Conscience dictates trimming list
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.
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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