Latest news with #Chapter257
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Advocates warn 'walking wounded' threatened by cuts
BOSTON (SHNS) – Representing their experiences living through the child welfare system, a multigenerational ensemble of performers took center stage Wednesday at the State House as service providers and child welfare advocates called on the state to support key programs. The Treehouse Foundation's Truth Tellers Theater Ensemble gave voice to what they called 'the walking wounded,' most of whom have dealt with the Department of Children and Families entering and tangibly impacting their lives. 'In the last few years, we've made a lot of great progress in reducing the number of children coming into care and really paying attention to the upstream prevention support that families need to stay safe and stable,' Children's League of Massachusetts Executive Director Rachel Gwaltney told the News Service at an advocacy day event in Great Hall. 'What we're worried about is that cuts to programs at the state level, cuts to funding for the most vulnerable people at the federal level, are going to drive more families into the child welfare system that don't need to be here,' Gwaltney added. A 30-year-old nonprofit advocacy group, the League includes 60 organizations that provide direct services, advocacy and education to children and families in Massachusetts. According to data cited by the League, up to 80% of children in foster care experience significant mental health issues, compared to 18-22% of the general population, and nearly 85% of families investigated by child protective services nationally have incomes below 200% of the federal poverty line, the League said. Gwaltney said the sector struggles to fund the workforce for key service and clinician positions, which ensure treatment in a timely fashion and access to care. A priority for the League includes plugging funding for Chapter 257 human services rates in the fiscal 2026 budget. 'It's important that we maintain what we've been building, between the Behavioral Health Network, between community-based programs like the family resource centers,' Gwaltney said. 'We've got to keep maintaining those investments so that we don't slide backwards.' The League's other workforce-related legislative priorities includes bills that would create an education loan repayment program for some human services workers (S 218, H 1423) and bills that would eliminate the pay disparity between state and community-based human services workers (S 130, H 223). The League and its affiliates, including national mental health provider Youth Villages, said the biggest question mark during budget season has been support for the Department of Mental Health. Gov. Maura Healey's fiscal 2026 budget proposal slashed DMH case managers in half and put three state-funded youth mental health programs at risk of closing. The House adopted an amendment in its budget that requires DMH case manager staffing levels not be reduced below fiscal 2025 levels. On Tuesday, the Senate added some guardrails for DMH case managers to its budget, though the Senate budget will not protect DMH jobs in danger. 'Mental health is an issue from birth all the way through adulthood, so if we can provide intensive services at childhood, then we're going to help reduce recidivism through adulthood,' Director of Specialized Operations for Youth Villages Jacque Cutillo said. Child welfare advocates are also pushing for maintaining, and increasing, funding in budget line items pertaining to Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Services for Children & Families. 'One of our key priorities is to maintain those services and make sure we don't close beds that we know are really important for families. Not only do they keep children safe, they keep children getting treatment, they allow parents to be in the workforce,' Gwaltney said. 'It's all sort of interconnected.' Gwaltney called potential Medicaid funding cuts 'the biggest threat for our sector.' 'It funds a lot of the Children's Behavioral Health Network in Massachusetts, in addition to funding primary health care for children and for low-income families,' Gwaltney said. 'When we see those health outcomes being attacked by lack of access to services, that's when we're going to see more families destabilize, more children with more intensive behavioral needs that don't have access to treatment that they need,' she continued. Black children are 1.5 times more likely, and Hispanic children are 1.7 times more likely to have an open DCF case than white children, according to DCF data. Black, Hispanic/Latinx and Native American children are also more likely to have out-of-home placements compared to white children. The League supports a bill (S 148, H 262) that would enhance reporting and analysis on disproportionality and transition age youth outcomes, and involve more timely notifications to children and youth attorneys. Another bill (S 1280, H 197) would establish a commission to study insurance liability for foster care providers. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Autism prevalence fuels push for Turning 22 supports
BOSTON (SHNS) – A week before House Democrats unveil their annual budget bill, autism advocates stepped up their plea Tuesday for lawmakers to pump more funding into the human services workforce, with the aim of bolstering care for young adults transitioning out of the special education system. The Turning 22 program, which has its largest class to date and helps young adults move into adult services, features an increasing share of participants on the autism spectrum, said Katie Terino, chair of Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts (AFAM). In 2019, 27% of Turning 22 participants were autistic, compared to 51% today, Terino said. 'The reality is that many of these young adults aging out of the school system will find themselves on a waitlist or with a reduction in services because we don't have the capacity to meet their needs,' Terino told hundreds of advocates, individuals with autism and their providers in the Great Hall. 'The increasing prevalence and complexity of autism, and the increasing need for services, brings both challenges and opportunities,' Terino continued. 'It requires us to rethink traditional approaches and find innovative solutions. The old way of doing things simply won't meet the evolving needs of this growing population.' Terino said AFAM, which functions as a division of The Arc of Massachusetts, is strengthening its collaboration with that larger statewide advocacy organization, which represents 200,000 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism, as well as their families. With the aim of supporting the workforce behind the Turning 22 program, The Arc wants the Legislature to funnel an extra $100 million into the Chapter 257 reserve to modestly raise pay for entry-level direct support professionals. Gov. Maura Healey recommended funding the account at $207 million. 'Please bring the rates of pay to a livable wage for these workers,' Maura Sullivan, CEO of The Arc, said over audience applause. 'We need to do this so thousands can come off the waitlist. Whatever goes on federally, the state must invest in the workforce in Turning 22 and in day programs. We need to fortify our programs and services now because we are the most vulnerable to these federal cuts. Lawmakers, please stand with us on this.' The hourly pay for entry-level workers would increase from $20.79 to $22.35, The Arc said at an event last month. Amit Basak, the father of identical twin sons who have profound autism, explained the so-called Turning 22 'cliff,' or the 'sharp drop-off into uncertainty' when young adults lose access to services and treatment. 'When someone with profound autism turns 22, the services they relied on — school, therapy, specialized programming — come to a screeching halt,' Basak said. 'With all due respect to the leaders here, I think our state government has been caught off guard by the increasing complexity and severity of this population. Agencies like DDS, DMH, and MassHealth have overlapping rules, conflicting rules (and) confusing eligibility criteria. We're also in the staffing crisis.' When young adults are on the waitlist for services, they can start regressing, Terino said. Parents may also need to scale back going to work to care for their adult children, she said. 'Parents get overwhelmed, and they also can be isolated. Stress, depression, anxiety goes up for the whole family,' Terino told the News Service. 'Divorce is not uncommon. Sometimes, you can even see abuse happening in the household because everyone just gets very overwhelmed.' More than 75,000 Massachusetts residents have autism, said Undersecretary for Human Services Mary McGeown, who acknowledged the waitlists and service gaps Bay Staters are facing. She also presented a proclamation from the governor that recognizes April as Autism Awareness Month. 'News coming out of Washington over the past several weeks have left many of us concerned about how changes at the federal level could impact services for people with disabilities here in Massachusetts,' McGeown said as she invoked MassHealth, which serves more than 2 million Bay Staters, half of whom have disabilities. 'We're carefully looking and analyzing the changing landscape of the federal government.' Congressional Republicans are eyeing cuts to Medicaid with the aim of tamping down on fraud, waste and abuse. Healey's budget incorporates $16 billion in federal dollars, with the vast majority tied to Medicaid. The Arc has been asking members to fill out a community survey to find out the impact of President Donald Trump's executive orders, as well as to learn how potential service cuts could affect their quality of life. Sullivan signaled The Arc has an ally in Sarah Peterson, who last week was permanently appointed as commissioner of the Department of Development Services. 'We're super excited,' Sullivan told the News Service. 'We know she's already started to work on some initiatives that really do address profound autism and those with more complex, challenging behavior, along with employment and other initiatives. She's increased the autism kids waiver.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As commissioner, Peterson sees DDS 'through a different lens'
BOSTON (SHNS) – Department of Developmental Services Acting Commissioner Sarah Peterson has been permanently installed to the post. Peterson, who served as general counsel at DDS from 2022 to 2024, took over at the agency in September following the retirement of Jane Ryder. DDS serves more than 49,000 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and acquired brain injuries, Peterson said at a recent budget hearing. In recent months, Peterson said she's prioritized visiting DDS group homes, community-based day programs, day habilitation programs and assistive technology center facilities. 'As a lawyer for DDS, I spent a lot of time behind the desk,' Peterson told the News Service on Thursday. 'And now, getting out in the field and meeting the people who we support, meeting their families and meeting our workforce has just been really wonderful for me to see the agency through a different lens, and hear firsthand a lot of the great work that we're doing that is causing improvements in people's lives and allowing them to access the community, or gain employment or be more independent.' DDS is grappling with surging demand from Bay Staters who need more complex care, including young adults in the Turning 22 program. The agency is in the process of consolidating group homes that had long-term vacancies to save costs and redirect resources. DDS is also bracing for potential federal funding cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits, which Peterson told lawmakers 'would have a devastating impact on people with disabilities.' DDS generates $1 billion in Medicaid revenue each year that flows into the state's General Fund, which Peterson said comes from reimbursements on home- and community-based waivers. 'We're just trying to really stay closely on top of that,' Peterson said. 'I meet weekly with some of my counterparts around the country, so we can all share information to make sure that we're staying on top of what's coming out of Washington and can kind of collectively prepare for it.' Disability advocates have called on lawmakers to significantly increase funding to the human services sector, with the aim of boosting pay for direct support professionals and paring down long wait lists for care. Peterson acknowledged the workforce 'continues to be an issue,' though she pointed to early signs of progress after last year's budget invested $390 million into human services provider rates. 'We've seen some data that the rate increases, the Chapter 257 rate increases that were rolled out by the Legislature last year, have already started improving things in terms of our workforce,' Peterson said. 'We've seen lower vacancy rates across provider agencies.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
