After a litany of concerns being brought to legislators by families of those with developmental disabilities, the independent review funded by the state legislature has set listening sessions to learn what legislators have been hearing about the program:
South Dakota lawmakers will have two opportunities in the coming weeks to confer with an outside consultant regarding several state Department of Human Services programs that are intended to help developmentally disabled people.
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The company has set one-hour listening sessions to learn what legislators have been hearing. The first will be Tuesday, August 8, at 11 a.m. CT. The second is Wednesday, August 9, at 2 p.m. CT.
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Two of the Legislature’s interim panels — the Appropriations Committee and the Government Operations and Audit Committee — sought the review. State Auditor General Russ Olson is overseeing it for lawmakers. He gave an update to GOAC members Tuesday and appropriators Wednesday on the consultant’s progress, including a survey for individuals and families and a survey for the service providers.
If you have a family member with a developmental disability, pay attention. The Family 360 program is a good program, but it is overwhelmed as it struggles to meet the demands, and in some cases navigate bureaucratic hurdles in trying to serve families of those with a developmental disability.
Especially during COVID when most kids were home, the respite care program, which would occasionally bring someone in to do activities with my child, was one of the only things that allowed me to leave the house when dealing with the needs of my daughter who is on the Autism spectrum. The greatest need is to find ways to expand access to and knowledge of the program, as well as to increase the number of providers who can qualify to participate.
I hope parents and care givers of the developmentally disabled take this opportunity to let their needs be known by state policy makers. 360 was a big step, and obviously had to be phased in one specialty program at a time. It will require more funding and more inter-agency coordination, along with an organization of caregivers and volunteers.