How do you simplify a complicated story?

That's the question Barb and I are facing right now.

The simple problem statement is that unless something changes profoundly, Alec will lose about 25% of the funds that pay for him to go to Merrick, a program that develops and then provides employment activities for him. That translates to Alec not receiving services about one day per week or one week per month.

We feel comfortable leaving Alec to his own devices for a couple hours on occasion. But not for a full day. Not for five consecutive days.

Why is this happening? Well, our state ran into the budget crunch and rather than accept the proposed combination of funding reductions and tax increases, the Governor of our state decided to cut funding in a number of programs. One of those programs got cut by 25% in the first fiscal year and will be cut 33% in the second year.

That meant our county receives a commensurate reduction in state funds that they've used to fund Alec's services. During 2010, the County was willing to make up the difference, In 2011, however, they've declined to do so and will reduce their expenditures.

So that's the simple story. When I tell it to our county commissioners, their eyes usually begin to glaze over at this point so I'll stop here.

But for those who love irony, here's a slightly more complicated tidbit. When Alec became an adult, we opted to become his legal guardians and have him remain residing with us. If we had not done so, Alec would have become a ward of the State and placed in a group home, foster home or another residential program. All of his current services -- including those at Merrick -- would be paid for through a different set of programs. The cost to the federal and state coffers would have been much higher over the past 6-7 years. Although it's impossible to say what will happen in the next two or more years, we know his services would be continued without reduction through at least 2011 and the near future.

So, by doing what we felt was the "right thing" for Alec has instead turned out to bite him in the backside starting next year.

And that's the story.