through June. In all, $141.5 million is being cut from the state's university system under legislation Gov. Jan Brewer has signed because of the statewide budget shortfall.

 

A look at impacts of budgetary fixes
Feb. 3, 2009
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/02/03/20090203politics-budgetcuts0203.html
Associated Press and Cronkite News Service

The Legislature's plan to close this year's $1.6 billion shortfall includes cuts to dozens of agencies and programs. We highlight the impact of the cuts:

Arizona Department of Transportation
Several rest areas may close and wait times for driver's licenses may increase as the Arizona Department of Transportation scrambles to cope with state budget cuts and declining revenues, the agency's director said. We are absorbing a lot of cuts in an era of unprecedented demand," Victor Mendez said while briefing members of the Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt Committee.  ADOT faces a $295 million cut for the current fiscal year.  Mendez said ADOT may close five rest areas beginning as early as next month. He said ADOT isn't ready to announce which ones will close, but he said most will be on federal highways.  Some Motor Vehicle Division offices, where residents apply for driver's licenses and auto registrations, may close, he said, and others will see longer wait times as a hiring freeze leaves vacant positions unfilled.  The hiring freeze also may mean longer waits for commercial trucks entering Arizona at ports of entry, Mendez said.  ADOT also is cutting back on routine maintenance, such as litter removal, street sweeping and tree trimming, and it may reduce preventive pavement maintenance, as well.


Parks board will consider proposal by director to close 8 of 27 facilities
by Casey Newton - Feb. 3, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/02/03/20090203stateparks0203.html

Nearly a third of state parks could close immediately if the Arizona State Parks Board accepts its director's recommendations today.  The eight are: Fort Verde State Historic Park in Camp Verde; Homolovi Ruins State Park in Winslow; Lyman Lake State Park in Springerville; McFarland State Historic Park in Florence; Oracle State Park in Oracle; Riordan Mansion State Historic Park in Flagstaff; Tubac Presidio State Historic Park in Tubac; and Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park. "It is a grim, grim time," Travous told a Senate committee on natural resources. "We know we're not going to make it through this fiscal year."  The parks selected for closing have the highest cost per visitor. Together, the eight parks drew nearly 100,000 visitors last year, or 4 percent of the system's 2.3 million annual visitors. Shutting down the parks immediately will close a Parks Board budget deficit estimated at $650,000. The deficit is a consequence of the $1.6 billion budget fix passed early Saturday by the Legislature, which cut $4.8 million in park funding.  Travous said he already had eliminated jobs for 60 people. Officials are considering laying off park rangers as well.

 

Department of Revenue Lays Off 53, Mandates Furloughs
by Casey Newton
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PoliticalInsider/45600

The Department of Revenue laid off 53 people this week and instituted a mandatory furlough program this week in a response to budget cuts Saturday.  The laid-off employees were all probationary employees within their first six months on the job, said Anthony Forschino, assistant director at the department.  Remaining employees will each take off one day per pay period through June 30.  The layoffs will reduce the department's head count by 5.6 percent.

 

Stimulus measure a relief but no windfall for Arizona
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/02/12/20090212stimaz0212.html

President Barack Obama has said the stimulus plan will "save or create" as many as 4 million jobs nationwide. In Arizona, the stimulus could preserve or create about 74,000 jobs, according to an analysis supported by the White House. Even so, it would fall well short of what the state has already lost. Last year, the state shed more than 115,000 jobs, a total worse than larger states like Illinois and Ohio, according to U.S. Labor Department records.  In fact, that 4.3 percent drop in Arizona's workforce in 2008 was worse than every state but Rhode Island's 4.5 percent.  The virtual collapse of the housing industry has led Arizona's march to the bottom.  Taxable sales for home construction were down 36 percent in 2008 from their 2006 peak, when contractors averaged about $790,000 in monthly sales, according to Arizona Department of Revenue records.
Not surprisingly, it cost workers their jobs.  By December, Arizona had 38,000 net fewer construction jobs than it had at the start of the year, according to the state's Commerce Department.  Jones said he hopes a surge in road-building jobs will help those in the home-building industry, but he is unsure that it will. Some workers have specialized skills not really used in roadwork, he said, while others "have a strong back and a willingness to work hard."  For now, the state's immediate job outlook isn't bright. In 2008, employers warned the state that they were dumping more than 7,200 jobs in mass layoffs.  So far this year, employers have warned of at least 1,800 more jobs lost. Nearly 1,600 of them involve the Phoenix-based mining company Freeport McMoRan, which advised the state's Department of Economic Security that it anticipates layoffs in Morenci by mid-March.

 

9,000 at DES will be placed on unpaid leave
Layoffs imminent after January budget cuts
by Casey Newton - Feb. 13, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/02/13/20090213des0213.html

Despite rising demand for unemployment benefits and food stamps, the Department of Economic Security on Thursday announced furloughs for 9,000 employees and said "a significant number" of layoffs are imminent.  The cost-cutting moves, which officials said would affect nearly every service the department provides, come in response to more than $90 million in cuts to the department's budget last month.  The department, which oversees agencies including Child Protective Services, the food-stamp program and child-support enforcement, previously reduced overtime and travel expenses. But it wasn't enough to avoid steep cuts.  "Although those actions have helped, the magnitude of the budget reduction to DES requires that we implement additional cost-saving actions for personnel," DES Director Linda Blessing wrote in an e-mail to employees.  As a result of the furloughs, the agency will likely no longer be able to investigate every potential-risk report made to the Child Protective Services Hotline. A potential-risk report is the lowest-level threat handled by the agency.  The agency also will have fewer resources to investigate claims of abuse against the elderly and adults with disabilities.
"Our staff works very hard to help Arizona children and families through these difficult economic times," DES spokeswoman Liz Barker wrote in an e-mail. "This action, while necessary, will mean increased demands on our staff and likely delays in providing services to our customers."  Furloughs will be staggered over the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends June 30, officials said. Employees will have to take up to nine unpaid days off depending on their job. Barker said she could not say how many DES employees will be laid off until employees are informed over the next few days.

 

112 case workers laid off at CPS
by Mary Jo Pitzl - Mar. 10, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/03/10/20090310cpscuts0310.html - comments

Another round of job cuts to the state's Child Protective Services program means 112 case specialists are out of jobs, leaving the staff 15 percent smaller than it was earlier this year.  That translates into fewer workers to investigate complaints about child abuse, a move that one state lawmaker predicted would lead to children dying due to abusive conditions.  The agency late last week laid off 112 specialists, bringing to 159 the total number of case workers and investigators who have been dismissed as the state Department of Economic Security makes cuts to help the state balance its current-year budget.  In all, 181 CPS workers have lost their jobs due to budget cuts. DES does not expect further cuts, but lawmakers have said new budget reductions may be needed this spring.

 

Peoria Unified School District may slash 700 jobs
by Jeffrey Javier - Mar. 9, 2009 09:48 AM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/03/09/20090309gl-pusdcuts0309-ON.html

Facing $37 million in cuts next school year, the Peoria Unified School District may lay off as many as 700 employees.  Bonnie Apperson, director of public relations for the district, said the numbers are still tentative. A shortfall of $37 million is a worst-case scenario and the district is still working through the numbers. "We don't want to upset people unnecessarily, because these numbers are all preliminary and there won't be any notice to any contracted employee until April 15," Apperson said. The district is looking at cutting contracted employees, including teachers, who have less than two years' service with PUSD. Currently, the Northwest Valley district employs 4,132 people. It serves more than 37,000 students in 30 elementary and eight high schools and is the third-largest school district in Arizona.  Budget problems are pummeling school districts Valleywide. The Scottsdale Unified School District has said it would cut 221 teacher positions next school year. Paradise Valley Unified faces the loss of 184 teacher, clerical and administrative positions. Mesa Public Schools is likely to ax 310 teacher spots and 130 other positions.  Lois Fecteau, president of the teachers group Peoria Education Association and a teacher at Sky View Elementary School, said it's been difficult to see young teachers affected.  "I know a lot of veteran teachers who are heartbroken for these young teachers," Fecteau said. She added that teachers and staff from her school and others are going door-to-door to inform parents of what is happening.

 

State Layoffs Near 1,300
Republic, Political Insider 3/11/09
http://www.politicker.com/arizona/69044/state-layoffs-near-1300

The state's $1.6 billion budget fix earlier this year has so far has resulted in 1,289 layoffs, or about 3.6 percent of state employees.  Meanwhile, 15,043 employees -- 42 percent of the total -- have been furloughed. The numbers, which were last tabulated Thursday, come from the Department of Administration. They are not broken down by agency, although officials said the figure includes the 112 people just laid off from Child Protective Services.

 

State universities present Brewer with budget-cutting scenarios
Mar. 11, 2009 12:00 AM
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/03/11/20090311uacuts0311.html
Associated Press

TUCSON - If the University of Arizona were to absorb the heaviest possible budget cuts being explored by state government, it would face the equivalent of losing six colleges.
As the state faces another big budget shortfall, Gov. Jan Brewer's office has asked leaders in state government to come up with a list of possible budget cuts of 5, 10, 15 and 20 percent below the spending levels now in place after recent reductions. The state's public universities and the Board of Regents did so in a document that emphasizes a provision in the federal stimulus funding package and the effect additional cuts would have on higher education.  Arizona State University said a 20 percent cut would require laying off 40 percent of its faculty supported by state funds, and Northern Arizona University said a 15 percent cut would likely mean its student health center would be closed.

State must use federal cash fast
Mar. 12, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2009/03/12/20090312thur2-12.html

Put parents out of work or put kids at risk. The cuts to state child-care subsidies, part of the midyear budget reduction, leave two dismal choices. Both are bad for Arizona.
Fortunately, the federal stimulus package has specially earmarked funding that will restore child-care subsidies. But the Legislature needs to appropriate the money.
A bill is in the works in both houses. Now, it needs to speed through the process. Gov. Jan Brewer is a strong proponent and ready to sign well-crafted legislation.
The Department of Economic Security sent out letters to about 15,000 families warning that their subsidies will end this week. This isn't a ploy, as some critics claim, it's reality. The DES is required to shrink its spending under legislation passed six weeks ago. It can't operate with money that hasn't been appropriated. Child-care subsidies are critical because they're a helping hand, not a handout. Families must make co-payments on a sliding scale based on income and number of children. Co-payments may be as high as 17 percent of a family's gross monthly income. Even before the budget cuts, Arizona was not inordinately generous. Assistance was available to families making up to 165 percent of the federal poverty level, a lower eligibility level than most other states.

 

The human anguish of state's budget cuts
Loss of services leaves thousands looking for help
by Mary Jo Pitzl - Mar. 13, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/03/13/20090313des-cuts0313.html

Deep cuts to Arizona's social-service programs have sent the people who use those programs on a dizzying roller-coaster ride during the past month as they try to navigate the bumpy terrain of the state's budget woes.  People such as Lucrecia Roso, a Cuban refugee, who suddenly found herself rearing her two granddaughters. A diabetic on a fixed income, she has been relying on two state programs that are being cut to help balance the state budget. Or Nicki Garcia, who is wondering how her baby, who has Down syndrome, will fare now that state-supported therapy services face an uncertain future. "I just need to restructure and become a therapist," said Garcia, who has a degree in elementary education. "No, I'm not trained, but what else can I do?"
And Chris Scarpati, who is on the other side of the coin. The Child Crisis Center, which she runs, had its contract with the state suspended, which led her to lay off 16 employees.
"In 28 years, we've never had to let people go," she said.  The concerns stem from $153 million in cuts that the state Department of Economic Security made after lawmakers ordered lump-sum reductions in state agencies. The cuts were part of a plan to resolve the state's $1.6 billion budget deficit.   The announcements triggered protests that the cuts robbed from society's most vulnerable. "You don't take from the poor box," said Cletus Thiebeau, president and chief executive of the Valley of the Sun School, which provides services to developmentally disabled people.  The protests have been heard, partly: Gov. Jan Brewer stepped in with federal stimulus dollars to restore a $24 million cut to child-care subsidies for low-income families. Lawmakers on Thursday approved a plan that will continue the funding, meaning 18,000 children can stay at their existing child-care centers.  Deep cuts to developmentally disabled services also got relief, albeit temporarily: On Wednesday, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge put a restraining order on an $18 million cut to disabled services.  Despite those restored programs, other cuts range from aid to the disabled elderly to abused children. Advocates say the moves could lead to tragic consequences.  Child Protective Services, which investigates complaints of child abuse, has lost 159 caseworkers and investigators in the past six weeks. The agency will no longer look into the lowest-priority complaints.
At the other end of the age spectrum, the state's Adult Protective Services office has said it may not be able to investigate all complaints of elder abuse.  Sherry Whitener, executive director of Advocates for the Disabled, said one of her clients collapsed when he realized that his monthly $150 assistance check would be cut off. Other services are hampered by the DES layoffs (staffing is down by 800 people) and mandatory furloughs.
A cut that eliminated services to developmentally disabled children from birth to age 3 was especially harsh, many said. "It's just a blatant message: They're not important enough," Garcia said after she received one week's notice that daughter Mariah's therapy services would end.  Although Wednesday's court ruling means the services will continue for now, they're likely to be cut again as lawmakers deal with next year's budget and its deep deficit.  DES officials say they decided to spread the cuts broadly to avoid hitting one area harder than others. Although "gut-wrenching," agency officials said the cuts are necessary to contribute to balancing the state budget.  At the Garcia home in Maricopa, cheers broke out when Mariah, age 15 months, pulled herself up from her blanket into a push-up pose.  "If she's able to bear weight on her arms and legs, it shows she's getting strength," said Trudy Kopas, Mariah's occupational therapist. Although most children her age are walking by now, Mariah hasn't yet started to crawl. Yet Kopas said there has been progress. When she met Mariah in August, the baby was four to six months delayed in development for children with Down syndrome. Now, she's only one or two months behind. Mariah has recently started to hold her baby bottle, another milestone.
If the specialized treatment Mariah gets is eliminated, Garcia said she'll try to do it herself. But it won't be the same. "They're trained to see things in these kids that we don't see," she said of the therapists who have worked with Mariah.  Her private insurance isn't much help; Garcia said it would pay 42 cents per therapy session; sessions run at least $65 an hour. She and her husband say they could pay out of pocket, but it would make everything else tight on their one-income, two-child budget.  In central Phoenix, caseworker Tania Hernandez is trying to cushion the blow that Roso is feeling with the loss of two programs administered through the Area Agency on Aging. The state's kinship program provides money to help with the costs of raising her granddaughters, ages 4 and 12. Things like children's beds, shoes, clothing and other little-girl items that Roso thought she was long finished with.  Another DES program provided help with housekeeping and cooking, because Roso, a diabetic, has multiple health problems.
These programs are now closed, but Hernandez said if she can get Roso into subsidized housing, the savings on rent should make up for the loss of the programs.

 

Agencies outline massive 2010 budget cuts
by Mary K. Reinhart
Friday, 20 March 2009 08:23
http://www.arizonaguardian.com/az/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=43&Itemid=

Arizona's fiscal crisis came into sharper focus Thursday as Gov. Jan Brewer's office released state agency budget-cutting options that contemplated near-catastrophic reductions to programs and services.  The lives of seniors, children, the sick and the disabled would be put at risk, along with public health and safety.  The state's university system would be chopped by one-third, an entire juvenile corrections facility shuttered, the State Hospital facing decertification and billions of dollars in federal funding for a host of other programs and services in doubt.  Mental health and substance abuse treatment for only the most indigent Arizonans would be provided, and children who are neglected or abused would wait until the worst happened before finally being removed from their families.  Those were among the scenarios outlined by state agency directors, who were asked last month by Brewer budget director Eileen Klein to provide detailed information about how budget reductions of 5, 10, 15 and 20 percent would be implemented for the coming fiscal year.  "These reductions would fundamentally change the mission of the agency," interim Department of Economic Security director Linda Blessing wrote in a cover letter to Klein.  As with the other agencies, Blessing's predictions grew progressively more dire, and costly in both lives and the loss of federal funds, as the budget-reduction options increased.  Cuts at 15 percent "would represent a tipping point for the agency's mission and would require a significant rethinking of the state's role in human services," she wrote. "Protective services would be preserved, but most basic services for low-income families and individuals would end."
Human services advocates and providers were stunned when Blessing laid out the options during a meeting Thursday afternoon.  "You unravel the basic safety net in Arizona," said Timothy Schmaltz, who heads Protecting Arizona's Family Coalition. "And you unravel the last 12 to 15 years of investment by the philanthropic and business community in Arizona."  The state faces a roughly $3 billion deficit for 2010, after making permanent the $600 million in lump-sum reductions that Republican legislators imposed to help balance a $1.6 billion current-year deficit.  Once agencies began implementing the lump-sum cuts, including reducing or eliminating programs for disabled children, homebound seniors, foster children, CPS workers and child care subsidies, some Republicans accused directors of purposely targeting programs that would generate the most public sympathy.
These 2010 budget-reduction options give lawmakers a clearer picture of the potential damage and effectively strip away whatever political cover those who voted for the 2009 cuts may have enjoyed.

House and Senate GOP leaders are expected to release a 2010 budget late next week.
Brewer has sketched out broad outlines for a budget that would bridge the $3 billion budget gap with equal parts agency spending cuts, federal stimulus funding and a temporary tax increase.  Other cuts contemplated under the agency scenarios:

Department of Health Services
5 percent, $29.7 million
10 percent, $59.4 million
15 percent, $89.9 million
20 percent, $118.9 million
Even with 5 percent cuts, mental health and substance abuse treatment for people who don't qualify for Medicaid would be eliminated. Further cuts would jeopardize the state's already shaky standing in a class-action lawsuit governing care of the seriously mentally ill.  "Expect more children to have greater involvement with law enforcement, juvenile justice and increased residential treatment placements through the juvenile court and the education systems," the DHS materials said, referring to elimination of behavioral health services to 5,580 children. "Adolescent suicide attempts an actual suicide rates could increase."

Furloughs at the Arizona State Hospital would endanger patients and staff and risk de-certification of the hospital and the loss of $28 million in federal disproportionate share funds.  Continued vacancies and layoffs in the Division of Licensing Services would increase the backlog of nearly 1,000 annual inspections to nursing homes, child care centers and other state regulated facilities.

Department of Juvenile Corrections
5 percent, $3.6 million
10 percent, $7.2 million
15 percent, $10.8 million
20 percent, $14.4 million

At 20 percent, the department would close Eagle Point, one of three lockups for boys and the only one that complies with federal disability laws. Those 144 youth would be placed in other facilities. "If all budget reductions are enacted, the resulting operational changes could significantly impact the safety and welfare of youth, staff and the general public.," agency director Michael Branham wrote.  "It could become necessary to double-bunk sex offenders, a practice the Department now avoids," ADJC documents state. "Juvenile suicides would become more difficult to prevent."  As Branham points out, the agency has been under two federal court orders in the past 20 years and was released from the last one -- sparked by three suicides at one lockup -- in 2007.  "Cutting funding to past levels would impede progress, or likely cause the department to slip back to threatening circumstances," he wrote.

AHCCCS
5 percent, $47.7 million
10 percent, $95.5 million
15 percent, $143.2 million
20 percent, $191 million

Cuts beyond 5 percent would likely cause AHCCCS to lose $1.2 billion in increased federal matching funds under the stimulus program, which already has brought the state $351 million this year.  "This would cause a double blow to the healthcare system. First, hundreds of millions of federal dollars would flow out of the system," AHCCCS officials wrote. "Second, more uninsured people would go to hospitals for care resulting in costs that are shifted to hospitals and providers as uncompensated care."  Gone would be the KidsCare health insurance program for children, as well as health care for their parents. The graduate medical education program would be eliminated under 10 percent cuts, as would a $2.4 million program that provides transportation for disabled residents to get to work.  At 15 percent, lawmakers would be carving into voter-approved health care for residents earning up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level. That would a ballot measure asking voters to undo the health care coverage. Universities Regents president Fred Boice said he applauded the governor's budget plan and encouraged lawmakers to consider it.  "We agree that the budget crisis cannot be fixed by spending cuts alone and that tax and budget reform are in order," Boice wrote. "Arizona simply cannot prosper now or in the future if we gut our education system and government agencies."

At ASU, cuts of 5 percent to 20 percent would cause layoffs of 586 to 1,228 faculty.
NAU reductions would eliminate the school from the Big Sky conference Twenty percent budget cuts at the UA, at $87.6 million, would force the closure of six colleges, tuition and fees up 60 percent and one-third fewer faculty and students.  "It would take the state a decade to recover its fiscal health because the highly talented faculty, professionals, staff and students will have left Arizona for other employment opportunities," UA officials wrote. "The leveraged economic impact they generate departs with them."

Department of Economic Security
5 percent: $61.9 million
10 percent: $122 million ($160 million with lost of child care subsidy program)
15 percent, $183 million, ($500.8 million including loss of cash assistance and child care programs)
20 percent, $244.1 million; ($561.8 million including loss of cash assistance and
child care).

 

Options to slash social services draw gasps
Mar. 20, 2009 12:00 AM
Staff and wire reports
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/03/20/20090320politics-options0320.html

Gov. Jan Brewer's office Thursday released the budget-cutting options submitted by state agencies, drawing immediate gasps from social-services advocates who say the plans could eliminate the state's safety net.  Agencies submitted scenarios of what cuts of 5, 10, 15 and 20 percent next year would do to their work.   The response from the state Department of Economic Security: It would change the agency's mission. "Further reductions cannot be resolved without significant detrimental outcomes for vulnerable children and adults in Arizona," DES Director Linda Blessing wrote.

 

Foster families, disabled hit by budget cuts
by Paul Davenport - Feb. 18, 2009 12:00 AM
Associated Press
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/02/18/20090218politics-des0218.html

The state Department of Economic Security on Tuesday announced reductions in social programs and services in response to recent budget cuts, including moves affecting foster families and the developmentally disabled.  DES said it will eliminate so-called "state-only" services for developmental disabilities for children and adults who do not qualify for federal funding, as well as for young children at risk for "developmental delays."
Foster families' reimbursements will be reduced by 20 percent, dropping the monthly average to $728 from $910, and there will be a 20 percent benefits reduction in a cash welfare program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.  A long list of previously announced service cutbacks include not investigating some reports - those deemed less severe - of abuse and neglect of children and vulnerable adults. Cost-cutting moves within the department include unpaid mandatory time off for 9,000 workers and layoffs of more than 600 DES workers. "The impact of these reductions will be devastating to Arizona's most vulnerable children and families. We worked very hard to prevent the need for the additional reductions, but the overall reduction to the department was such that cuts of this magnitude were necessary," DES spokeswoman Liz Barker Alvarez said in a statement.  Meanwhile, some Republican senators voiced criticism of cuts handled by DES and other agencies.

 

Developmentally disabled, advocates protest program cuts
SEAN MANGET
Tucson Citizen
Published: 03.21.2009
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/112570.php

PHOENIX - Robert Shin has a job with a Tucson manufacturing company thanks to a training and placement organization for people with developmental disabilities. That program relies on state funding.  Shin, 31, lives with his mother, Debbie Hansen, who has to help him clean his room. "He has some sense of self worth and doing something on his own," Hansen said of her son's job.  With state budget cuts threatening Department of Economic Security funding for such programs, Hansen, her son and dozens of others marched in protest Thursday at the Arizona State Capitol. "If they cut the funding from DES, then he would have nowhere to go," Hansen said. "He would sit home and watch TV for the rest of his life."  With DES facing a cut of $103 million from its budget for the fiscal year ending in June, the agency planned to cut funding for Division of Developmental Disabilities programs helping more than 4,000 children and adults. However, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge recently stopped DES from making those. The demonstrators, who came from as far away as the White Mountains, chanted, "Cut your steaks, not our funding," and cheered Democratic lawmakers who opposed the cuts.  Bernie Dazen, a member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, told the crowd she has benefited from the programs for more than 16 years.  "Don't take our money away," she said. "Don't take the money away from our White Mountain Apache people."  Michelle Reeves, CEO of the Eager-based Reeves Foundation, which provides services to White Mountains-area residents with developmental disabilities, said she doesn't know how her program and others in rural areas can survive major cuts.  "We wouldn't be able to provide the services, and a lot of folks would be without them," Reeves said. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, the assistant House minority leader, told the group that leaders should use stimulus money to guarantee services to the developmentally disabled.  "Those cuts were wrong in January, and they are wrong today," Sinema said.