The Family Support Waiver

 

Presented by the Delaware Advocacy Coalition for the Family Support Waiver (DACFSW)

 

 

Introduction to the Family Support Waiver (FSW)

 

The Family Support Waiver, widely available in states across the country including all of Delaware’s surrounding states, would allow adults with developmental disabilities and their families to select services that best meet their individual needs. They will be able to direct major day or vocational services, and to receive a small amount to purchase ancillary services such as additional respite care, adaptive equipment, or home modification. This kind of flexibility will enable more families to keep their adult children living at home longer and out of state residential placements, saving state funds. To add incentive to Delaware to institute this program, the federal government has provided a mechanism to match Delaware’s expenditures for the Family Support Waiver dollar for dollar up to a total level of funding equal to $8 million annually.
 

The Family Support Waiver funds will meet critical unmet needs of individuals with disabilities in our state.  It is unfortunate that many individuals with moderate disabilities get very little support while they live with their family. Eventually that can lead to the breakdown of the family system, the dissolution of the “home care setting” and the person with the disability must then be placed into a state funded residential facility.  It seems that you either get all or very little as a person with a disability in Delaware. The Family Support Waiver allows for individuals with disabilities to continue living at home longer with services available that are not currently provided to any but those in full residential care.  The end result is better care and quality of life for both the person and the families that support them, while also providing substantial savings for the State of Delaware over time.

 

In response to citizen demand for more flexible services, the Division of Developmental Disabilities requested partial funding of the waiver ($1,128,300) in their November OMB hearing. However the Governor has chosen not to include ANY funding for the waiver in the budget submitted in January.  We cannot understand the logic of pulling away support for this initiative that makes so much sense from every angle.

 

How Service Delivery under FSW would work:

 

The waiver provides the mechanism for individuals and their families to choose their providers and direct the services they receive. Individuals and families may choose to hire their own staff instead of working with a community agency. Additionally, each family would receive an allocation of $2,500 to use for services called for in the Essential Lifestyle Plan, developed with their Support Coordinator. (The Coordinator is responsible for advising the individual and family, arranging services and providers, and serving as a job coach or other support when needed.)

 

 

Among the services the individual could choose include: 

 

   Respite Care

      Therapies

    Personal Care

       Day Habilitation

   Extended Day Care

      Prevocational Services

   Assistive Technology

      Supported Employment

   Home Modifications

      Transportation to day services

   In extraordinary situations,

   support assistance stipends

   or emergency temporary living

   arrangements

 

 

The maximum number of participants to be served using the data submitted by DDDS in the OMB process is 1398 in year one, year two is 1580, and year three is 1785. 

 

The Human Factor: The FSW would benefit families by:

 

Promoting access to supports that allow adults to stay at home and out of fully funded state residential placements.

Promoting cost-effective decisions that meet real needs while enhancing decision making.

Keeping families together longer allowing more productive and economically prosperous lives for all involved.

 

Financial Facts about the Family Support Waiver:

 

The costs of residential care far outweigh the costs of home care.

One individual’s stay in a group home costs an average of $35,000 (state dollars), and can rise to as much as $65,000 for someone with significant behaviors.

Providing flexible, appropriate services in the community reduces the use residential placements, which in turn reduces the state’s costs.

Over the years, that reduction in costs will add up to a substantial savings to the State of Delaware.

1,398 families will be eligible during the first year.

Text Box: A person who the waiver allows to remain at home for 10 years costs an additional $25,000 ($2,500 per year x 10) in waiver costs, and saves the State $325,000 ($35,000 x 10 - $25,000) by delaying residential placement.   Multiply that by the number of eligible adults who are at risk of residential placement because their families need more support to keep them at home.    

 

 

 


 

 

 

For more specific information and questions, please contact:

 Tim Brooks @ (302) 831-4612, Tbrooks@udel.edu

 

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