Families of Adults With Disabilities Could Face Wait Lists in 2013

Washington County might have to consider putting adults with disabilities on a waiting list to get into day programs in 2013 due to increased demand and tighter budgets, community services officials told the Washington County Board Tuesday, Nov. 1.

“I’m very worried about not being able to afford the new graduates in 2013,” said community services supervisor Cathy Ellis.

Day programs are offered at places like East Suburban Resources, which runs employment programs for adults with disabilities onsite and out in the community, or Phoenix Alternatives, which caters to adults with more serious medical conditions, said community services supervisor Lisa Glasspoole.

Over the next three years, between 30 and 40 additional adults countywide are expected to qualify each for the services, mainly due to reaching the age of 21 and no longer qualifying for day programs through the school districts, Glasspoole said. Only about one or two adults stop receiving the services each year, for reasons like old age or death, she said.

Most of the money to pay for those services comes from the DD Waiver Program—which is a combination of state and federal money—but they don’t expect that funding to keep up with the increased demand, Ellis said.

So, with an average cost of about $13,000 per person to participate in day programs, a net-growth in demand for the programs and stagnant or declining funding from state and federal sources, the county is going to have to decide whether it wants to kick in more county funds to prevent families from having to wait, she said. Another alternative would be decreasing the amount of money some recipients get, she said.

Having a wait list could cause hardship for families who, for example, have a son or daughter who turned 21, Ellis said.

“They count on this for supervision for when they work outside the family home,” she said. “It’s a real hardship to try to figure out who’s going to supervise a family member.”