Merry Christmas!

Flash Mob sings Hallelujah Chorus in mall food court

Attack on parent-guardians, Texas style

According to an article in the Texas Tribune from September 15, 2010, the parents of an adult woman with Down Syndrome were removed as her guardians in a secret hearing by a Probate Court judge, after they became involved in a dispute with her group home over psychotropic medications for their daughter.

By all accounts, the Covingtons were good parents, caring for their daughter Ceci at home for more than 30 years. Ceci moved into a group home that her parents thought would give her good care, but that changed over time. Ceci began having headaches and tantrums. Her mother took her to doctors who diagnosed her with sinus problems and sleep apnea. Without the knowledge or permission of her parents, the group home began giving Ceci psychotropic drugs, assuming that her problems were psychiatric in nature.

When the parents disputed the need for psychiatric medication, the group home asked the Probate Court in a secret session to remove the parents as guardians for abuse. Secret or ex parte hearings are legal in Texas guardianship cases in emergencies to remove someone from an abusive situation. Not only did the parents lose custody of their daughter, but they were not allowed to see her for two months.

The Covingtons and other parents with similar experiences fought back through the media and the state legislature. In response, the presiding probate judge in Texas is quoted as saying, “What you have going on here is people who have done something wrong coming down to the Legislature, going to the newspaper, instead of trying their case in a court of law. In essence, they’re trying to intimidate judges.”

Looking into Guardianship abuses in Texas is like stepping into a hornet's nest of corruption and bureaucratic malfeasance against the elderly and disabled. According to the Examiner.com in Austin, Texas, state legislative hearings on guardianship included reports of abuses "in which family members were denied or removed from guardianships" and were subject to "bureaucratic bullying and institutional stonewalling".        

The Covingtons whose legal bills exceed $55,000, were scheduled to have a hearing about the removal of guardianship for their daughter in October, but it was postponed by the judge. According to the Texas Tribune article, "the judge who first removed Ceci from her parents recused himself from the case in July, following several families’ accusations against him at a legislative hearing in Austin."

In testimony before the Texas State Senate in May, 2010, Lou Ann Anderson had this to say about guardianship abuses:
 
"I am not before you here today to say that all guardianships are bad or abusive. Sometimes they are needed. However, whether initiated by public or private entities, hijacking the personal liberty and/or property of any Texas citizen for some self-enriching purpose is wrong. Motives may be direct financial gain through 'spending-down' the ward's assets, indirect gain by adding them to an institutional headcount eligible for taxpayer-funded subsidization or a combination of both. In any case, it's time for real dialogue to address naming all the true culprits, exposing the lack of recourse experienced by caring, responsible families, acknowledging the civil and property rights violations that occur and recognizing how these victims can end up a burden on honest, hard-working Texans as they are unnecessarily shifted into taxpayer-funded programs."

More information on guardianship problems in Texas can be found on the Website for GRADE, Guardianship Reform Advocates for the Disabled and Elderly.

MACMHB membership unanimously approves Choice Resolution

The Choice Resolution was adopted by the Executive Board of the Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards (MACMHB) on 8/6/2010. It was then voted on by the General Assembly of the MACMHB during the state conference on10/19/2010 and passed unanimously.
 
The Choice Resolution was a response by Community Mental Health Boards to family concerns about Michigan Department of Community Health policies to limit and eventually eliminate so-called legacy programs including day programs, sheltered workshops, licensed group homes, and other specialized services and placements in group settings.

The ARC Michigan and UCP Michigan opposed the resolution.

The resolution is a statement confirming the right of consumers of Mental Health services to choose from an array of services and supports based on their needs and preferences. The policy applies to members of the Association - all CMH Boards in Michigan.

Update on the homeless shelter option in Indiana

It seems there is more substance than I thought to the charge that Indiana has a policy  that recommends homeless shelters as an option for people with developmental disabilities. According to a report from TV Channel 6 in Indianapolis, a discharge plan form is given to people who are either not eligible for services or who choose not to receive services. The form lists a Homeless Initiative Program as a resource and refers to a list of homeless shelters.

My guess is that people who "choose not to receive services" do so not because they are particularly fussy, but because the services offered make no sense for their family member or are of such poor quality that nothing is better than something. As for people who are not eligible for services, we might be surprised at the severity of the problems people have who have been rejected by the system of care for people with developmental disabilities.

A spokesman for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration acknowledges the existence of the discharge form, yet still denies that homeless shelters are offered as an option.

So the real scandal is all those things listed below, plus evidence that Indiana has a policy of offering homeless shelters to at least some families as options for their developmentally disabled family members.

Indiana homeless shelters: an option for severely disabled?

An AP article reports that parents of severely disabled children and adults in Indiana have been told to drop their family members off at homeless shelters, if they can no longer care for their children at home.

As it turns out, this is not an official state policy and there are no confirmed cases of parents actually following through with that suggestion. It appears it was more of a threat by frustrated employees of Indiana social service agencies to get parents to back off from their complaining about the unavailability of Medicaid waivers that could pay for services at home.

The real scandal is this:

• 20,000 people are on waiting lists with some people waiting 10 years for services.
• Governor Mitch Daniel ordered budget cuts that eliminated 2,000 Medicaid waiver slots since July.
• Foster children with disabilities have been moved to a less costly program that doesn't provide services for special needs and they had a food benefit taken away.

Almost everyone agrees that we should help the "truly needy", but doing it and paying for it are something else altogether.

Detroit: Administration on DD to hold "listening" session

On December 2nd, 2010, the federal Administration on Developmental Disabilities is holding a "listening session" in Detroit on "Envisioning the Future". Registration is still open and the agency is encouraging families to participate.

People who are picked to speak have three minutes (with an extra 2 minutes given to "self-advocates"). You can submit written testimony at the Website, whether or not you are chosen to speak. There will also be limited room for people who just want to listen. Speakers should arrive by 8:00 a.m. Testimony lasts from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. followed by closing remarks with breaks interspersed throughout the day.

Here are some important links to information:

• How to give testimony.
• Details on the event in Detroit.
• Registration

What is the Administration on Developmental Disabilities?

The ADD is the U.S. Government organization responsible for implementation of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, known as the DD Act. The ADD is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The DD Act programs that are administered by ADD are the State Councils on Developmental Disabilities (the Michigan DD Council), Protection and Advocacy (Michigan Protection and Advocacy Services), University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (DD Institute at Wayne State University), and Projects of National Significance.

Why is it important for the ADD to hear from you?

You and I are often represented by professional advocates who receive federal funding through the DD Act, but rarely do we have an opportunity to speak for ourselves directly to the agencies that fund the advocates. This is a chance for you to make your views known on behalf of your developmentally disabled family member.