Over a year ago, the Bureau of Developmental Services (BDS) began a process to redesign the Developmental Disabilities waiver, the Medicaid waiver that provides supports to adults with developmental disabilities across New Hampshire.
We recently joined 19 organizations in expressing concerns with this systems redesign process. Concerns raised in our joint letter include:
- Lack of involvement of families during the redesign process, and a lack of ongoing education to families regarding the changes the system will undergo and the way those changes will impact families,
- Scope of changes, particularly the number of changes proposed at one time,
- Failure to actively include the perspectives of the Black Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community (e.g., representation on committees),
- Funding uncertainties and a concern that existing services could be cut,
- The continued reliance upon a lifetime of FREE family care-giving,
- The reliance on residential/institutional care rather than supporting people with disabilities to live in their own homes and communities,
- Mixed messaging and a lack of transparency leading to uncertainty, confusion, and mistrust of the process
We have asked that the state commit to addressing the real problems facing people with developmental disabilities each day: housing, transportation, and workforce shortages. These issues are all connected and DHHS must commit to actively working to address them and create a system that meets the needs of people with disabilities to live the lives that they want to live in their homes and communities.
