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Family wins waiver services after emergency aid denial; advocates credited for securing housing and treatment coverage
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Summary
Speakers described how a family’s emergency funding request to Public Health and Human Services was denied, they requested a fair hearing, and were later approved for waiver services that will cover housing and treatment costs; the family thanked MLSA for legal help.
Speaker 2 (parent/guardian) described a multi-year struggle to secure appropriate care for their son, saying he was "a remarkable child" who was later diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and placed at a nontraditional group home called The Dell.
The family said funding for the placement ran out after about five years. Speaker 3 described the next steps: "We filed an emergency request for assistance, through Public Health and Human Services. And when they denied it, we requested a fair hearing to try to work out a resolution that would allow [him] to stay in the home that he'd come to know and be very comfortable in for the past several years." The denial prompted the administrative appeal.
The fair hearing produced a favorable result. "Being approved for waiver services means that he will be provided with a cost plan that will, cover the cost of his housing and treatment," Speaker 3 said. The speakers said that without waiver services, the family would not be able to continue paying for the placement, which they described as "very expensive care." Speaker 2 said the hearing outcome "was far better than my wife and I allowed ourselves to hope for."
Speaker 1, who described having been adopted from Russia, said the approval was a personal relief: "Knowing that I could get this kind of help was just awesome for me, knowing that my parents didn't have to worry about if I was gonna stay there or not and if they could make the next payment or not."
Speaker 2 emphasized the stakes of coverage for people in similar situations: "This will make, literally, could make a life and death difference to people whether or not they have access to this type of assistance." The family also "gave a big shout out and thank you to MLSA and all of the fine people here that helped us." The transcript does not specify MLSA’s full legal name or the precise services provided by that organization.
The record shows an administrative appeal (fair hearing) reversed or otherwise remedied the initial denial, resulting in approval of waiver services that the family says will cover housing and treatment costs. The speakers did not specify exact dollar amounts, the name of the waiver, or further procedural steps the agency will take to implement the cost plan.
