brittany stevens is here today with her mother, harlena morton. harlena wakes up at 4:30 every morning. she makes sure brittany has physical therapy. she makes sure brittany has a lunch ready for later in the day. all brittany wanted was a chance to work, to have the same opportunity as the rest of us. she might have needed our help, but because we gave her that help last year, she is ready to chart her own course. a course fueled by courage, passion and an independent spirit. because of our commitment last year, brittany is now off the waiting list. her story and those of so many parents and sisters and brothers are tales of the every- day heroism shown by the families and friends of our neighbors with special needs. that waiting list is a powerful metaphor for what has gone wrong in our society. we need to act now and we must not turn our backs on all the other brittanys who are out there currently on the waiting list. that is why i am counting on the general assembly to join with me to make certain we pass this next round of funding for expande