Washtenaw County CMH Board hears from families and people with developmental disabilities, 6/21/19

On 6/20/19, Kerry Kafafian, a parent who is spearheading a project called “Home Grown Community” in Washtenaw County, sent out an email encouraging families to attend the Washtenaw Community Mental Health Board meeting on 6/21/19. Earlier, Kathy Homan from the Washtenaw Association for Community Advocacy had sent out an email reporting that a CMH Board member at two CMH committee meetings had suggested that CMH tell the state that the county would no longer provide Community Living Supports (CLS) or Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for people with autism in order to eliminate a $10 million deficit in the CMH budget.

The DD community is mentioned infrequently at CMH Board meetings and this seemed to be a good time to let the Board know about the importance of the services needed by people with DD and their families.

The Friday 6/21/19 Board meeting was attended by 25 to 30 (in my estimation) family members and people with disabilities who spoke to the Board during an extended period for public participation. It was an amazing turnout, considering that many of the families involved are under a great deal of stress. They cannot do something as simple as grocery shopping without making arrangements to have a responsible adult caregiver available to their disabled family member. The Board meetings are held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., an inconvenient time, especially for people who work, making it even more difficult for families to attend. There were many people who could not make it on Friday but who nevertheless wanted to address the Board.

Some parents spoke of their children being exposed to abuse and neglect in other settings outside of their own homes and many spoke of the difficulty in hiring Medicaid-funded support staff at poverty level wages. One parent told of how the CMH system has moved the chains and bars from institutions to his home, where he cannot find staff to take care of his son with extreme behavioral difficulties. Others were very happy with the services their loved ones were receiving and said that they were life sustaining for their families and liberating for their disabled family members. They did not want the services discontinued. Parents also expressed how sleepless nights and relentless caregiving responsibilities had pushed them to the brink of exhaustion and beyond. Another called the contemplation of removing services as reckless and irresponsible and another mentioned that there was no end in sight to caregiving responsibilities for people with lifelong disabilities. Another said that using our loved ones as pawns to get more money from the state was reprehensible. 

Board members expressed appreciation for all who attended; some described their own struggles with mental illness themselves or with their family members. In response to questions, the Board said they had joined a lawsuit against drug companies that have made huge profits on selling opioids. Washtenaw County is also involved in a lawsuit against the state for chronic underfunding of services that the local CMH is mandated by law to provide. The board member who had made the suggestion to cut services to force the state to pay for them apologized for his insensitive remarks. No decisions have been made yet on how to deal with the CMH budget deficit.

Attached is a calendar showing CMH Board and committee meetings for 2019. They all include a time for public participation. Anyone can submit a written statement to the Board at any time. I do not have specific information for sending written or electronic materials to the Board, but Customer Services at 734-544-3050 or 877-779-9707 should be able to give you that information. Their hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Jill Barker
Ann Arbor, MI

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This is a definition of Community Living Supports from the Michigan Medicaid Provider Manual, a huge document (never make the mistake of trying to print the whole thing). CLS is a service provided under various Medicaid Waivers and State Plan benefits for people with disabilities:

"Community Living Supports (CLS) facilitate an individual’s independence, productivity, and promote inclusion and participation. The supports can be provided in the beneficiary’s residence (licensed facility, family home, own home or apartment) and in community settings (including, but not limited to, libraries, city pools, camps, etc.), and may not supplant other waiver or state plan covered services (e.g., out-of-home nonvocational habilitation, Home Help Program, personal care in specialized residential, respite)."

2019 Calendar of CMH Board and Committee Meetings

WCCMH Board Members