Look Out! Here I Come!

So Joy put together a plan. She put step one of that plan into motion when she passed her examination to get a learners permit.

Joy loves driving, but for now she is just driving in rural Fulton County. Either her sister or father are with her when she drives, but it’s only a matter of time before she goes back to get that license.

Have you ever seen a smile that can light up your life? That’s what I saw when Joy said, “I was ecstatic! I took the test one time and got my permit!”

SIA Foundation, Inc.

In December 2007, Peak Community Services was one of seven not-for-profit organizations to receive a grant from the SIA Foundation. The awards were presented at Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc.

The agency received $4,364 for a Braille printer and translator software to support services to individuals who are blind or who have a visual impairment in Cass and Pulaski Counties. The printer will be made available at no charge to social service agencies who have a need for Braille documents, and businesses will be able to use the printer for a fee.

We are very grateful to SIA for their support and will be getting additional information out to the community very soon.

I Have A New Job!

We talk so often about the waiting list that it is a sheer pleasure to talk about someone who has just started to work at Work Services in Logansport.

Ryan is a high school graduate looking for work in the community. He is pursuing a job with the support of our Employment Services, but in the meantime, he is building his job skills.

Ryan is able to do this because he already has Medicaid Waiver funding. With a change in allocation of these funds, he was able to receive support from Work Services.

Ryan enjoys working on the various lines at Work Services. At the time of this interview, he was working on Chrysler transmission rings for Matthew-Warren.

He would enjoy any position that provides service. Examples would be helping customers find items they want and carrying purchases out to cars.

If you know of a business needing a loyal employee, please call!

Self-Advocates

The chapter organized in Logansport and is working on a plan to advocate with local legislators on topics that are of interest to all consumers.

With sponsor David Weber, Director of Adult Services, the newly elected officers visited Indianapolis on February 7 to discuss issues with Representative Richard McClain. Jane Nelson (center) and June Angus (right) are the group’s President and Vice-President, respectively.

The chapter is focusing on several issues this year, including the waiting list, the moratorium on group home development and ensuring that no cuts are made in Medicaid funding.

10 Years Is Too Long To Wait

Those of you who have received our newsletter for a few years are probably tired of hearing the same old story, over and over again. “There are 15,500 people in the State of Indiana who are on waiting lists. They will be on the lists for 10 years or longer.”

The photograph accompanying this article shows some of our consumers. They are at the Statehouse in Indianapolis advocating for an end to the waiting list. You can probably see the sign in the middle of the photo: “10 years is too long to wait…”

Here’s the twist. This photograph is from a Peak Community Services newsletter dated December 1998.

Our staff and consumers were advocating passage of legislation that is known as Plan 317. These quotes are from that newsletter.

The plan has been designed to eliminate the waiting list for services to people with developmental disabilities, which sometimes can be as long as 10 years.

There are 6,000 people currently on this waiting list and some $40 million is being earmarked for services over a two-year period, if the measure passes in the legislature.

Later in that newsletter, in an article reprinted by permission of the Pharos-Tribune, Staff Writer Kristi Osenbaugh noted that there were approximately 20 families on the lists from Cass and Pulaski Counties.

An update of Plan 317 is found in another Peak Community Services Newsletter, this one dated December 2004, reprinted and edited from a web article from the Arc of Indiana.

The state biennial budgets passed in 1999 and 2001 provided adequate funding to begin [Plan 317]. However, due to the state’s fiscal crisis, approximately $26 million was not spent on services; instead, it reverted to the general fund...[With some other service shifts], an additional $25 million…went toward the budget crisis.

…as of August 2004, there are 15,500 people on waiting lists for Medicaid Waivers serving people with developmental disabilities.

In August of 2007, there were still nearly 15,500 people on the waiting list (15,477).

From December 1998 to December 2007, a net total of 9,500 people have been added to the waiting lists in Indiana. And in Cass and Pulaski Counties, instead of 20 on the lists, there are now 200.

Is there any good news? Kind of.... The average wait time has not increased. It still hovers at 10 years.

A DVD Training Series for Entry Level Employees & The Community

Film #1: Ben’s Day: Until a few years ago, either of Ben’s conditions, MI or DD, might have resulted in placement in a hospital or developmental center. Today, new medications and behavioral therapies allow individuals like Ben to live in the community.

Film #2: Ben’s Behavior: Ben is thriving in his new environment, not because he does everything with complete success, but because he is putting every effort into new opportunities.

Film #3: Ben’s Medication: The interaction between Ben’s medications, medical conditions, psychiatric conditions, developmental disability and learned behaviors can make it difficult for staff to determine the causes of some behaviors. This is frustrating, both for staff and for Ben.

Order Information

To order, send a check or money order for $10.00 each, plus $3.00 each shipping and handling. You may download the workbook at no charge from www.peakcommunity.com, or request a PDF version via email at no charge. If you prefer a hard copy, send a check or money order for $5.00, plus $3.00 shipping and handling.

Send orders to: Kathi Thompson, Director of Development & Communications, Peak Community Services, 1416 Woodlawn Avenue, Logansport, IN, 46947. (574) 753-4104 ext. 128 / kthompson@peakcommunity.com.