Going to college now in jeopardy
By Laura Hand
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 6:45 p.m.
Read more: Local, State, Education
Jessica Schreiner thought she was all set to start her freshman year at Keuka College: she has a full academic scholarship, and last April, the local review board okayed her application for Consolidated Services and Supports (CSS) funding, about $40,000, to provide assistance on campus that would let her live independently. Now, less than a month before she was supposed to start, she's hearing the state money's dried up.
"Very stressful," she says, but she's not giving up. "I can't just stay in bed. I'm not that kind of a person."
Jessica's advocate, Helen Littlejohn, says the CSS money actually saves taxpayers, because it's tailored to individual needs. Instead of making a client work through an agency, the program can be customized--in Jessica's case, only early morning and evening and weekend assistance would be needed, because Keuka will provide assistance for in-class hours. Jessica needs help getting into her wheelchair, and with doing things with her hands. "She's worked really hard," says Helen. "So here we are."
Littlejohn says several hundred around the state are affected by the CSS funding cut. And, she says that in students' cases, it's as much the timing as the loss of money: Jessica's family could not start looking for an aide until the funding was assured, and now they have less than a month to scramble for alternatives.
Action News has made some calls on alternatives, and will keep you up to date on the appeals process.
