Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Indiana Parents Told to Leave Children with Severe Disabilities at Homeless Shelter


This echoes what happened in New York State about 12 years ago when people were leaving children and adults with developmental disabilities at an airport shelter in Westchester County.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's budget crunch has become so severe that some state workers have suggested leaving severely disabled people at homeless shelters if they can't be cared for at home, parents and advocates said.
They said workers at Indiana's Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services have told parents that's one option they have when families can no longer care for children at home and haven't received Medicaid waivers that pay for services that support disabled people living independently.
Marcus Barlow, a spokesman for the Family and Social Services Administration, the umbrella agency that includes the bureau, said suggesting homeless shelters is not the agency's policy and workers who did so would be disciplined.

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