Monday, March 23, 2009 9:42 PM CDT
Camp New Hope plans new adult day program
By NATHANIEL WEST, Staff Writer
nwest@jg-tc.com
NEOGA — A half-century ago, adults with developmental disabilities had little choice but to stay inside their residences all day. And history is threatening to be repeated.
“This is just exactly what was happening in the ’50s and ’60s — kids were sitting around at home; there were no services. We’re (still) not getting anywhere,” said Bill Strode, a special education teacher who works with young adults at the Neil Armstrong Program at Hawthorne School in Mattoon.
A change in the way the state chooses which special needs individuals receive funding for care during the daytime has left many working families wondering how long they will have to wait for help, or if they will get it at all. In response, Camp New Hope — which provides recreation for area residents with developmental disabilities — is launching a new day program for adults.
This will require about $40,000 per year, however, and officials acknowledged now is not the most ideal time to be asking for donations. “In a very tough economy, that bothers me,” said Strode.
The alternative for families of individuals with developmental disabilities is full-time placement in a group home, officials and parents said.
The problem stems partly from a lack of funding, but more from state policy revisions that went into effect in January 2008.
Previously, an agency that runs day programs for special needs adults — such as CCAR Industries in Charleston — would apply for state funding on behalf of families, which sometimes had to wait six to nine months but still were effectively assured of the assistance at some point, said Bobbie Eastin, referral/intake coordinator for CCAR.
Now, families seeking financial help for day programming are entered directly into the statewide Prioritization of Urgency of Need for Services database. Selections are made in what is essentially a lottery, said Eastin.
“I think it’s random,” she said.
Since January 2008, there has only been one “pull” from the list, Eastin added. Statewide, 255 people were named in November to receive funding for day programming. Of those, only seven live in the region that includes Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Moultrie and Shelby counties, but also Macon County.
As best as Eastin can determine, selections are not based on the length of time a family has been in the state database. “The chances of our local families getting pulled are pretty small,” she said.
Officials did acknowledge that as part of the new process, families may choose the provider of day services.
Strode said he has witnessed what can happen when a special needs person still living at home leaves a public school (they are only eligible to be enrolled until age 22) but does not join a day program.
“One of the things that bothers me the most (is) seeing the negative effects that can have on the individual and their family,” Strode said, citing physical and mental “deterioration.”
He said he knows of several pending graduates of the Armstrong program who “are not going anywhere for a very, very long time.”
So Strode approached the Camp New Hope board about developing a day program for adults there. “If there was any group out there that would try to do something, I thought it would be Camp New Hope,” he said.
He also believes the state is pressuring families to send their developmentally disabled adult children to group homes. “That is a very personal decision, and that needs to be made by the family,” Strode said.
Mattoon resident Jennie Hahn, whose 21-year-old son has special needs, said the change in the selection system “kind of came out of the blue.” She said her options once he graduates the Armstrong program — other than sending him to a group home — are to have him stay with a grandparent during the day, or pay for private day care services.
Barb Dial of Windsor has two children, both with special needs. Her oldest was placed in a group home at age 12 because of behavioral issues. While this turned out to be the best choice for her son, Dial does not think her daughter, now 18, needs to be in a group home too.
“It’s the worst decision you’ve ever had to make in your life,” she said. “I don’t want to have to do that with my daughter.”
But she is also concerned for her daughter’s health if she is allowed to stay at home alone during the day while her mother works. Dial, who is also separated from her husband, said she is about out of options.
Camp New Hope, which is located north of Neoga near Lake Mattoon, is asking for $40,000 in donations to run the new adult day program through the fall of 2010. The camp board voted at its last meeting to start the program.
The cost for individual participants will be $50 per week. The hours of the program will be similar to those followed by the Armstrong program in Mattoon.
“We (have) good facilities for doing something like this,” said Kim Carmack, executive director of the group, noting the camp “already runs programs similar to this.”
Six potential participants from Mattoon and Neoga have already been identified for the new day program this fall. Strode said at least 15 individuals will be in need of such care over the next four years.
For more information on donating, call Gene Creek, outreach manager for Camp New Hope, at 895-2341.
Officials also encourage parents of developmentally disabled children to contact state legislators. “The stories from parents really make the impact,” said Eastin.
Contact Nathaniel West at nwest@jg-tc.com or 238-6860.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
|
|
|
devilishangel61401 wrote on Mar 24, 2009 5:22 PM: