First Place in Category #7 – Oral Presentations

Information Literacy Award

STUDENT: Micah Cameron

PROJECT ADVISOR: Ana Cooke

ABSTRACT

In the USA, the most vulnerable members of our population are often deprived of necessary resources by government programs that are underfunded and run by companies that lack the resources necessary to address serious issues. Individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities are no exception. Families who need help caring for loved ones and people who live in the community and need assistance with activities of daily living face ever-increasing barriers to accessing services.

Over the past decade, Pennsylvania has made it increasingly difficult for agencies that provide home and community-based services to individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities to operate. Not only are these agencies not reimbursed appropriately, but they must also contend with an exponential increase in regulatory burdens, which make hiring and retaining qualified staff extremely difficult.

This presentation will explore how reimbursement rate stagnation and overregulation have combined to create a perfect storm that has made it increasingly difficult for agencies to continue providing home and community-based services to individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Fortunately, there are solutions to this problem, some of which have been implemented in other states. However, we must first recognize the severity of this problem and allocate an appropriate amount of funding to home and community-based services to ensure that some of the most vulnerable members of our population get the assistance they deserve.