Bill seeks funds for developmental disability waiting list

The Appropriations Committee heard testimony Jan. 30 on a bill that seeks to fully fund community-based services for Nebraskans with developmental disabilities.

LB901, introduced by Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop, would allocate funds for services for individuals with developmental disabilities who were on the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) waiting list and past their date of need for such services on Nov. 14, 2011.

Lathrop explained that the list is, in part, a means for DHHS to plan for future service needs. An individual is placed on the list with an anticipated date of need for services, he said, usually when he or she graduates from high school.

Approximately 2,600 people currently are on the waiting list, Lathrop said, and over 1,700 of them are past their date of need for services. The gap is the result of inadequate funding, he said.

In 2009, the Legislature appropriated $15 million to address the problem, Lathrop said, and an additional 900 people are receiving services as a result.

“The waiting list would now be around 3,500 if funding had not been provided in 2009,” he said. “We need to move forward and follow through on the commitment made by the Nebraska Legislature.”

Marla Fischer-Lempke, executive director of the Arc of Nebraska, testified in support of the bill, saying Nebraskans with developmental disabilities have a right to a good quality of life.

“A significant number of Nebraskans have been waiting far too long for services which support those rights,” she said.

Terry Kruse, whose son was a resident of the Beatrice State Developmental Center, also testified in support of the bill. He said the state’s failure to fund services for the developmentally disabled in their communities forces families to consider institutional placements.

“You have families in this state that are making critical decisions about placement,” said. “To come to that decision is heart-wrenching for a parent.”

Don Wesely, testifying on behalf of the Nebraska Association of Service Providers, also supported LB901.

He said the waiting list was not an issue in the past because lawmakers and administrators agreed that forcing the developmentally disabled to wait for services was “immoral.” In the 1990s, he said, only children indicating a need for services in the future were on the list.

Returning the waiting list to its original purpose would require a long-term funding commitment from the Legislature, Wesley said.

“This is an ongoing expense,” he said. “You’ve got to have a long-range view.”

No one testified in opposition and the committee took no immediate action on the bill.