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The MediSked Blog

Connecticut early childhood screening program is growing nationally

Posted by Elizabeth Chatterton on Sun, Nov 15, 2015 @ 08:30 AM

When it comes to early childhood screening, the State of Connecticut and pediatric expert Dr. Paul Dworkin are really onto something. 

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Tags: ID/DD News, 2015, health

Did you hear about Oklahoma's Wait List Problem? It's out of this decade.

Posted by Elizabeth Chatterton on Fri, Nov 13, 2015 @ 11:42 AM

The title of this post may sound like a joke - but it's incredibly serious, incredibly sad, and sadly very true.

After decreasing last year, the waiting list for Oklahomans needing I/DD services has grown again, to the highest level ever.

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Tags: ID/DD News, Medicaid, 2015

Data Digest Deep Dive: Employment

Posted by Mike Holihan on Wed, Oct 28, 2015 @ 09:19 AM

It's no secret that one of the biggest challenges facing providers and states today is the transition of day programs into vocational or employment programs.  Finding gainful employment for someone with I/DD is no easy task, heck finding gainful employment in general is no easy task! A lot has been written about this topic on both sides.  There are advocates for sheltered employment and states looking for ways to integrate agency run sheltered employment more in the community and there are those on the other side that want to do away with these types of programs and only focus on employment in the community with non-agency run businesses.  Experts across the board all agree that exposing kids at an early age in high school to employment opportunities will go a long way in helping shift the huge unemployment hole that currently exists for people with I/DD.  These experts argue that if kids are not exposed to jobs, then how will they know what they want to do when they grow up?  Where will the drive to work come from? 

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Tags: Home and Community Based Services, 2015

Time is Money: And Pennsylvania Is Running Out of Both

Posted by Tony Conte on Tue, Oct 27, 2015 @ 08:00 PM

It's the end of October and Pennsylvania has been working without a budget for four months now.
Human service agencies are wondering how long this budget impasse will last - as they attempt to determine how long they will last - without funding. 

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Tags: ID/DD News, 2015