MRDD waivers in Cuyahoga County

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

I just came from a talk given by the person in charge of waiver lists

at the Cuyahoga County MRDD. One of the points that happened to come

up was the topic of priorities in assigning waivers.

Apparently here in Cuyahoga County waivers for young children are not

a priority. The speaker estimated that 95% of waivers go to adults,

and that it is " very rare " for a child to get a waiver.'`

One family mentioned they'd waited 13 years for a Level One waiver

for a child who applied when five and is now 18.

The speaker said there are 1000 new Level One waivers to be assigned

over the next 3 years, and they will most likely go to adults.

One of the priority categories is for caregivers over age 65, which

does make sense to me.

However I would like to hear people's comments on this breakdown of

adult vs. child, given the fact that early intervention for something

like autism is the most cost-effective way of dealing with it and

could *prevent* the need for a waiver in future.

I know some here use the Autism Scholarship, but it's not available

to children under 3, as is neither insurance coverage, BCMH, or

apparently the MRDD waiver program in this county.

Is this not indeed the best time to catch and begin treating autism?

If anybody knows what group is in charge of setting these priorities,

I would also appreciate that information.

Thank you.