Disability assistance on the chopping block as costs for Arizona’s school voucher system continue to soar

Arizona’s Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) is facing a $122 million funding shortfall and could run out of money in a few months—leaving Arizonans with disabilities out to dry.  

The program, which serves around 50,000 people in Arizona each year, may run out of funding as soon as late April or early May if the funding requested by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs does not get distributed—but Republican lawmakers are blaming the governor for the program’s need for more money in the first place. 

The state funding dispute is playing out as the typical “Republicans appalled at funding shortfalls vs. Democrats appalled at the services families will lose”—all while leaving families on edge on if they will receive funding for their needs or not. 

So, what happened?

Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee that oversees the budget, is blaming the Hobbs administration for deciding to continue funding a program that pays parents who are their child’s caregiver, when the Legislature did not provide enough money in this year’s budget to sustain the program.

The program, called Parents as Paid Caregivers, was started with federal money during the COVID-19 pandemic. That federal funding was set to be reduced last July. In January 2024, Hobbs proposed the use of state tax dollars in place of the federal dollars—but never came to an agreement with lawmakers. 

Instead, Hobbs intended to fund the parent program with American Rescue Plan dollars and other pandemic-era funding, AZCentral reported. 

Legislative budget staff estimated the program to account for $57 million of the $122 million shortfall, alongside rising enrollment numbers across the entire DDD program — it just needs more money. 

Other Republican lawmakers, like self-proclaimed “budget hawk” Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, are placing the blame solely upon the governor for the funding shortfall, further politicizing the issue rather than working to fund the program. 

READ MORE: Rep. Ciscomani votes to cut Medicaid after saying he’d protect it 

After a presentation last month notifying the House Appropriations Committee that there would be a $122 million budget shortfall for DDD, a response from Livingston sparked public outcry. 

“I hope you’re not suggesting that we cut the services to our children,” Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, D-Tucson, said to the chairman. 

“Yes I am,” said Livingston.

Vital care in jeopardy

Tucson residents Nancy and Tom Davis have an 18-year-old son, Ben, who has both developmental and physical disabilities that require speech and occupational therapy, partially funded by DDD. 

With the continued therapies, Ben has greatly improved his ability to communicate and advocate for himself. 

The family also receives 600 hours a year of respite care—short-term care that gives caregivers a break from their responsibilities—from United Cerebral Palsy of Southern Arizona, contracted out by DDD.

These services and the respite care are vital to Ben’s safety and quality of life—it is unsafe for him to be left alone, and he is unable to care for himself on his own.

While Nancy and Tom acknowledge that they have the time and resources to still get by with cuts to DDD services as semi-retirees, they both emphasize how vital the funding is for single parent families, or for two parents working full time. 

With the respite care, the two are able to know their son is cared for by a qualified professional while they are running errands, volunteering, or otherwise not with him at home. 

“It’s not just the quality of care for Ben, it’s the quality of care for our family,” Nancy said. 

What’s being done to fix the shortfall? 

Last month, Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, D-Tucson, proposed an amendment to add the $122 million to DDD’s current year budget, but it was rejected. During the same hearing, Livingston refused to allow members of the public affected by this potential funding cut to address lawmakers. 

Gutierrez and 26 other Democrats introduced a bill that would fund DDD to the extent detailed in Hobbs’ budget proposal, House Bill 2816, but Livingston has refused to hear it in committee.

“By refusing to pass this bill, legislators are telling hardworking families caring for loved ones with autism, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, and other intellectual or developmental disabilities, that their needs don’t matter,” Hobbs said in a press release. “Instead, lawmakers have chosen to use them as pawns and leave them questioning whether they’ll still receive the care they need in a few weeks.” 

Livingston said requests for more funding this year should be part of broader budget negotiations between lawmakers and the governor, but last year’s state budget agreement didn’t conclude until June—and the department is projected to run out of money in May.  

READ MORE: Sen. Gallego gathers Arizona health leaders to address ‘drastic’ cuts to Medicaid

The issue of funding the DDD program “will be revisited,” Livingston promised, but a “leaner budget” is to be expected. “Unlimited growth, no matter how helpful it is, we cannot afford it.”

Beth Lewis, director of Save Our Schools Arizona, said Republican legislators are being flippant about the potential funding cut, and ignoring that these cuts are going to have a serious impact on children’s lives.

“I’ve talked to a lot of families who were horrified by Livingston’s words, because they know how much this will impact their kids,” said Beth Lewis, director of Save Our Schools Arizona. “We’re talking about, you know, very specific therapies and services that need to be provided in order for kids, not only to thrive, but just to survive.”

Alternative funding methods

There are other ways to find funding for these services—like redirecting money from the unlimited budget of the private and home school voucher system, Lewis said. “The Legislature cannot just simply throw up their hands and say, oh, there’s no money.”

The Republican-backed Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program that allows any of the state’s 1.2 million K-12 students to pay for private schools using tax dollars allocated for the education budget has resulted in a cost of about $385 million in 2024 for the universal portion, and found to be riddled with fraud and abuse. 

Despite this, Republican lawmakers have blocked all efforts to place any oversight on the program.

“I wish that these lawmakers, particularly the Republicans, would listen to educators and parents and students better,” Lewis said. “I just don’t think they seek to understand the true issues that we’re facing.”

Hobbs’ office said Republicans are using their narrow majority in the Legislature to weaponize what is normally a routine part of the budget process, supplemental requests, which were often included in state budgets when former Republican Governor Doug Ducey held office. 

Supplementals included in budgets under Ducey’s watch ranged from almost $16.5 million to over $691 million across his two terms, and, both Gress and Livingston voted in favor of the ESA entitlement supplemental in the 2024 budget under Hobbs, according to a press release. 

In the 2024 budget, Livingston supported a supplemental that included a $274.8 million cost overrun for ESA entitlements. In 2025, the ESA entitlement program had cost overruns of $113 million, which Livingston supported funding, according to a statement from Hobbs.

“Republicans talking about cutting this funding by 25 percent is not a viable solution. People with disabilities cannot reduce their needs by 25 percent,” Gutierrez said. “I don’t recall ever hearing Republicans balk at the cost of their ESA voucher program, even when the costs have skyrocketed to almost $1 billion.”