JEFFERSON CITY, MO. -- Gov. Jay Nixon is doubling the size of the Partnership for Hope program.
The program combines state, federal, and local dollars to provide home-based services for developmentally disabled people so they do not have to be institutionalized.
Nixon said he is ready to commit another $1 million of the state’s money already set aside in the mental health budget to add 500 new clients to the 470 already funded.
His announcement came during a news conference in which reporters also asked about the decision to cancel his trade mission to Taiwan.
"I just felt at this time, because of the, there's a lot goin' on in that zone right now and the timing of this trip, I felt the best thing to do was to postpone and reschedule.”
Earlier this week, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the governor had been warned off the trip by the commission overseeing the effort to turn Lambert Airport into a receiving hub for imports from communist China.
The newspaper indicated an appearance by Nixon in Taiwan could alienate the mainland government.
Nixon said on Thursday postponing the Taiwan trip should not jeopardize a $600 million trade deal he had intended to sign there.
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