Autism Alliance of Michigan reacts after state lawmakers cut $2 million in funding
The Autism Alliance of Michigan says it was a shock when it found out that its state funding had been cut.
It's a move by state lawmakers that the organization hopes will be reversed.
The organization was expected to receive $2 million in state funding in this budget, which would have gone toward the MiNavigator tool that helps connect families with support and resources for family members with autism.
Brian Calley, the chairman of the Autism Alliance, says the work has a major impact on the nearly 4,000 families that use it.
"The world is just so difficult for people who have neurological differences," said Calley, whose daughter has autism. "If a person as well-connected and well-resourced as I am struggled that much, the average person has no chance at all."
House Speaker Matt Hall said he feels cutting funding for the organization was necessary for budget negotiations. He said his Republican colleagues prioritized funding infrastructure projects.
"Democrats tended to put it into programs that were more non-profits, and that one didn't make the cut," he said, blaming Democrats for not negotiating more cuts elsewhere. "If they would have cut another 25 ghost employees, I would have funded the autism program, OK? But they wouldn't," he said.
Hall said that restoring the Autism Alliance funding would need to be done through the permanent budget and not through special interest funding.
"This is a worthy organization. It has a good cause," he said. "We're not going to be funding non-profits with pork spending anymore, we're going to spend it on roads, bridges, infrastructure."
CBS News Detroit reached out to Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks for comment on Wednesday and is waiting to hear back.