More Resources

Well, I am down to my last blog. I have spent over twenty hours searching for resources both within the online library database link and on the Internet. Most of what I found in the online library referred to children and students needing services through public schools. I wasn't able to find very many resources through Google Scholar, but I found a few.

In order for me to find what I was looking for I had to change my search criteria. I was at first limiting my search with the words "Colorado" and "taxes." I changed my search criteria to "Medicaid," or "HCBS." I was able to find many articles with this search criterion. Most of these articles stated the problem, but they did not have any solutions. Some articles did advocate for not cutting the federal Medicaid budget for Home and Community Based Services. But sadly, the cuts have already been made.

My son and I have already been personally effected by this cut. When I first enrolled into school, I wanted to get my Certified Nurse Aide license. Then, there was a program within Medicaid to pay family caregivers to care for their disabled family member, within their own home. In order to receive pay for this, you needed a CNA. After I passed the state government written and clinical tests, I received my license. It was too late. By the time I had my license the Medicaid program had been cut. When I sought out employers who would hire me to be the care giver for my son, I was told that the funds for family caregivers had been drastically cut back. They had already dropped many families from the program.

This turn of events only deterred me for a short while. Since I could not get paid to care for my son, I needed to find employment elsewhere in order to provide financially for us both. I applied to the very same companies who would have employed me to be my son's caregiver. Being as there is a shortage of employees in this industry, I was hired on the spot. Now I get paid to take care of individuals (who are not related to me) with a variety of disabilities. All of them are fortunate enough to have gotten off that dreaded waiting list and are receiving HCBS services. To sum up, I get paid by my employer, who is funded by Medicaid, to take care of individuals with disabilities, while my son sits at home receiving absolutely no services at all. This is a hard spot to be in. I absolutely love my job, until I get home and feel the quilt of servicing others while my son goes without. It wouldn't be so bad, if I was not in school trying to further my education. I need to be educated in order to make the amount of money I need to support us both without my maintenance (money that the court ordered my ex-husband to pay because I was not able to work full time and take care of my son) that ends soon. Being that I work full time and go to school part time, I have a sixty hour school/work week. That does not leave enough time to care for my son in the way that I want. I so desperately want to be able to take him places and do things with him, but right now I cannot. The HCBS offers this type of service to those who receive the waiver. There are many adult day programs available (if you have the HCBS funding).  The last evaluation he had, we were told it would be at least another five or six year wait. He has been on this wait list since he was fourteen.While I work at employment and school, he waits.

 I found one great article: "State Tax Law and People with Disabilities: Opportunities for Supporting Fuller Participation in Community and Society" written by Steven Mendelsohn. This is the same article I previously listed in my other blog. Through more vigorous research, I did find out that the author has a Juris Doctor degree. For those of you who don't know (I didn't), the J.D. is held by law professionals who have completed law school, but may not be licensed attorneys.  I didn't feel as intimidated by this article after I found out that the author has finished law school and writes for the Disability and Health Journal. This article is a wealth of information explaining how the federal and state governments use tax dollars to fund the Medicaid program. It also suggests that the tax payers could benefit from redistributing the funds from corporate institutions into the HCBS program. That is where the article ends. It leaves you wondering how this could be done. Mendelson leaves his audience hanging with "Our next paper will analyze and describe several models for achieving these partnerships and for redirecting the flow of Medicaid and other private and public long-term care funds in ways that will both advance the cause of independent living and result in savings to insurance consumers and taxpayers alike"

Mendelsohn's last statement led me on a search for "the next paper". I think I may have found it in the Disability and Health Journal. The journal has an article written by Steven Mendelson, J. D., and it is titled "Tax Subsidization of Personal Assistance Services." I tried to access this online; I cannot get access without paying $31.50. I hit many similar road blocks. I found many great links to credible articles, but the link was either no longer available or I needed funds to access the article. This is frustrating for a poor college student.

I was able to only find one article written for the Denver Post with an opposing view. It is an editorial, titled Disabled are Deserving, but Colo. Can't Afford a Tax Hike, written by the Denver Post on September 26, 2008. In this editorial, the need for the intellectually disabled to receive services is granted. The argument is whether the state can afford it or not. This article declares the state cannot afford to alleviate the waitlist. Well, I guess this is where my argument lies. The state, with the help of the federal government, currently funds big institutions that house the disabled for thousands more than it would cost to house them in a family home. 

Another resource that I intend to use in my final essay is an article in the Denver Post, "Free Up Cash for Disabled in Need," an opinion article published on November 10, 2008. This resource has the information I needed about the recent ballot initiatives that would have alleviated the wait list. "Voters actually rejected two ballot initiatives that could have helped. Amendment 51 would have raised the state sales tax from 2.9 percent to 3.1 percent to pay for services that should be available now to 10,000 children and adults on a years-long waiting list for help. Amendment 59 would have gutted provisions in TABOR that now prevent our elected state lawmakers from crafting a budget that also could have helped double the disability budget of $185 million. Had voters approved 59, many of the restrictions on Colorado's budget would have been lifted." 

Ultimately, I want to find the article written by Steven Mendelsohn for the Disability and Health Review. I think this is where a lot of my answers will be. I am going to do my best to squeeze in the time to make a trip to the library to see if I can access this material for free. If not, well, I might just pay the $31.50 to get the information. 

Works Cited

"Cutting Medicaid: Harming Seniors and People with Disabilities Who Need Long-Term Care." Cutting Medicaid: Harming Seniors and People with Disabilities Who Need Long-Term Care. Families USA Foundation, May 2011. Web. 13 July 2013. <https://www.aucd.org/docs/policy/medicaid/Cutting-Medicaid.pdf>.

"Disabled Are Deserving, but Colo. Can't Afford a Tax Hike." Editorial. Denver Post 26 Sept. 2008: n. pag. Google Scholar. Web. 14 July 2013.

"Free Up Cash for the Disabled in Need." Editorial. Denver Post 10 Nov. 2008: n. pag. Google Scholar. Web. 14 July 2013.

Gleiter, Dan. The State Department of Public Welfare Plan to Implement Co-pays for Families That Receive Services for Disabled Children. Mike Chabanik, 22, of Lemoyne, Is a Legally Blind Autistic Adult. With Chabanik Is His Mother, Judy. N.d. Photograph. The Patriot News, Harrisburg. Lancaster County Link. Lancaster County, 08 Sept. 2012. Web. 14 July 2013.

Mendelsohn, Steven. "State Tax Law and People with Disabilities: Opportunities for Supporting Fuller Participation in Community and Society." N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2013. <http://pascenter.org/documents/2012_State_Tax_Law_BBI.pdf>.

N.d. Photograph. Media Dis&Dat. BA Haller, 19 July 2009. Web. 14 July 2013.

N.d. Photograph. Special Ed Post. Special Ed Post, 18 Jan. 2013. Web. 14 July 2013.