Not enough services to go around

I have spoken with many families lately that received their notice that they finally were coming off the Medicaid Waiver waitlist. Some have been waiting for more than 10 years. Sadly, the wait is not over. Now they must wait for an opening with a service provider. Several years ago, in Texas I worked with a group that was forming Microboards for families. The idea of a Microboard is to develop personal support services for individuals with disabilities, for obtaining and managing direct, individualized funding, and for engaging members of the larger community in purposeful personal support networks. The main objectives

1.    Establish a mechanism for direct individualized funding, preventing the waiting for a place with a service agency

2.    Provide a mechanism for bringing effective control of support services into the hands of the person who was being supported and the people who were closest to him or her,

3.    Develop an understandable pattern for drawing together an intentional citizen-based personal support network,

4.    Develop a pattern that would define and maintain the identity and efforts of the support network (the Microboard members and allied others).

The state of Texas and others actively works with families Microboards for individuals to obtain Medicare Waiver Services, but at this point I do not know how Arkansas will view Microboards. I have a Microboard established for my sons, put in place several years ago with the assistance of a local attorney. Unfortunately, at this point we are still waiting for the boys to receive waiver services; but if you have received your letter, and want to know more about Microboards Schedule a meeting, I would love to share.