Families Told to Dump Disabled Kids at Homeless Shelters!!??!!

Thursday, Oct. 28,2010 From Illinois "State Journal-Register"

'Families Told To Put Disabled In Homeless Shelter'

United States budget crunch has become so severe that some state workers for Indiana and Illinois as well as other states, have suggested leaving severely disabled people at homeless shelters, if they can't be cared for at home, parents and advocates say.

They say workers at Illinois and Indiana's Bureau of Development Disabilities Services (IBDDS) have told parents that's one option they have when families can no longer care for disabled children at home and haven't received medicaid waivers that help pay for services that support disabled people living independently.

"B.H." of Ind. said that's what they told her when she called to ask about the waiver she is seeking for her 22 year old son, "C.D." who has epilepsy, autism and ADHD. "H." a school nurse, said she and her husband will go bankrupt trying to paying for services themselves, so "C." spends most days sitting in his stepfather's truck while he works. "It's heart-wrenching as a parent to watch this but we have no choice", said "H.".

So far, there have been no confirmed cases of families dumping anyone off at a homeless shelter and that a homeless shelter would not be able to provide the care a disabled person would need.

There are families who have been on waiver lists for 10+ years. Ind. alone had more than 20,000 names added last month, and one group predicted they will only grow longer because Gov. "M.D." ordered budget cuts that have eliminated over 2,000 waiver slots since July.

Budget cuts have also resulted in moving foster children with disabilities to a low cost program that does not provide services the children need and eliminating a grocery benefit for hundreds developmentally disabled adults. "K.D." said her group has received reports of state workers in several of BDDS's eight regional offices telling families to dump disabled children off at local shelters. She says "It is something we are hearing all over, that families are being told this is the only alterative for them if they cannot afford or find other help".

Ok, my fingers are going to fall off from typing all of this out of the newspaper but I hope someone can help these people and thought it was important enough to share here on USM.

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