Stop the Crisis – Fund Community Based Services Before It's Too Late
Stop the Crisis – Reinvest Savings and Fund Community Based Services Before It's Too Late
[Video coming soon]
We come together as a coalition to sound the alarm on the imminent insolvency of the Washington Roads: Community Choice Guide (CCG) Program.
WE URGENTLY CALL ON 'DSHS Leaders', the 'Washington State Legislature', and all 'Program Stakeholders' to immediately address this statewide crisis.
For 18 years, since 2008, this vital program has received zero adjustment to its reimbursement rate for the essential services required by state residents who are seriously disabled and the service providers they depend on. Without immediate additional funding, the number of seriously disabled Washingtonians facing delays, denials, or complete loss of these critical services will continue to grow.
Provider closures are already happening. One large provider has already closed its doors. Thousands of seriously disabled Washingtonians are at risk of losing access to the community-based services they depend on to live independently. The program is on the verge of insolvency.
NO NEW TAXES NEEDED / NO INCREASE TO DEFICIT NECESSARY
We are not asking the state to increase its deficit or raise taxes. The Community Choice Guide Program already generates significant savings for the state by keeping people in community settings rather than far more expensive institutional care. We are simply asking DSHS Leadership and The Washington Legislature to direct a small percentage of those savings back into the program that generates them.
DSHS leadership and the Washington State Legislature must take urgent and immediate action. — It is policy by neglect — and it must change!
POLICY BY NEGLECT: The Chronic Underfunding of Community Choice Guide (CCG) Services
Year after year, DSHS leadership and The Washington State Legislature have made a deliberate choice not to adequately fund critical community services. The reimbursement rates have not been adjusted since 2008 — meaning we are still forced to run these programs on the same dollars paid nearly two decades ago.
Once again, for the current State Budget cycle 2027-29, DSHS Leadership has refused to include any modification of the Community Choice Guide Rate.
Those dollars in 2008 are worth roughly 45–60% less in value today due to inflation (what was $65 per hour back then has the same value/buying power as $41 does today. When appropriately indexed, $65 per hour today with inflation equals $109 per hour).
This is not an accident or oversight — it is a conscious decision to starve these programs through chronic neglect.
THE OLMSTED BETRAYAL: 'Mandating Community Care While Starving It'
The Olmstead Decision of 1999 was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established the right of people with disabilities to receive care in community settings rather than institutions. Washington State embraced this mandate — but has systematically refused to fund the programs required to fulfill it.
For over 20 years, Washington has continued to refuse adjusting the Community Choice Guide reimbursement rate — even as costs have risen dramatically. This is not compliance with the Olmstead mandate. It is a betrayal of it.
You cannot mandate community care while simultaneously starving the programs that provide it. The result is a system that exists on paper but fails in practice — leaving seriously disabled Washingtonians without the services they are legally entitled to receive.
WE URGENTLY CALL ON 'DSHS Leaders', the 'Washington State Legislature', and all 'Program Stakeholders' to immediately address this statewide crisis.
For 18 years, since 2008, this vital program has received zero adjustment to its reimbursement rate for the essential services required by state residents who are seriously disabled and the service providers they depend on. Without immediate additional funding, the number of seriously disabled Washingtonians facing delays, denials, or complete loss of these critical services will continue to grow.
Provider closures are already happening. One large provider has already closed its doors. Thousands of seriously disabled Washingtonians are at risk of losing access to the community-based services they depend on to live independently. The program is on the verge of insolvency.
NO NEW TAXES NEEDED / NO INCREASE TO DEFICIT NECESSARY
We are not asking the state to increase its deficit or raise taxes. The Community Choice Guide Program already generates significant savings for the state by keeping people in community settings rather than far more expensive institutional care. We are simply asking DSHS Leadership and The Washington Legislature to direct a small percentage of those savings back into the program that generates them.
DSHS leadership and the Washington State Legislature must take urgent and immediate action. — It is policy by neglect — and it must change!
What are CCG services?
CCG Services
Community Choice Guide (CCG) services are a critical component of Washington State's long-term care system. These services provide seriously disabled individuals with the support they need to live independently in their own homes and communities — rather than in nursing homes or other institutional settings.
CCG services include personal care assistance, supported living, community access, and other essential supports that enable people with serious disabilities to participate fully in community life. These services are provided by trained professionals who work directly with individuals to meet their unique needs.
By keeping people in community settings, CCG services save the state of Washington tens of millions of dollars each year compared to the cost of institutional care. Yet the program has been chronically underfunded for nearly two decades.
The Community Choice Guide Program is not a luxury — it is a lifeline for thousands of seriously disabled Washingtonians and their families.
Why I should care…
Why should YOU care?... You never thought it would happen to you or someone you care about. You were not prepared.
Disability does not discriminate. At any moment, an accident, illness, or medical event could change your life — or the life of someone you love — forever. The services provided by the Community Choice Guide Program are the safety net that allows seriously disabled people to remain in their homes and communities.
Without adequate funding for these programs, seriously disabled Washingtonians face a stark choice: move into a nursing home or other institution, or go without the care they need. Neither option is acceptable.
The Community Choice Guide Program affects all of us. It is the infrastructure of community care that we all depend on — whether we know it yet or not. Protecting and properly funding this program is not just the right thing to do. It is the smart thing to do.
Today it may be a stranger. Tomorrow it could be you, your parent, your child, or your closest friend. The time to act is now — before the crisis becomes irreversible.
No New Taxes – No Deficit Increase Necessary
Reinvest program savings back into the program instead of using it elsewhere
No new taxes and no increase to the state's deficit are required to properly fund the Community Choice Guide Program. The services provided by this program already save taxpayers and the state of Washington Tens of millions of dollars each year by keeping people in community settings rather than far more expensive institutional care. DSHS leadership and the Washington State Legislature only need to direct a small percentage of those savings back into the very program that generates those savings.
INSTEAD, DSHS leadership and state legislators have been using these savings over these years elsewhere rather than reinvest in the program that creates these savings.
Appropriately funding the Community Choice Guide Program as originally designed will save the state even more money in the long run.