Families press council over steep service-hour cuts, unclear assessments and missing abuse-registry materials
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Summary
During open floor the council heard multiple accounts of large reductions in individual service hours and inconsistent exception processes; members urged clearer plain-language guidance, confirmed reassessment options and agreed staff will keep pursuing access to an IDD abuse-registry slideshow.
Multiple family members and council participants raised concerns March 23 about sharp reductions in service hours, inconsistent exception processes across brokerages and difficulty finding authoritative information about assessment, appeals and an IDD abuse registry.
A parent and resident (speaker 7) described dramatic hour reductions and the lack of a consistent appeal or exception process: "Every single person in every county with every different brokerage, with every different case manager has a different story about how it worked," the resident said, urging a simple step-by-step guide for families. Other council members echoed frustration that changes can remove services that had demonstrably reduced emergency events or hospital visits.
Staff (speaker 2) and other members explained that reassessments and certified assessors can change service allocations, whereas service coordinators cannot make the kinds of assessment-driven funding changes that affect service levels. "You can review your assessment and ask for one at any time," staff said, noting assessors—not service coordinators—are authorized to make substantial changes that impact funding.
A separate concern involved an abuse-registry slideshow from a licensing Zoom: a council member (speaker 6) said they could not find the slides on the public website and will continue to pursue contact information for the slide author or the ODDS licensing mailbox so materials can be posted. Members agreed the registry is important for the IDD population and suggested the council help coordinate follow-up outreach and written communications to state contacts.
Council members suggested next steps including creating plain-language resources or a task team to document the exception and reassessment process, compiling links and outreach materials for families, and continuing to press state contacts for registry materials. No formal policy changes were enacted at the meeting.
