Senator Jeff Sessions is sticking his neck out to defend the President on the NSA wiretapping issue. I think he will soon find that neck chopped, considering there are leaders in his own party who are wary of what the President did. He would be wise to not stray too far out on that limb.
This is the story of how things (don’t) work in Alabama in condensed format. These paragraphs are what particularly caught my attention:
In a lawsuit that originated in 2000 with six Jefferson County families, advocates have sought to require the state to expand funding so more disabled adults get services. They say it’s wrong for hundreds of families to wait, while others in identical situations receive help.
Like Polk, some are waiting for space in group homes because their parents or caretakers are aging. Others need to be in classes during the day so their parents can work and so they can build on the skills they learned at school. All are over 21, the age to which federal law requires educational services be provided.
Attorneys for the families and the state Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation worked out a proposed settlement. The state would increase funding to open 1,800 places within three years. A federal consent decree would be put in place under which the state’s progress would be monitored.
But Alabama Attorney General Troy King refused to sign off on the agreement, saying he does not want federal courts overseeing state agencies.
State agency tries to do the right thing, but is thwarted by politics and funding. The only way Alabama ever does the right thing from a social services perspective is when it’s forced to by a federal entity. That’s the reality.
© 2007 The World Around You
