The Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (MN-CCD) held a Disability Policy Summit session today for advocates and legislators.
Part of the agenda included a discussion on current policies and some problems. One issue is that current limits to qualify for Medical Assistance are too low and forces many adults with disabilities deep into poverty to get services. The asset limit was set in 1983 and should be raised. The problem with the current asset limit is that it makes impossible for people with disabilities to get out of poverty.
The conclusion was a town hall forum in which we heard stories from some of the people in attendance. One woman who testified has been providing foster care for children with disabilities for forty years. Her concern was the backlog in processing paperwork which could mean the child would lose certification. She would like to see paperwork processed in a timely manner. Another person discussed the lack of oversight for children whose parents are dealing with brain injuries and similar issues. Her concern is that that while the parent is not in a position to truly watch out for the welfare of the child, there is no provision made to provide that oversight and help. The child/children are pretty much left to fend for themselves and the outcomes can be detrimental to the health and well being of the child/children. One man relayed the marked improvement shown by a brain injury patient once placed in a group home with stable staffing. He said we need to pay adequate wages so all people can have consistent staffing and relationships. Another person manages staff to help people with brain injuries and said it is quite challenging to maintain stable staffing because of the low wages that are being paid. This reinforces what we already know, wages need to be raised for people in this line of work.
The stories were very moving and once again show the strides that we need to make in properly caring for people with very serious conditions.