Webb Center falls to budget cuts to keep Coastal Center open

The state Department of Disabilities and Special Needs axed five child day-care programs, including the Webb Center in Charleston, to keep the Coastal Center in Ladson and other residential facilities off the chopping block, a department spokeswoman said Friday.

The Coastal Center has about 450 staffers, making it among the top area employers. The center's 180 residents have conditions such as mental retardation, autism and cerebral palsy.

"Most of them have severe mental retardation. Where would they go if there is no Coastal Center?" said Lois Park Mole, the agency's director of government and community relations.

Parents of 30 children cared for at the Webb Center, which has eight staffers, are desperate to find another place for their kids because the department announced last week the center will close in about five weeks because of the state budget crunch. Many of the parents said at a meeting Thursday night that they worry about being able to keep jobs and homes because they may have no alternative other than to care for their children at home. Their kids, who have disabilities including mental retardation, autism, Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome, receive specialized day care at the Webb Center that the parents fear can't be found elsewhere.

"We know this is devastating for families. The money just isn't there.

And if the money isn't there, services have to be cut," Mole said. Because of the economy, more cuts may be necessary on top of the 11.2 percent, or $21.5 million, already axed from the department budget by the General Assembly. State departments have been notified to be prepared for the possibility of an additional 2 percent budget cut that may happen in the next two months, officials said.

"This whole situation for our state is just huge. This has just been so bad for everybody. We are concerned about it getting worse," she said. Statewide, 3,000 people are losing services provided by the state DDSN, and 250 staff positions are being eliminated, she said.

Webb Center funding ran out at the end of October, she said. The department dipped into other money originally designated for capital improvements and kept the center open through next month, she said.

The state is exploring options for Webb Center parents, such as providing specialized training for child-care providers at other day-care centers willing to take Webb Center kids, and developing after-school programs for the kids, she said.

At the meeting Thursday night, parents were told that the state cut its $150,000 for the center, which made keeping it open impossible. Mole said that the department provides those funds to the center under a contract for 11 kids there. The center's $300,000 budget includes private pay customers and parents who are beneficiaries of federally funded low-income, child-care assistance through the ABC Child Care Program.

Rick Magner, director of the Disabilities Board of Charleston County, said he is attempting to postpone the Webb Center closure in discussions with department officials in Columbia.

Magner said he is trying to buy the parents more time so they can come up with alternatives.

The kids at the Webb Center range in age from infants to 10 years old. Many of them have been at the center for years and developed personal relationships with its caregivers, the parents said.

Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postandcourier.com.