YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! Legislative budget cuts threaten to close Florida State University Panama City campus and eliminate the Masters program in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Citing FSU sources, a story posted at the Tallahassee Democrat online summarizes an FSU Budget Crisis Committee draft report that calls for closing 21 FSU programs and "suspending" all classes and activities at the Panama City campus, including the Early Childhood Autism Program (ECAP) associated with the ABA program. You can find the Democrat story at http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/tdonline20090413.pdf The ABA masters program at FSU is one of the BEST in the country and is accredited by the Association for Behavior Analysis International. Students come from all over the country and WORLD to study ABA at FSU. Students in the ABA program provide an excellent service to families in northern Florida, including Leon, Gadsden, and Bay counties, by working with autistic children using the ONLY research based method for treating Autism at an affordable rate. Students also provide supervised ABA services to children and adults with disabilities, organizational consulting in local businesses, and pro bono community improvement projects. While some graduates of the program stay in the area and work in the local school systems or open up their own practices to continue providing services in the area, the FSU ABA graduates have successfully found employment all over the world. The primary purpose of the ABA Masters program is to prepare students to become Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), a position that is in especially high demand by families and organizations requiring services for individuals with Autism. FSU has a long history of being a hub of Behavior Analysis activity. FSU is the birth place of the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis, the Society for Performance Management, and is the former home of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Under the direction of Dr. Jon Bailey, FSU produced 63 ABA PhDs, consisting of many of the most productive members of the behavioral community in the academic and private sectors. With the graduation of the last ABA PhD in 2008, the ABA Masters program is currently the core of the strong ABA legacy at FSU. The ABA program now needs your support. Current economic conditions are resulting in widening government budget gaps and tough decisions for legislators. The FSU ABA program is on the chopping block and we cannot afford to see this program disappear. The program produces top-quality graduates in a field that, even in the present economy, remains in high demand. In addition, current students provide services for the surrounding communities at a time when they are needed now more than ever. Please show your support for this vital program by signing this petition. In addition, below you will find a list of legislators and their phone numbers (calls or personal visits work best) is available at http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/FloridaLegislators.xls Informed sources suggest that it will be most useful to contact the following legislators and especially those marked with an asterisk: *JD Alexander 850-487-5044 alexander.jd.web@flsenate. gov *Jeff Atwater 850-487-5100 [email protected] Nancy Detert 850-487-5081 [email protected] Alfred Lawson, Jr. 850-487-5004 [email protected] *Evelyn Lynn 850-487-5033 [email protected] Don Gaetz 850-487-5009 [email protected] Steve Olerich 850-487-5020 [email protected] Durell Peaden, Jr. 850-487-5000 [email protected] House Dean Cannon 850-488-2742 [email protected] *Marti Coley 850-488-2873 [email protected] *Larry Cretul 850-488-1450 [email protected] Faye Culp 850-488-2770 [email protected] Anitera Flores 850-488-2831 [email protected] John Legg 850-488-5522 [email protected] Jimmy Patronis 850-488-9696 [email protected] *Bill Proctor 850-488-2977 [email protected] David Rivera 850-488-7897 [email protected] Will Weatherford 850-488-5744 [email protected]