Tailor Institute scaling back, raising funds in wake of state fiscal miscue

This story has been edited to reflect that the institute serves 40 participants monthly. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

A local autism institute is not accepting new participants, is scaling back hours and may have to charge fees to provide services after state lawmakers removed all state funding for the organization, its director said Thursday.

Director Carrie Tracy said the changes will allow Tailor Institute in Cape Girardeau to serve existing autism participants at least through December.

The institute, at 3095 Lexington Ave., serves about 40 people per month with autism and more than 150 families monthly, Tracy said.

The organization teaches social and vocational skills and continues to have regular group sessions for its participants, she said.

But the Tailor Institute no longer is accepting new participants, which involves extensive, lengthy assessments, Tracy said.

“We are just on our own,” she said, referring to the lack of state funding.

Founded in 2003 by the late David Crowe, whose son has autism, the Tailor Institute serves participants ages 16 to 24.

State Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, said she is pushing to restore state funding for the Tailor Institute for fiscal year 2019, which begins July 1, 2018.

The Tailor Institute had been operating on an annual state grant of $200,000. Money raised or earned outside the grant was placed in a discretionary fund, which had a balance of about $66,000 at the end of May, according to institute officials.

State Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, earlier this year called it “an oversight” funding for the Tailor Institute was removed from the fiscal 2018 budget approved by the Legislature.

Swan said Thursday she asked Gov. Eric Greitens’ administration whether there was any available state money that could be provided to the Tailor Institute for the short term.

She said the governor’s office told her within the last several weeks no funding was available. Still, Swan said she was told the governor is “committed” to providing autism services.

By late Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for the governor had not responded to emailed messages Thursday from the Southeast Missourian, seeking comment on the funding issue.

Wallingford said it’s possible the governor could include funding for the Tailor Institute in a supplemental appropriation in the spring. But he added that doesn’t help the institute right now.

“That is a long way down the road,” he said.

The institute could run out of money in December, months before any supplemental appropriation even would be considered, he said.

Swan and other local lawmakers have said they were surprised when the funding was removed during the budget process.

Swan said she will work to ensure the fiscal 2019 budget includes line-item funding for the Tailor Institute.

Meanwhile, the institute is looking at ways to make up the loss of state funding for this fiscal year.

The institute, which operates with seven part-time employees, plans to scale back its hours of service while continuing to serve its current participants, Tracy said.

The Tailor Institute, which raised $34,000 from a fundraising event in April that occurred before the organization’s staff learned of the loss of state funding, now hopes to raise another $30,000 in donations.

A letter is scheduled to be sent to past donors as early as next week, she said.

Tracy said such “stopgap funding” could allow the organization to operate through the first six months of 2018.

Even with such donations, the Tailor Institute will have to simplify operations to keep costs to a minimum, according to Tracy.

Tracy said the Tailor Institute also is seeking to become Medicaid-eligible, which would allow the organization to receive federal funds for low-income participants.

Tracy remains hopeful the organization will survive.

“We have not given up,” she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

3095 Lexington Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.