Funds sought for developmental disability waiting list

Funds would be allocated for services for people on the state’s developmental disabilities waiting list under a bill heard March 26 by the Appropriations Committee.

Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop, sponsor of LB375, said the funds would be allocated to the state Department of Health and Human Services to provide services for individuals with developmental disabilities who were on the waiting list and past their date of need for such services on Jan. 18, 2013.

The bill’s fiscal note calls for an annual appropriation of $41 million in general funds in fiscal years 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Lathrop said approximately 1,800 people on the list are past their date of need and are waiting for the state to provide funds for the services that they need. The amount in the fiscal note is insufficient to provide services for everyone on list, he said, but it would reduce the number of people waiting.

“While I’m not asking for the full amount today, I do think it’s important to keep chipping way at the list year after year,” Lathrop said. “Basically, we put what [money] we can into the waiting list and turn it over to the division to provide as many services to as many people as we can.”

Marla Fischer-Lempke, executive director of the Arc of Nebraska, testified in support of the bill, saying that people with disabilities have the right to a good quality of life and to live outside of institutional settings.

“They have been waiting for services for which they are eligible and for services that allow them to stay in their homes and communities,” she said.

Brad Meurrens of Disability Rights Nebraska also testified in support of the bill, saying the average wait for services for individuals on the list currently is several years.

“[LB375] is the right thing to do,” Meurrens said. “The state has an obligation to fund the waiting list.”

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