My Vision

I envision a full continuum of care for those with a wide range of developmental disabilities and mental health and behavioral challenges, which is highly specialized, person-centered, trauma-informed, and free of abuse and neglect, and where service recipients with complex needs can prosper and flourish. We need to offer services à la carte,  where service recipients can choose when, where, and which services are provided. We need to train staff in the correct use of Positive Behavior Supports and other therapeutic interventions for adults and children with intellectual developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health and behavioral challenges including the Skills System and Zones of Regulation Programs. It would be ideal if service recipients had real friends and companions, not just staff and other service recipients. Just having two staff in the house, sitting on social media all day, not interacting with service recipients, is not acceptable. Service recipients should have access to appropriate transportation options, including small group rides when a bus or train is too overwhelming. Group homes and day programs should be architecturally designed to be accessible and therapeutic for those with a wide range of disabilities, including being sensory-friendly for those with Autism. We need to ensure that provider agencies do not abuse or violate service recipient rights by simply writing it up as a behavior support.  We need to ensure that behavior modification plans adhere to a set of current meaningful, professional standards and are effective at both rewarding positive behavior and extinguishing negative behavior. We need more onsite unannounced State inspections to ensure that providers are following regulations, meant for the service recipients wellbeing. There should be a “whistleblower” policy providing financial incentives for staff to report other inappropriate staff actions. The State should impose monetary fines on provider agencies for bad inspections and frequent complaints. It would be ideal if service recipients could work in a job of interest that will lead to a professional career, with support, especially for those who are capable of more than just piecework. We do not want to underestimate or overestimate service recipients’ abilities, such that we are setting them up for success rather than failure. Restraints and seclusions should be reserved for dangerous behavioral emergencies only and not used as a consequence for unruly behavior or because the staff is frustrated and it is not to be thought of as a behavior intervention, as it is in several DDD policies. Planned use of restraints is not a dangerous behavioral emergency by virtue of it being planned. If a program resembles an “institution” or deserves to be called an “institution”, then it needs to change how its programs are operated or be eliminated from the continuum of care. It would be great if social workers were trained in clinical criteria for each level of care and we should have access to written clinical criteria that describe the level of care, admission, discharge, exclusionary, and continued stay criteria, using clinical diagnostic and observable behavioral terms to describe who is most appropriate for that level.  Having a full continuum of care for the most challenging service recipients is the heart of my work. Thank you.