The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion on Jan. 12 authored by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, 5th District, urging state legislative leaders to address the needs of the more than 80,000 California residents who are developmentally disabled.

“Over the past 20 years, service providers for the developmentally disabled have seen reductions and state funding cuts while costs have risen, significantly eroding developmental services and the quality and access to care provided,” Antonovich said. “If the funding cuts are not restored, vital services will disappear.”

In a letter signed by all five supervisors, the board is asking the governor and state legislative leaders to boost and effectively allocate funding for developmentally disabled individuals. The board is calling for fund sources to be decentralized to counties and cities to maximize the availability of resources to the contract organizations that serve the clients.