[Kip Currier: Another heartbreaking example showcasing the seemingly endless cruelty and indifference of this administration to vulnerable human beings.
What reasonable, compassionate person would cut programs like the Wisconsin Deafblind Project?
What person of faith can justify believing that federal and state governments shouldn't step up to help the "least among us" and families who are in need?
Yet millions can be allocated for building a ballroom addition to the White House and green-lighting tax breaks for billionaires to buy more mansions, super-yachts, and islands?]
[Excerpt]
"Casey and Leah Garner wanted a big family. The Wisconsin couple had dreamed of having at least six children by the time they were in their 30s. But after years of struggling with infertility, they decided to adopt.
At the hospital three years ago, meeting the newborn who would become their daughter, Mr. Garner was the first to notice the tiny flaps of skin where her ears should be. Annie, the child they were adopting, was deaf.
Over the next few months, as they got to know their daughter, the Garners would discover more challenges, including poor vision, a developmental disability and weak muscles...
He discovered the Wisconsin Deafblind Project, a state program for the families of children with combined vision and hearing loss. It made a tremendous difference as they learned to parent Annie, the Garners said.
They met other families experiencing the same thing. A mentor taught them sign language. Annie got sensory toys and Braille books. And she even made a best friend with a similar condition.
Then in September, the Trump administration canceled the five-year, $918,000 grant for the program, which supports about 170 children in Wisconsin like Annie. It also ended a $10.5 million grant used to recruit and retain special education teachers in the state."
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