It is a pleasure to report genuine success at the legislature.  The $20 million awarded by this legislature is a first step in achieving our goals.  It is an important and very big step.  This is an accomplishment that Shangri-La Stakeholders can take special pride in as our hard work and leadership over the last several sessions has really made a difference to not only Shangri-La but to 8000 employees in over 100 programs across our State.

This money will result in service increase rates that allow us to begin addressing the problems you have been reading about for years.  We will be able to improve benefits and make pay rate adjustments.  We will restore some of the positions, choices and resources we have had to eliminate in past years as our funding for Developmental Disabilities Comprehensive Services has eroded.

We will recover from these difficult years.  This very successful beginning positions us for the rest of the work.  We received only 1/3 of what is truly needed to adequately fund our DD Comprehensive Services.  We must take a moment to celebrate and then dig in again.  The work will be more difficult in the upcoming months but we have great tools and a just cause and if we continue as we have, I know that we will continue to have success in obtaining full funding.

Please see related articles Hopeful Reform and Shangri-La’s Recognition in the
Oregon Rehabilitation Association Annual Report

Contact Jan Kral
503-581-1732 ext 312
jkral@shangrilacorp.org