Monday, December 28, 2009

Coming Attractions

Last week I posted my “wish list” for Santa. Some of you eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that it was really just a recap of some of my earlier 2009 blog postings.

In the same spirit, as I look forward to the New Year, I’d like to give a preview of some of the topics regarding the system of services for individuals with cognitive and developmental disabilities in Colorado and our nation I’d like to discuss in this forum.

Before I do that, though, I want to encourage all of you readers to make comments on my rants in the coming year. To push back. To tell me that I’m right when I’m right and that I’m wrong when I’m wrong. I’m not kidding when I say, “Then again, what do I know?” I don’t claim to have all the answers. Instead, I hope this blog can serve as a starting point for civil and productive discussion, not as the final word handed down from on high.

I hope you will join in the conversation as we explore complicated issues in 2010, including:

• Why I think we’ll see more examples of families and consumers facing dire circumstances as a result of system changes and funding cuts.

• Why we need to heed the advice I always give to my kids: “Don’t buy a car you can’t afford to maintain.”

• Why enrollment in employment services has dropped dramatically.

• What are we going to do with adults who have needs that can’t be met by the three models of residential care currently funded by Medicaid (
PCAs , Group Homes, and Host Homes)?

• What the community can do to help alleviate some of the problems facing the DD system.

• How the fractures in our community make it more difficult to find lasting solutions.

• What role Case Management should play in service delivery.

• Whose problem is this anyway?

In the meantime, I hope you all have a very happy new year.

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