Indiana Parents Told Drop Disabled Kids At Shelters

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana's budget crunch has become so severe that some state workers have suggested leaving severely disabled people at homeless shelters if they can't be cared for at home, parents and advocates said.

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 people living independently.

Marcus Barlow, a spokesman for the Family and Social Services Administration, the umbrella agency that includes the bureau, said suggesting homeless shelters is not the agency's policy and workers who did so would be disciplined.

However, Becky Holladay of Battle Ground, Ind., said that's exactly what happened to her when she called to ask about the waiver she's seeking for her 22-year-old son, Cameron Dunn, who has epilepsy, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Holladay, a school nurse, said she and her husband would go bankrupt trying to pay for services themselves, so Cameron spends most days sitting in his stepfather's truck while he works as a municipal employee.

"It's heart-wrenching as a parent to watch it. We are people and they are people," Holladay said, referring to her son and others with disabilities. "They have lives that are worth something."

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DISABLED_HOMELESS_SHELTERS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-10-27-19-35-14

[Skittles]

1. the rich need their tax cuts and politicians need their wars

someone has to pay; it may as well be the severely disabled :mad:

[Angry Dragon]

2. The church only cares until they are born

the republicans only care if can vote for them
and only if it will not cost them anything

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. How awful!

:cry:

[cornermouse]

4. I've been wondering how much longer it would be

before this started happening.

[kas125]

5. And there's still lots of talk about that idiot Mitch Daniels running

for president in 2012. He's decimated Indiana, we cannot allow him to do the same to the whole country!

[proteus_lives]

8. I met him once, tiny fella.

Like an evil Keebler Elf.

[kas125]

9. I've never seen him in person and that's probably a good thing

because I'm not sure I could be polite if I met him.

For the 2004 election I drove down to Purdue to pick up my kid and bring him home to vote because it was his freshman year so he couldn't take his car to school that year. And of course, he'd forgotten to get an absentee ballot. On the way home, I was telling him how proud I was that he was so insistent that he MUST vote and how important it was for everyone to vote because we didn't want Bush again. My son looked at me and said, "Yeah, that's important, but the main reason I want to do it is to vote against Mitch Daniels." I was even more proud of him after that statement!

[RainDog]

12. LOLOLOL!!

evil keebler. this description is a keeper.

[AngryOldDem]

24. And this property tax bullshit on the ballot just guarantees more problems. n/t

[Historic NY]

6. Tell me again we don't need health care reform.

[Common Sense Party]

27. I thought we got health care reform.

[Pathwalker]

7. Somewhere, John Engler is cackling....

"I wish I had thought of that."

Bastards!

[Zephie]

10. Emoticons only....

I can't put it in words. :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :wtf: :puke: :puke: :cry:

[madrchsod]

11. my wife takes care of people like this....

this is no way to treat a human being that can not take care of themselves.

unfortunately the state is de-funding the place where she works by 10% and another 10% next year....

[RainDog]

13. Republican values in action

Eli Lilly shareholders sure got their health care "reforms" tho.

[Odin2005]

14. I'm speechless.

:grr:

[madmax]

15. We are such a compasionate, enlightened

country. MY ASS.

[ThomCat]

16. I was told by a social worker to go to a homeless shelter.

I'm in an electric wheelchair, and I take a small pile of meds daily, including heavy narcotics.

I was told that in order to qualify for services, I should just roll myself to the nearest homeless shelter. That would put me at the top of the queue for getting services.

"Yes, shelters are safe for people with disabilities. They have security staff, and separate rooms, and cameras. Your electric $12k wheelchair would be okay, and your large bag of prescription medications."

"And, people with medically restricted diets can get help in shelters. They have nutritionists on staff. You really should check it out."

This was more than 2 year ago. I'm very sure it is much worse and more common now.

My memory definitely isn't what it used to be. I wish I could remember that entire conversation. I seem to recall that there were a couple of craptactular things he said that you'd think no professional would ever really say, but they do, that would really open your eyes to the the way people with disabilities are treated when we need help. That one really stays with me though, so clearly that I've mentioned it many times. x(

[EFerrari]

17. When my then husband was having trouble getting services

and decompensating into psychotic episodes twice a week, I was told to get him into the prison system.

[ThomCat]

18. OMG! Instead of offering mental health care?

:(

That horrible! "No mental health care for you! We're just going to lock you up." :cry:

I hope you were able to help him get some care.

:hug:

[EFerrari]

29. Yes, we were. I basically held up his family for the money to go to a real doctor.

And guess what, Thom, he was stabilized and is able to go years between decomps now.

But what about all the people who don't have a family to hold up, which is most people?

It's shameful, really.

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. As a retired Social Worker, I want to scream , hearing that.

In today's environment I would never ever ever deal with any agency person without a witness who was quite visibly taking notes, or even taping, the interaction.
Yeah, I am serious.
It is hard enough to get help when you are not feeling pressured, tired, stressed or medicated.

Back in the day, we had what were called ombudsmen, who helped and advocated for people.
They are desperately needed today.

[AngryOldDem]

23. People routinely hear that.

Homeless families in particular. In order to qualify for housing, there must be proof that one is staying in a shelter. It supposedly moves you up on the waiting list, but given how long the list is now, that's not really saying much.

And yes (at least where I worked) we did accomodate people with medically restrictive diets, but we did not have a dietitian on staff. We also accomodated those in wheelchairs as best we could, which usually meant placing them closest to bathrooms and bringing them in earlier in the evening before the crowds came in for the night. We did what we could, but there were some nights when I wondered if we were doing enough.

[chriscruzan]

19. Welcome to Indiana

where even the Democrats are traitors against humanity. Evan 'The Traitor' Bayh can be directly blamed for many of the watered down versions of legislation we see today. That punk decided not to run again and devote his time to his family (Wellpoint) and then made it so the Democrats in the state could not vote for his replacement in the primary. Bayh's handpicked replacement? Why it's none other than Brad Ellsworth, Bluest of blue dogs. His campaign commercials basically call his republican counterpart, Dan Coats, a liberal. I AM NOT KIDDING. Mitch Daniels admin was cought stealing the additional Federal funds being provided the state for food stamp programs and directing the monies elsewhere to make things look good on the books. This douschbag was W's first budget director.

[CoffeeCat]

20. If you look at the big picture...

Corporations are thriving beyond their wildest dreams--holding onto a reported 1 trillion in cash.

The rich are doing very well. The sale of luxury goods is trending upward.

But look at what is happening to the middle class and those who are vulnerable, like senior citizens
and people with disabilities.

The herd is being culled, my friends. Whoever is pulling the puppet strings on this sick experiment is
engineering the disappearance of people who are deemed unworthy or unfit to live in our society.

The people at the top are sociopathic, narcissistic, greedy, evil monsters. Everything that is happening
is no accident. It's not a mistake or an oversight. It's intended. And I'm not talking about the President.
At this point--the powerful, connected, corporatist contingent that calls the shots--is much more powerful
than our President.

All we can do is help each other and do your best to protect yourself and your family members.

[AngryOldDem]

21. Sadly, this is an all-too-common attitude.

I used to work at a shelter and by the time I left we had become literally a dumping ground.

The cops no longer had a drunk tank so all public intoxication cases were left with us. The only psychiatric facility in the town was shut down, which meant its patients were left on the streets, eventually coming to our doors. The hospital, just two blocks up the street (and a bitter, bitter avowed enemy) would routinely call us saying they were patching up someone and sending him or her to us. Families who were burned out of houses or otherwise temporarily homeless were sent to us under the excuse of the "social service" agencies couldn't help them.

For the most part, shelter staff was not professionally trained, yet we had to deal with violent schizophrenics and seriously physically ill people because nobody else in the community wanted to deal with them. Society reneged on its duty to help these human beings, so we picked up the slack as best we could. And the hell of it is, society even turned against US, as it continued to cut OUR funding and asked us to keep doing MORE.

Human beings are not throwaways, and no one should be asked (or told) to abandon a loved one because his or her care has become too cost-prohibitive. Society does have an obligation here, and to not at least recognize that is beyond reprehensible.

[bitchkitty]

25. This is horrible, but I cannot blame the social workers.

I worked for DHS and watched as our workers battled on a daily basis to keep up with their client list. I watched them cry in meetings, begging for money for their special needs clients. I watched them leave the room crying, because there was no money to give.

Spending was cut drastically, and clients that had thousands of dollars of medical necessities and basic needs had to get by on $3000 a year. Period. $3000 a year isn't enough to raise a healthy child, much less one with special needs.

They have so much to deal with, and very little to work with. To top it off, they are viewed as enemies by many, and friends by few.

Those people were my heroes! I should only be 1/10 the person they were.

[Javaman]

26. So let me get this straight...

Parents with disabled kids, who depend on state aid, are now SOL. Then they are told to go to shelters, which some also depend on state aid, to now have them care for their kids. And if they are private shelters run through charities and or religious organizations are now subjecting their kids to various beliefs and doctrines which they may not approve. And which I might add, may not have the training or the facilities to take care of their special needs kids.

aka Charles Dickens-ing your children.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. What's he going to do this winter?

He can't sit in the truck in the winter.

[felinetta]

30. Too many people in this country are soulless. They abhor benevolence. There is a

special place in hell for these soulless  worms.