
Thank you, Austin Jenkins, for writing your article “He’s 13 years old, autistic and stuck in the hospital for the holidays. He’s not the only one. (KUOW.org, December 15, 2021).
This issue has been developing for many years and it should come as no surprise to those who have been involved with Developmental Disabilities and the limited resources, tangled opinions, and even more tangled politics that are the driving forces behind decisions and reports provided to our legislators to make changes to our state’s laws.
The passage of Senate Bill 5459 in 2011 was one such bill that directly affected supports for our youth (21 and under). This bill essentially eliminated in-state options for those with very high and crisis level support needs – necessitating the need to send these children out of state – far away from the natural supports of their family and local community members.
The final bill report can be found at this link but the summary is quoted below.
Summary: Persons under the age of 16 may not be admitted to a Residential Habilitation
Center. Persons between ages 16 and 21 may be admitted for short-term crisis or respite
care.
KUOW asks for feedback on their stories. Today, I submitted the letter below. There is much more that I could add but I hope this prompts Austin Jenkins to ask a few more questions, speak to a few more people and reach out to individuals – not the agencies which helped to create this crisis – as to possible solutions that we believe would be beneficial, not only to our family members but for our community as a whole.
More to come on this critical issue.
I’ve been quiet this past year due to critical health issues and was going to shut this blog down since I did not have the time, energy or ability to even think about advocacy. But the fact that several people reached out to me in the past couple of months asking me for advice, seeking help for their own advocacy, or asking me to join them in other efforts, has prompted me to keep the blog up for historical references and information that may be difficult to find elsewhere. My hope is to continue to participate and we’ll see how it all transpires as time moves along.