Susan Senator www.susansenator.com A new era has begun for me. All the past years I’ve been going to these state hearings on proposed cuts to special education in Massachusetts. I’ve been one parent out of many parents, professionals, and students protesting cuts to programs that have never been fully funded to begin with. But today I testified at a state hearing on Massachusetts’ proposed cuts to the Adult Foster Care program (AFC), the first time I’ve spoken as a parent on Nat’s behalf — for his adulthood. I’ve written recently about the AFC program, which is funded through MassHealth and Medicaid, about how this program is part of the new movement to keep those with disabilities in their communities and homes, rather than sending them to nursing homes and institutions; The part AFC plays is that it provides a small stipend to a caregiver (usually a parent, a foster parent,…