Testimony from Timothy and Martha W

Our son is a patient/student in a Treatment Program. Prior to his intake there we had Home and Community Based Waiver services to support our family. As you know the COPS add-on package boosts the cost of Day treatment so high that it emptied the pot of funds left to pay for Waiver, so we lost those critical support services when our son entered day treatment.

The crisis surrounding our family related to raising a seriously emotionally disturbed child did not however, end with the incorporation of day treatment. Our family remains in crisis and our son is facing imminent hospitalization and or residential treatment. Waiver services were created to keep kids out of the hospital and we need our Waiver back.

We are asking you to reform the current system of financing outpatient mental health services which uses add-on structure and replace it with a more rational system of payment so that families in our county may once again have simultaneous access to desperately needed Waiver and Day Treatment. Currently, families outside of our county do have this simultaneous access to Waiver and Day Treatment. We should be afforded the same benefit. Please help us keep our son out of the hospital, in school, and at home with his brother, sister, Mom and Dad.

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