Ken Kusmer, writing for the Associated Press, has a reasonably appalling story about state workers suggesting to parents that their disabled children might receive help at homeless shelters if they can’t be cared for at home.
They said workers at Indiana’s Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services have told parents that’s one option they have when families can no longer care for children at home and haven’t received Medicaid waivers that pay for services that support disabled children living independently.
This appears to come from a combination of tough economic times and government budget cuts. Medicaid waiting lists have grown as Gov. Daniels has cut the budget. Front line state workers are on the receiving end of families’ frustration at being told to wait; and these sorts of suggestions are probably the state workers’ frazzled responses. Private care providers are getting stuck too; continuing to provide care in some cases even when the money dries up.
I don’t know that there are any great solutions. Not using tax money to fund stadiums for rich sports team owners will only get you so far. It’s entirely possible that the needs actually exceed the resources. But, even if we can’t or won’t provide for necessary care, we shouldn’t be allowed to pretend that this economic reality doesn’t come with awful consequences. We should be made fully aware of the consequences of our choices.
I just saw this elsewhere. Appalling. This is where the “balanced” part had better come in to play in any stories about Indiana’s “success” at navigating the recession. I hope this story’s more than just a footnote in the next few months. It needs to be looked into and expanded on and understood. Of course, other places, I’ve seen the ADA described as “ridiculous” recently, so it seems compassion is a little on the short side these days. (Not saying situations like this are covered by ADA, just pointing out how hard-hearted some people seem to be, probably because they have such limited life experience.)
Glad you are bringing attention to this problem. These people are well represented by ARC but public awareness is low and they are utterly dependent on our supplemental support to live a life independently. Many parents of adult AD folks are aging, worried about the time when they can no longer cope, While others are past coping like the family who’s son stays in the car while dad works.
I agree with you about 98%. But “It’s entirely possible that the needs actually exceed the resources” falls flat.
It’s flat-out certain that the needs actually exceed the resources in almost every area of economics. That we will find a class of useless eaters or lebensunwertes leben to bear the brunt of scarcity is one of my great fears.
Last night I read about Republican Tea Party Senatorial candidate Sharon Anle discussing “2nd Amendment remedies.” And Republican Tea Party Candidate Stephen Broder from Texas saying that “armed revolution is on the table” if “we” don’t get the “change” “we” want.
I am not sure what my post means relevant to this revolting revelation from downstate, but I am afraid it will consume me long into the day.
Doug,
I doubt that those are “frazzled” responses. While there is likely no paper trail, those employees are probably being told to tell families to seek help elsewhere, including homeless shelters.
While I did not directly work with disabled populations, my previous job did bring me into contact with people and agencies who did work with them. The Daniels Administration has a real blind spot when it comes to the disabled and people with mental health issues. I can’t and won’t get into all the things I have both seen and heard about, but I believe that the unofficial stance of FSSA is that people with disabilities and/or mental health issues would do just fine if they’d just work a little harder and stop relying on the state to help them.
On a related note, I would gladly have tax dollars used to allow developmentally disabled adults have access to groceries. There have to be at least a couple of dozen over-paid and under-qualified Daniels administration appointees whose made-up jobs could be done away with.
Pila said:
A lot of the people I’ve met at the FSSA on the front lines have been there through Bayh, O’Bannon, and Daniels.
If they’re not frazzled now, then they must have hated the first part of their career.
On top of this, the state is getting ready to spend $1 million to have armed guards at unemployment offices starting the day the 99-week benefit runs out.
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/25539273/detail.html
Maybe Mitch Daniels will find some money for armed guards to keep the disabled out of state offices.
Exhoosier,
Mitch is preparing for the insurrection, eh?
What will the militia types, “Oathers” and Tea Party folks think about government preparing to man the ramparts against its own citizens? Think we will hear a peep?
Did any of the so-called journalists or media people ask mitch what he thinks of this and what he will do to resolve it-short of kicking more people off the eligible list? mitch cares less about those not in power and the wealthy. My interactions with him left me wondering how stupid those people are who describe him as the smartest person in the room. mitch is just a conniving, dishonest, mean little guy who runs roughshod over people and those who do agree with him immediately are stabbed in the back–thus the nom de plume “the blade”. The fact that the message to send people to shelters is spread around the state means the workers were told to suggest this. And now mitch is arming up to quell the uprising against his policies. Sad. mitch, bad for Hoosiers, bad for America!!
I’m not talking about people on the front lines. I’m talking about the decision makers who were mainly put in place by Daniels and/or his appointees.
Pila – You are exactly right, and there are many people who would concur that Daniels and many members of his administration care little about anybody of a lower station than themselves.
Akla – Yep, yep and yep. When you say a mean, conniving little man who stabs people in the back is spot-on. And he HATES people who try to ruin his illusion of his perfect “Neverneverland” he thinks he’s made Indiana into – people who point-out the truth that things aren’t as great as he says.
exhoosier – I’m glad you posted that link, and although I have already read the story, I am glad it’s getting out to others. DWD is spending $1 million for ARMED security guards in the WorkOne offices – money from a federal grant that actually would be better used on helping unemployed people actually find employment (which DWD has failed miserably in doing the last five years).
The “Leadership Team” of DWD recently said at a public meeting they have been in talks with their “counterparts” (i.e., grossly over-paid know-nothings in politically-connected and crony-filled positions) at FSSA when the federal unemployment extensions start to run-out at the end of next month. They’re talking with FSSA about the number of people who will be going onto welfare and other programs. It’s quite an island of prosperity the governor has created here.
And maybe because DWD wasted hundreds of millions of dollars by not working more closely with claimants to help them find jobs, those same people will be failed by FSSA yet again and told to go to a homeless shelter.
@ Akla and Unemploydemented:
It would be nice if there were even just one whistleblower who would turn on Daniels and his cronies. Then again, even with all the negative stories that have come out, most Hoosiers remain blithely unaware of what Mitch Daniels and his minions have done to the state of Indiana.
Pila — I’m working on it. Some friends and I were accused of whistleblowing when we had not done anything of the sort, so now we are letting everyone know about all the illegal and idiotic things DWD has done and are still doing. And when people start to see what really is going on at DWD and how much the governor knows about it, hopefully the ignorant will start to wake up.
@Umemploydemented: I hope that you and your friends do whatever is within the law to shed light on the real happenings in the Daniels administration. Unfortunately, while some Hoosiers are waking up–about two years too late–others remain in a deep, deep slumber.
I think that it may take either a good, old-fashioned family values scandal or a recording of Gov. Daniels losing his temper a la Mel Gibson or Christian Bale to wake people up.
Daniels is a despicable POS and I don’t mean “Point of Sale”.