I am a mother of a 23 year old with autism and Initiative 1029 will hurt us greatly. After hundreds of hours of deliberation on a similar union-promoted “training bill,” our legislators voted No because it cost $30 million and hurt families caring for loved ones with developmental disabilities.

If I-1029 passes, respite will disappear. We rely on respite providers to come into our homes – maybe four or maybe 40 hours a month – to provide supervision and care while we cannot. When I advertised for a new respite provider, not a single respondent was willing to jump through the current state-mandated hoops even though several wanted the job. I-1029 even proposes to require parents to be trained, at taxpayer expense – to take care of their own adult children!

I-1029 makes as much sense as requiring 75 hours of training for an after-school babysitter for a child and sending the taxpayer the bill.

Everybody else has to pay for their own education – teachers, hairdressers, dog groomers – so why should taxpayers pay for this training? And why should anyone need 75 hours of training to take care of my son when I’ve been handling that “training” very well for two decades for FREE?!

Please vote NO on I-1029!

Audrey Adams

Renton