action alert about the purposed elimination of In Home and Family Support

[Guest guest]

Following is an action alert about the purposed elimination of In

Home and Family Support (IHFS)!

I am very aware of this program because my family happens to be one

of the lucky one's, we receive it. With the help of IHFS both of my

boys' had access to this support, Sensory Integration (SI) therapy,

was one of those supports. SI therapy met my boys' sensory needs,

taught me that my sons' behavior is communication and allowed me to

reconnect with my boys'.... without SI therapy, I feel it is very

possible that I wouldn't have the happy, healthy and successful

children (or family!) that I have now! Without IHFS, we would not

have been able to pay for this ourselves and my children don't

qualify for Medicaid!

I believe that $2500.00, is a relatively small investment to make in

a child's life and for his future and the cost will be much less.

Considering the cost of life long services that many adults who have

an autism spectrum disorder require (my son Zachary has an Autism dx,

this is why I bring autism up, but this is a cross-disability

issue). And just a question, but how do you put a price on the

future of one child or family, anyway?

The other day, I was contacted by the Gulf Coast Center to confirm my

son's information and to maintain his position on the HCS waiting

list (oops, I mean " interest list " ), he is number 507... I don't

think he will be receiving HCS any time soon! IHFS, is the only

resource that we have available to us, that would assist us to meet

his needs, while waiting for the community based services that a

Medicaid Waiver program would provide.

Many adults and families don't receive IHFS support, I would like to

encourage you to support this advocacy effort as well, or to pass

this on to your friends or neighbors. Let our representative know how

the lack of access to these funds has effected you and/or your

family, what have you had to sacrifice, what couldn't you gain access

too?! Are you still a family and have you been able to maintain

commitments that you have made to your spouse and children? Have you

had to compromise your family values? Or have you been forced to

compromise your values due to the institutional bias of our state and

the lack of community based supports?

Mental health lost all funding through IHFS, how has this effected

your lives? Our lawmakers need to hear our personnel stories!

As a parent of a recipient of IHFS, I plan to expand on what I have

written here and send it to my state representatives and to all the

members of the House Appropriations Committee! I would like to

encourage all of you to do the same! I would also like to ask if you

do have the chance to write or call, in support IHFS, and if your

comfortable sharing that information with me, I would really

appreciate it.

Here are the members of the House Appropriations Sub-Committee on

Health and Human Services and their address:

Representative E.

Room EXT E2.610

P.O. Box 2910

Austin, TX 78768

Representative Dawnna Dukes

Room EXT E1.504

P.O. Box 2910

Austin, TX 78768

Representative Dan Gattis

Room EXT E2.804

P.O. Box 2910

Austin, TX 78768

Representative Chuck Hopson

Room EXT E2.604

P.O. Box 2910

Austin, TX 78768

Representative Carl Isett

Room EXT E2.318

P.O. Box 2910

Austin, TX 78768

Representative Vicki Truitt

Room EXT E2.502

P.O. Box 2910

Austin, TX 78768

If you would like to e-mail this committee you can send email to them

from the following web-site link:

http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees/034.htm

Thank you for your time and for your efforts! I know that a lot of

demands are placed on our time, as parents and advocates. This is an

advocacy opportunity that I believe is worth our time and efforts.

[Texas-Disability-Network] Action Alert on a proposed cut.

>From a PAC e-mail alert:

A huge reduction in family support services has been proposed and

will likely happen if families don't respond.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services

tentatively agreed today to eliminate funding for In Home and Family

Support Services (IHFS) in the DADS budget. This item was left

pending; the subcommittee is scheduled to meet again Friday at 1:00

PM or upon adjournment of the Appropriations Committee. The proposal

would eliminate $18 million over the 2006-2007 biennium. The IHFS

programs of DADS currently provide assistance to 5,936 individuals.

DADS indicates that 1,500 individuals with mental retardation are

currently waiting for IHFS and 21,157 individuals are current waiting

from the legacy DHS IHFS program.

If you want to respond to this action, call:

Rep.

512/463-0734

Rep. Vicki Truitt

512/463-0690

Rep. Dawnna Dukes

512/463- 0506

Rep. Carl Isett

512/463-0676

Rep. Chuck Hopson

512/463-0592

Rep. Dan Gattis

512/463-0309

Rep. Vilma Luna

512/463-0484

The TEAM Project -

www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org