HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/19/2005 - STAFF REPORTS (11) RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA SUPPORTING THE
PROGRAMS AND SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE
FOUNDATION FOR THE RETARDED OF THE DESERT
WF�EREAS, there are more than 8,000,000 Americans who have mental
retardation or other developmental disabilities;
WHEREAS, individuals with developmental disabilities include those with mental
retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, Downs syndrome, epilepsy, and other related
conditions;
WHEREAS, individuals with mental retardation or other developmental
disabilities have substantial limitations on their functional capacities, including
limitations in two or more of the areas of self-care, receptive and expressive
language, learning, mobility, self-direction, independent living, and economic self-
sufficiency, as well as the continuous need for individually planned and
coordinated services;
WHEREAS, for the past two decades individuals with mental retardation or other
developmental disabilities and their families have increasingly expressed their
desire to live and work in their communities, joining the mainstream of American
life;
WHEREAS, the Foundation for the Retarded of the Desert was founded in 1959
by a small group of concerned parents who wished to expand the horizons of
their children's lives;
WHEREAS, the Foundation serves more than 900 developmentally disabled
residents in the Coachella Valley;
WHEREAS, the Foundation provides job and life-skills training for its clients and
eventually helps them line up jobs at outside businesses;
WHEREAS, it also offers in-home respite care services, so that family members
can take a few hours to go shopping, do the laundry or visit the dentist;
WHEREAS, years of state budget cuts have seriously reduced the amount of
funding the Foundation receives forcing it to layoff 50 employees and reduce
services;
WHEREAS, the California State Fund, which operates like a mutual insurance
carrier, recently advised the Foundation that its workers' compensation premiums
will soon increase from $380,000 to more than $500,000 a year;
WHEREAS, to make matters worse, State Fund also performed an audit of the
Foundation's programs and determined that certain job classifications were not
C, -
being correctly applied resulting in an underpayment of the workers'
compensation premium;
WHEREAS, the Foundation has appealed both the rate increase and the
underpaid premium charge;
WHEREAS, if the Foundation loses its appeal on the underpaid premium it will
cost an additional $300,000 a year;
WHEREAS, if this occurs the Foundation will be forced to shift clients into
training programs that are classified by the state as being lower risk and carry
lower premium rates; and
WHEREAS, the loss of certain training programs will threaten the ability of the
Foundation to achieve its core mission, which is the provision of safe and high-
quality support to individuals with mental retardation or other developmental
disabilities.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Palm Springs City Council does
hereby find and determine that the programs and services provided by the
Foundation for the Retarded of the Desert are critical to the community in that
they offer individuals with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities
the opportunity to lead self-directed family, community, and social lives.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Palm Springs City Council does hereby
support the Foundation for the Retarded of the Desert in their efforts to appeal
the decision of State Fund regarding the underpayment of their Workers'
Compensation premium.
ADOPTED this day of 2005.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ATTEST: CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA
By:
City Clerk City Manager
REVIEWED AND ADOPTED AS TO
FORM: