Washington to replace cleft palate aid

Under pressure from parents and lawmakers, Washington state health officials have agreed to find money to maintain programs for children with cleft lips and palates, at least until the Legislature comes up with a permanent plan.

Exactly how much money and where it will come from remains uncertain, however.

“We’re still sorting that out,” state Health Secretary Mary Selecky said Monday.

As much as $77,000, about half the cost of the state’s share of the budget for four Maxillofacial Team programs, could be required to continue services through June for about 900 children across Washington after funding runs out in December.

Between January and June, state Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, have vowed to advocate for long-term funding for the program.

News of the state reprieve was met with relief by parents such as Kari Almeida, a Spokane elementary school teacher and mother of a 4-year-old son born with cleft lip and palate. Almeida and others refused to accept elimination of the program after Washington lost nearly $460,000 in federal cuts to the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant.

“It’s just really nice to feel heard,” Almeida said. “It’s a testimony to how our system runs.”

Almeida and others lobbied lawmakers and health officials to continue the program that provides money for intervention and support to full teams in Spokane, Yakima and Tacoma, plus a small amount of money to a program in Seattle.

“We made it clear that this was not just a Spokane issue,” she said.

Advocates aren’t finished yet. Restoration of about $50,000 in state funding doesn’t guarantee they’ll get back about $35,000 from the Spokane Regional Health District. Health district officials reallocated the money when they believed the program was cut.

But Spokane County officials last week agreed to help replace the money, and to urge other jurisdictions to help, too. The Spokane City Council next week will consider providing $7,000 in emergency funds to the project, Councilwoman Mary Verner said Monday. That money is needed to generate a federal Medicaid match of about $61,000 to complete the local program’s nearly $150,000 budget.

Almeida is cautiously optimistic that the rest of the funding will follow the state lead. But until it’s certain, she won’t stop.

“Am I supposed to keep pressing on? I don’t want to relax until I know we’re covered,” she said.