CW: Filicide
The national disability service crisis has worsened over the last few years. However, it is only predicted to continue to worsen. According to a survey of 581 community-based service providers for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, virtually all are experiencing staffing shortages.
As a result, 77% of providers have stated that they are refusing or no longer accept referrals. 44% discontinued certain services. Furthermore, 60% are considering discontinuing additional programs or services.
The American Network of Community Options and Resources, or ANCOR, which represents disability service providers across the country, has released its fourth annual study. The most recent survey took place over a four-week period beginning in September 2023.
The findings essentially reflect trends that have continued in recent years, as the industry has struggled to attract workers to low-paying and tough direct support professional positions. However, fast food and retail jobs offer better pay.
Approximately three-quarters of providers said they have delayed the launch of new programs and services, and roughly the same amount said they are having trouble meeting quality requirements. More than half of the providers surveyed said they operate in locations where similar services are scarce, if available at all. ANCOR discovered that industry pressures are forcing people with developmental disabilities to live farther away from their communities, putting them at increased risk of hospitalization and institutionalization.
Last year, Donnie Duggan was unable to return to his day program. The program lacks the necessary staff to support him. In 2001, he was in a car accident. Duggan, who lives in Haverhill, MA, is paralyzed on his left side.
Due to his disabilities, and size, Duggan frequently requires at least two people to help transfer him and assist him with activities of daily living.
Douglas Chafe’s family tries to give him with the best life possible. Douglas is 24 years old and severely autistic. According to his mother, Lorriane Morgan Chafe, he has not been enrolled in any programs since 2021, having graduated from high school.
According to the ARC, as of last year, more than 5,000 people in Massachusetts were not receiving all the required assistance. According to the state, over 70% of people who turned 22 in the last three years receive services.
In other cases, aging parents have to provide care. In Minnesota, Matt and Eunice Morelli bring their 56-year-old son Marco to their apartment in a senior living community several days a week due to staffing shortages at his group home. Matt and Eunice are expected to provide intensive physical care many days a week.
Unfortunately, a lack of services can have tragic consequences. Employees at a nonprofit that serves Georgians with disabilities were shocked to learn in early January 2023 that one of their former clients had been killed in a murder-suicide. It’s not simply that investigators suspect Megan Frix, 26, was murdered by her father. Yet, she was the second Creative Enterprises Forsyth client whose death was caused by a family caregiver.
Creative Enterprises employees see the homicides as the worst outcome of an overburdened system. They also question whether providing occasional 24-hour care for those with disabilities may have prevented the tragedy.
Disabled people nationwide need and deserve access to home and community-based services. Unfortunately, low pay keeps many people from taking these jobs, which means disabled people are often stuck at home.
Sources:
Amer, Yasmin. “Shortage of Care Workers Means Heartache, Stress for People with Disabilities and Their Families.” WBUR News, Boston University, 5 Dec. 2022, https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/12/05/care-work-disability-human-services.
Diament, Michelle. “Survey of Disability Service Providers Finds Deepening Crisis.” Disability Scoop, Disability Scoop, 2 Jan. 2024, http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2024/01/02/survey-of-disability-service-providers-finds-deepening-crisis/30679/.
Fiandaca, Cheryl. “‘Systemic Failure’: Families Say There Aren’t Enough Programs for Young Adults with Autism.” CBS News, 7 June 2023, http://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/iteam-young-adults-autism-developmental-disabilities-services-massachusetts/.
LeMoult, Craig. “Thousands of Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Have Lost Access to Day Programs in Mass..” WGBH, WGBH Educational Foundation, 27 Apr. 2023, https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2023/04/27/thousands-of-adults-with-intellectual-and-developmental-disabilities-have-lost-access-to-day-programs-in-mass.
Landergan, Katherine, and Jeremy Redmon. “AJC Exclusive: Disability Community Worries Lack of Services Drove Desperate Acts.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Cox Enterprises, 10 Mar. 2023, https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/disability-community-worries-lack-of-services-drove-desperate-acts/IS7WYZFGVFALLECE644PS26BVA/.
Swanson, Kirsten. “From Group Home to Senior Living. Staffing Crisis in Minnesota’s Disability Services Forces Aging Parents into Desperate Situations.” KSTP, 4 Aug. 2022, https://kstp.com/5-investigates/from-group-home-to-senior-living-staffing-crisis-in-minnesotas-disability-services-forces-aging-parents-into-desperate-situations/?