Many of my clients have reported new challenges from Regional Center and other service providers. These providers are cutting services to the bone in any way they can. Some Regional Center workers are demanding financial information about the family (which, except the the Family Cost Participation Program, they have no authority to do).

Other organizations, such as the Social Security Administration, are demanding copies of entire Special Needs Trusts, presumably to look for holes they can exploit. (I am happy to share with my clients that the SSA has not found any holes in our trusts.)

School District budgets and services, already tight, are getting tighter.

A Boston Globe article on July 5, 2007 shows that this trend is not limited to California but is nationwide. As agencies face flat funding levels but increased numbers of participants, benefits are squeezed. We can expect this problem to continue and even grow.

Read on for more about the article and some solutions.

Delays in obtaining services are not limited to government programs. Private services, such as schools and developmental pediatricians are also overwhelmed. In Boston, a diagnosis of Autism may be delayed by as much as 9 months, sacrificing much needed early intervention.

“Many people who haven’t had the experience assume the hardest part is hearing your child has autism,” said Ann Guay of Bedford, whose 12-year-old son, Brian, has the disorder. “But I think the greater challenge is trying to obtain the services you know your child desperately needs.” — Boston Globe

As a firm, we have moved to address this problem by assisting clients with advocacy with the appropriate agency. Please call us if you are having a problem getting necessary benefits.

The legislature in Massachusetts is increasing funding. We will be on the lookout for proposed legislation to do the same in California and will let you know how to support that legislation.