Latest news with #Turning22
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New business for neurodiverse children and families opens during National Autism Acceptance Month
EASTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – A new business is catering to neurodiverse children and their families in Hampshire County. It's National Autism Acceptance Month, so this business comes at a perfect time, when more community spaces are needed for children on the autism spectrum. The residents of Easthampton saw this need in the community. 'We're seeing a clear community need for additional support, programming and education for some of our youngest residents who have a completely different way of communicating, interacting and growing in the world,' said Nicole LaChapelle, Mayor of Easthampton. Autism prevalence fuels push for Turning 22 supports Three women, Amy Christiansen, Suzanne Hopkins, and Sunia Hood, used their personal experience and research over the last five months to find a solution to support neurodiverse children and their families. Right next to Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters, they opened up The Neuro Bridge on Wednesday. It's an organization that aims to provide unique sensory, social, and emotional needs in an inclusive environment. 'So what we're doing on Saturdays from 1:00 to 5:00, we have a play group, its a sensory friendly play group, where we'll work with the kiddos on socializing and developmental skills, so its an opportunity for parents to step away,' said Amy Christiansen, co-founder of The Neuro Bridge. If it gets too loud or too crowded, children can come into another room, called the Quiet Zone, where the lights are dimmed to calm their sensory system. Other rooms will be used for family consultations, caregiver support groups, and hands-on workshops for a reasonable cost. 'We're hoping to do some work with the Department of Developmental Services to help navigate how parents and families can find funding opportunities,' Christiansen said. They'll also be working with hair salons and restaurants to train their employees on how to work with kids on the spectrum. Their goal is to make families feel comfortable going out in public no matter what. 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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DDS chief: Group home consolidation won't mean service cuts
BOSTON (SHNS) – The Department of Developmental Services is preparing to consolidate residential group homes, as agency leaders prepare for growing caseloads from additional Bay Staters who depend on state-funded care, including young adults. DDS Acting Commissioner Sarah Peterson on Tuesday described the consolidation as a 'one-time right-sizing of our existing capacity, so that we can be really intentional about how we move forward for growth.' Still, Peterson stressed the agency is not cutting services for vulnerable residents. 'We discovered that there were a number of places where there had been vacancies, where there hadn't been new referrals accepted in, et cetera,' Peterson said during a budget hearing in Worcester. 'And so we asked our areas and regions to just take a close look and see if there were ways that we could shift things around so that people wouldn't lose services, but we could more efficiently use our existing capacity.' A Healey administration budget brief mentioned the effort, saying it is intended to 'more efficiently utilize existing housing and staffing infrastructure.' The brief said DDS 'will work closely with individuals and families to identify appropriate placements and carefully transition clients as needed to ensure continuity of care.' Sen. Jo Comerford, vice chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said the consolidation represents 'about a $19 million expected cut to the budget.' The Northampton Democrat pressed Peterson on how many group home residents will be affected. Peterson told Comerford she would follow up with data about affected individuals by region, though the acting commissioner pegged the total number at 'well under 100.' In another cost-saving measure, Peterson said DDS also updated a policy to ensure the state is no longer paying for 'extended vacancies' at group homes. 'I'm not talking about short-term absences. I'm talking about months — months and months-long vacancies in homes that are not being filled,' Peterson said. 'And we need to, you know, make sure that we're getting value for what we're paying for those services.' The restructuring comes as the administration eyes investments into other disability services. Gov. Maura Healey's proposed budget recommends $116 million for the Turning 22 classes, which supports young adults in their transition from special education to adult services, in fiscal 2025 and 2026, Peterson said. 'Each year, the Turning 22 program supports an increasing class of individuals, with the FY '26 class anticipated to be over 1,500. In addition to the increased enrollments, we've also seen an expansion in the number of individuals with a diagnosis of autism and increased acuity across the board,' Peterson said. 'The governor's House 1 proposal increases the adult autism line by 20% to support the significant expansion in the number of eligible individuals.' Peterson, in response to a question from Rep. Chynah Tyler, said Healey's budget recommendation would allow DDS to 'meet the needs of our service population.' Disability advocates with The Arc of Massachusetts called on lawmakers this month to inject more dollars into the Turning 22 account, as well as boost pay for direct support professionals, to tackle wait lists for services. 'I'm going to believe that the funding is adequate for the Turning 22 program,' Comerford said later in the hearing. 'I have to say that that is the greatest pain point in my district. Hands down, no question, that leap to 22 and the services that families are offered in Western Mass. has really been challenging.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
