Group Over Institutions

From Disability Scoop:
"Federal Program That Moves People Out Of Institutions In Jeopardy"

Funding is quickly running out for a popular Medicaid program that transitions people with disabilities from costly institutions to home and community-based living. Disability advocacy groups are urging constituents to call lawmakers to voice support for bipartisan legislation that would reauthorize the Money Follows the Person program. Since inception more than a decade ago, it has helped roughly 75,000 people leave nursing homes or intermediate care facilities in favor of their own apartment or a small group home. Dan Berland, director of federal policy for the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services in Alexandria, Va., said the program saves money and improves quality of life for participants. “It’s easier for folks to be employed, for example,” Berland said. “By getting out in the community for activities, they start to build a set of relationships. That gives them a greater sense of happiness, acceptance and well-being.”

 Money Follows the Person was established in 2005 and has provided nearly $3.7 billion to 44 states, according to a 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. States have used the funds to hire housing specialists, modify homes or vehicles for accessibility and provide visits from nurses or personal care attendants. The program officially expired in September 2016 and Berland said six states have already run out of money and the others will all run out by the end of the year. But states that still have available funds can’t use them to modify their programs or serve new clients, making it essential to re-fund the program as quickly as possible, he said. “We really are down to the very last dollars,” said Alison Barkoff, director of advocacy for the Center for Public Representation in Washington D.C. “States are having to start dismantling some of their infrastructure and wunplill be ending their programs if it isn’t re-funded soon.” In December, U.S. Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced the EMPOWER Care Act (S. 2227) that calls for allocating $450 million per year for five years to renew the program. “Helping people access long-term care while staying in their own homes is a win-win,” Cantwell said in a statement at the time. “Patients prefer it, and it saves money.” The Department of Health and Human Services report found that for people with physical disabilities, monthly costs to Medicare and Medicaid in the first year after transitioning into the community decreased by an average of 23 percent. For those with intellectual disabilities, average monthly costs dropped even more, by 30 percent. Barkoff said advocates hope the program will be included in a March omnibus spending package. Efforts are also underway to see reauthorization legislation introduced in the House of Representatives.  

^  I worked as a camo counselor at an overnight summer camp for the mentally and physically disabled for four Summers and every year during orientation the counselors would go to both an institution and a group-home to both observe what each was like as well as see what types of disabilities we would see at camp - most of the counselors had never worked with a disabled person before arriving at camp (I never had.) With that experience you saw the levels of care given. While non were abusive (that we saw) the amount of direct care and personal attention given in a group home was more than that at the institution (and I am talking about with a person who had the same disability at each place.) Even during the Summer you could see a big difference in the care. Each session lasted one week and so at the beginning of the week the campers would be dropped off around lunchtime and there were certain things that had to be done before the caregivers could leave (a visit to the camp nurse for both a check-up and to go over the medicines they took and unpacking their things to make sure they had enough clothes, personal items, etc.) You early in the could always tell who was arriving from an institution (public or private  - it didn't really matter.) They were the first ones there early in the morning trying to drop off the campers - well before the noon check-in. Not only were they early, but they tried to rush the nurse's visit and the unpacking. I would soon learn that most caregivers from the institutes wanted to rush the unpacking because the campers they brought  never had enough things. Some came with just the clothes they were wearing and nothing to change into (at night, to swim in or if there was an accident.) Most didn't have enough of their personal care items and expected the camp to provide them (most of the time it was up to the counselors to find things that were needed and I think we did every time - - I know I went to the nearest Dollar Store a few times and spent my own money when a camper didn't have something they desperately needed. The caregivers from the institutions wanted to simply drop the campers off so they could go on their own vacations even knowing that the one week at camp was most likely the only time the campers got out. Then there were those campers from the group homes. They tended to come around noon and took their time going through the check-in process and most of them had everything needed (although a few times we did have to search for things.) Check-out at the end of the week was the opposite. The caregivers from the institutions didn't come after breakfast like they should have and most came as far into the night as they could (the camp director was watching whatever camper was still there at that time.) The caregivers from the institutions would also try to take camp things back with them saying they had brought the items themselves. The caregivers from the group homes came as early as they could for the check-out. I know not every institution or group home is like I described here, but I have seen enough to know that it is best, when possible, for someone disabled to live either by themselves, with their families or in a group home over an institution. The Money Follows The Person Program needs to be funded and saved so that those that can and want to can leave an institution and move into a group home. We should be encouraging the move to group homes and offering whatever assistance is needed to those that want to go to them. A disabled person is still a person and we can not allow them to stay in institutions when they could go to group homes simply because of politics and funding. The State and Federal Governments need to get their act together and do more to better the lives of the disabled. ^

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2018/02/19/federal-institutions-jeopardy/24738/