The King County Board for Developmental Disabilities and the King County Parent Coalition will sponsor the 21st annual Forum on Developmental Disabilities at 7 p.m. Monday.

The forum is open to the public and will gather county community members with legislators, Olympia and Congressional staff at the Doubletree Guest Suites in Tukwila.

Because of anticipated state budget cuts to social services, “really, [the groups] are trying to maintain these systems and improve them,” said Patricia McNiff, fund development assistant for The Arc of King County. The King County Parent Coalition is a program of The Arc.

King County Executive Dow Constantine will give the opening address. The program features presentations from individuals with disabilities and their family members on the board’s legislative agenda, with comments from legislators. Topics range from how to maintain support of essential services to the growing aging population in the disability community.

“It’s really important for legislators to hear the voices of the people within the community who are impacted by these issues,” said McNiff. Therefore they can put a face to an issue instead of just another piece of paper, she said.

A person with a developmental disability might have Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, cognitive disability or similar conditions that they have developed prior to the age of 18 and expect to last a lifetime.

Last year, 600 people attended the forum with 39 legislators, legislative staff and Congressional staff, Constantine, the governor’s staff and the Department of Social and Health Services Secretary, Susan Dreyfus. She is expected to attend this year’s forum.