'Winning the Waiting Game'

Development disability budget increase proposed

MOSES LAKE — For Moses Lake resident Christi Dieringer, the waiting game was long.

Dieringer waited for family support services through the state for four years to help with the expenses of her 6-year-old daughter Ashley, who has a cellular disease.

The Developmental Disabilities Council and Arc of Washington State propose the state legislature spend $9.4 million in the next two years to take 2,200 families off the list of approximately 9,000.

A total $60.7 million increase in the developmental disabilities budget for 2007 through 2009 is proposed. The current budget is $1.46 billion.

Director of the Developmental Disabilities Council Ed Holen said the money would go toward employment, supported living, family support services, an ombudsman and trust fund matches.

"Our main campaign this session is called Winning the Waiting Game," Holen said. "And what we're trying to do is to address the needs of people with developmental disabilities and their families who qualify for services, but because of lack of funding they are not able to receive the services that they need."

Dieringer, who is outreach coordinator of Columbia Basin Parent to Parent, said she was told she did not qualify for services because she makes too much money on paper, even though her daughter's disabilities qualify her.

Parent to Parent offers support programs for parents with children who have special needs or disabilities.

Dieringer said she knows of a family who made $80 over the limit, so they did not qualify for services.

Program Coordinator Jennifer Newhouse said the expenses of caring for a child with disabilities force some families to live beyond their means.

"You're just barely keeping your head above water," Newhouse said.

Holen said some families can wait years for services.

"Some drop off the waiting list because they're tired of waiting," he said.

The budget proposal includes $15.5 million to help with employment training and services for high school graduates and future graduates. Holen said about 980 disabled students are graduating high school in the next two years.

"We want to make sure there's funding in the budget for them to get jobs," Holen said,

The budget proposal calls for $8.3 million for 130 people age 40 or older who need a place to live or assisted living services. The money helps adults living with family members who are aging and no longer able to care for them, Holen said.

"Without funding this just becomes a real tragedy for folks, and they slip into crises," he said.

An ombudsman is proposed at $1.2 million for disabled individuals so they have somewhere to go for help, Holen said.

The proposal requests $5 million in funds to match contributions to trust funds. The system is a legal way for families to save money and possibly use less resources from the state for services in the future, he said.

"It's a unique program, its one of a kind," Holen said. "We're the only state in the country that has that particular program that provides the state match and has the private-public partnership."