State Funding Delay Threatens to Close Special Needs Program

A local nonprofit that helps adults with disabilities might have to close its doors because a lack of state funding.

Gateway to Learning, at 4925 N. Lincoln Ave in Lincoln Square, is a day training development program for adults with special needs.

State funding accounts for 96 percent of the program’s budget, but now, officials are projecting delays in providing that money for many disability providers.

That delay could cause the center to shut down. Although the close would be temporary, it would lasting effects for the program’s members.

"A lot of members I've talked to were devastated,” said Kathleen Wilson, the developmental specialist for the center. “Many come from working families, and these adults can’t be left alone for the day. Families would have to find someone to stay at home with them.”

Losing the program would also set members back in terms of development. Gateway to Learning teaches social, math and motor skills through curriculum based around the food service industry. Today, the program contains nearly 80 adults.

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Each adult is funded individually by the state of Illinois, but there’s not enough funding to go around. To continue funding after age 18, the adults must apply for this funding and is put on a “Prioritization of Urgency of Need for Services (PUNS) List.”

That list is a lottery including more than 20,000 people with special needs. Nearly every member at GTL is receives funding—about $10 an hour for the developmental training.

Every year, payments are delayed a month or two while the state budget is prepared and passed. Organizations need to have at least two months of operating expenses in reserve because of the delay so they can stay open.

What’s different about this year, Wilson said, is that the Illinois Department of Human Services sent a letter in late April saying funding could be delayed several more months. That’s mainly due to the late passing of the state budget, still waiting approval by Gov. Pat Quinn.

Without the funding, Gateway to Learning and other disability providers will have to close in the fall if payments aren’t delivered.

That’s why the nonprofit is launching a fundraising campaign called Keep the Gate Open: 31 Days to Survive and Thrive. The goal is to raise $80,000 in July. That number is approximately what it costs to keep the center open for one month.

Eight days in, donors already contributed $5,500, Wilson said. Residents may see volunteers from the center at the Square Roots Festival, farmers’ markets, and the disability pride parade.

Wilson also hopes to receive donations through a retail pin-up campaign. For $2, customers can display their name on a paper key in local businesses.

“Our hope is to raise enough so that if and when this happens again, we’re fine and our families don’t have to worry,” she said. 

See related: 

• Adults With Disabilities to Open Café in Lincoln Square