http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-disabled8-2008sep08,0,1824906,full.story
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As governor, she can point to a track record. In the budget she signed into law this year, Palin approved a dramatic raise in spending on "intensive needs" children, as Alaska officials define them, including those who need nurses full time or cannot breathe without ventilators. When Palin took office in 2006, the state was spending $27,000 a year per child. The budget she signed this year raised that funding to $49,000 per child. In three years, the amount will rise to $74,000, which is roughly equal to the yearly per-child cost of educating special needs children.
The public school teachers union in Alaska, the National Education Assn.-Alaska, lauded Palin's action, although it has not endorsed her.
Several other disability programs received increases. And Palin has nearly doubled state spending to combat fetal alcohol syndrome and has increased spending on adult mental health services by 59%. She also has shifted about $1.25 million in state money to faith-based programs that provide social services.
Elizabeth Edmands is a Democrat who sits on the Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education and has a 26-year-old daughter, Mariah, who has Down syndrome. Edmands said Palin was interested in the issue before Trig was born and had attended council meetings.
"She won't just be supportive. She'll be an activist," Edmands said. "When anything touches your life, you become more involved."
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