HIGHLAND PARK, Kan. -- Juliet Banks wants the same things most mothers want for their children.
She wants to see her son reach his potential and achieve at least some of his dreams, including working and moving away from home. But 21-year-old Brandon is somewhere in a 4,000-person deep line waiting for services offered to people with developmental disabilities.
Banks, who attended his final days at Highland Park High School last month, is among a growing number of Kansans who at 21 have aged out of the public school system to find nothing waiting on the other end. It is a difficult reality for those with disabilities who can find themselves going from the classroom to the couch, and it is a logistical challenge for families that must make difficult decisions about how to care for children that can't be left home alone. They are decisions that can lead some families to leave jobs, sending them into a financial tailspin.
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