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Conscience dictates trimming list

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Monday, Jun 30, 2008 - 12:38:03 am CDT

State officials know precisely how many developmentally disabled Nebraskans are on a waiting list for services.

The answer: 1,772.

They know that if funding is not increased, the number of people will grow by 200 to 300 people every year.

The Legislature cannot allow this disgraceful situation to continue.

The state has a moral and legal responsibility to do a better job of caring for developmentally disabled Nebraskans.

Legislators haven’t tried to shorten the waiting list since 2001, when they boosted spending by adding $5 million in funding from the tobacco settlement.

Some of the people on the waiting list have been waiting for services for more than five years.

That’s because “Priority One” cases — those involving basic needs of sufficient food and shelter, as well as safety and health — jump to the top of the list.

Clients with less urgent needs have to wait. For example, perhaps a family with a developmentally disabled member may need a respite caregiver to visit more often in order to give other members a break.

More than 800 of those on the waiting list want to move to group homes.

Testimony on the waiting list was solicited by the special legislative committee, which is studying the Beatrice State Developmental Center and the state’s services for people with developmental disabilities.

The atrocious conditions at the BSDC have been documented in a series of reports from multiple sources. Lawsuits are currently pending in cases such as one filed on behalf of a woman whose legs were broken, but not discovered for three to five days.

State officials currently are attempting to improve conditions at the center by lowering the number of clients at the center, which is chronically understaffed.

As testimony last week showed, inadequacy of services for developmentally disabled Nebraskans is not limited to those at the BSDC. The entire system needs to be strengthened.

The price tag for taking care of everyone on the list is a jaw-dropping $83 million.

But, even with tax cuts approved just last year, state government will end the fiscal year with revenue that is about $100 million more than projected. Nebraska is benefiting from a booming agricultural center.

Assuredly there are a multitude of potential uses for that money, but inadequacy of services for developmentally disabled Nebraskans has been ignored for too long. As a matter of conscience, it’s time to go to work on the waiting list.


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Dave Ellis wrote on June 30, 2008 9:47 am:
" Thank you LJS for your precise article on BSDC. It went from being one of the best care facilities in the Nation, to now being one of the worst, because of budget cuts, inability to find qualified staff (due to low wages), and the abuses at BSDC and other state institutions.

But it can't stop with just BSDC, the story a month or so ago about the Sarpy County inmate handcuffed to a chair at Lincoln Regional Center, speaks loudly about the mentally ill and the challenges they face not only in the justice system, but in everyday life.

Our elected officials need to become more aware of the issues that affect persons with mental illness. As a person with severe bi-polar I can honestly say that I feel like I am treated as a second class citizen.

One such example is the Student Loan program. I am on disability because of my mental illness. I receive a fixed income, yet because my student loan is in default (because I've not been able to work, let alone have an income before disability started), the Department of Education is raking 15% off the top of my disability check, forcing me to live at poverty level. To me, this an abuse, I'm unable to work, must depend on SSDI to survive each month, but by golly the Guvment gets their's, screwing me (and others)in the long run by forcing us into poverty. I agree a student loan must be paid back, that is why it is called a loan, however, SSDI as well as SSI should be exempt from the raping that the Department of Education does to recipients.

It's time we stand up and say enough is enough, and abuses of the mental disabled and mentally ill must stop. We are not second class citizens and many of us vote. Politico's, you want my vote? Pay attention to what I am saying, and make changes in the system that benefit the disabled and ill persons. "

 To David Ellis wrote on June 30, 2008 10:48 am:
" If you haven't done this, it is possible to have your student loans canceled due to PERMANENT disability. If you have a Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), contact the guarantor of your loan and if you have a Direct Loan from the Department of Education, contact them. "

 Alan wrote on June 30, 2008 11:41 am:
" Since when is it the responsibility of the government to take care of anyone? Government exists to secure our rights. Not to act as an agent of redistribution. Runaway entitlement programs are bankrupting the nation and will do the same to the states. "

 Dave Ellis wrote on June 30, 2008 11:44 am:
" Thanks for the tip, I was not aware of this. "

 Lookinthemirror wrote on June 30, 2008 3:15 pm:
" You will completely understand the need for government support of programs serving the disabled as soon as YOU are the one who can no longer care for yourself. Think that's not likely? A majority of services for the disabled are delivered to people who BECAME disabled, not those who were born with a disability. I hope there's no line for you. "

 just do something wrote on July 1, 2008 1:40 pm:
" None of this is new. The state has a) tolerated abuses at BSDC (average of 100 injury cases per month - only 300 people live there), b) underfunded the DD care system at BSDC and the community, and c) has promised to address this for decades and has broken every promise for over 20 years. The article is right, it is a disgrace. We're talking about basic morals here, working on behalf of the common good. People with disabilities aren't asking for Cadillac services, they just want a chance. People First, the main DD self-advocacy organization in the state reported 2 priority requests in terms of what they want: jobs and support in getting to their jobs - does that sound like an unreasonable special entitlement? The state, particularly HHS, gets an F- for executing their charge on this matter. Something, anything (beyond throwing another $400,000 at BSDC) would be an improvement. There are easy ways to solve some of these concerns (like casting aside antiquated, expensively bloated, dysfunctional models of care like BSDC), but they are not politically expedient, so I predict they will not happen in our lifetimes (unless the public awakens to the fact their government representatives waste their money to the benefit of their own political interests hand over fist). Dare one hope to think the state might plan, in partnership with individuals and professionals, to develop a plan. Don't hold your breath. "

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