Cindi Mittlestadt and her daughter, Patricia Huber, at a press conference at the state Capitol on April 15, 2025, calling on legislators to pass funding to extend services for disabled Arizonans without sharply limiting a program that pays parents to be caregivers for their children as Republicans want to do. Photo via Arizona Senate Democrats | Bluesky
Jaime Kelley struggled to hold back the tears as she pleaded with lawmakers to save the program that lets her care for her adopted daughter, who requires around-the-clock ICU-level care in her home.
“We’ve been on the edge of a cliff,” she said, explaining that she and other parents are about “to crack” under the stress of caring for profoundly disabled children while trying to convince legislators of their plight in the hopes that they won’t scuttle the funding that lets them do so…