This is an e-mail I received regarding the Johnson resignation.  This person has held a statewide position in advocacy.  I didn’t get permission from this person because I felt s/he may want to remain unknown.

May 2, 2008, 1:19 pm

Today, Jane Johnson resigned her position as Director of the Agency for Persons
with Disabilities (APD). Ms. Johnson submitted her resignation this morning and
it is reported she will remain in the position through the end of the month.
The Agency has been plagued with budget deficits and problems implementing
legislation limiting disabled consumers to tiers. Many of the problems existed
prior to her taking over as director. The issues were compounded when the
Legislature once again cut funding for the vulnerable population APD serves.
This session, funds were cut by over $120 million, on top of July’s special
session cuts, leaving a nearly impossible task for any successor.

This leaves the Agency in a very precarious position as Senate lawmakers try to
pass legislation to do away with the APD and move the responsibility and budget
over to AHCA, or the Agency for Health Care Administration. Thus far, the
legislation has failed.

There has also been an attempt by managed care proponents to allocate the APD
budget to HMO’s to administer the program. This effort continued until this last
week of session and is being promoted to legislators by a former senate staffer,
now employed by the managed care industry.

The developmentally disabled and providers of services to the disabled, who will experience the agony of the budget cuts, are encouraging Ms. Johnson to leave a powerful message to legislators and the Governor, who failed to rescue the many vulnerable people who will be put in harm’s way as a result of the extraordinarily deep cuts.