A sampling of e-mails Sen. Larry Shaw, D-Cumberland, said he received following WRAL-TV's report on Implementation 35.
Dear Senator Shaw:
Thank you so much for advocating for North Carolina families with disabled adult children who are cared for by family members. I having a severely autistic mentally retarded daughter who receives CAP services here at home. After years of dealing with CAP workers provided by agencies the best thing to happen for our family was when I could become *******'s CAP provider. I know my daughter better than than anyone else and I deal with my daughter better than anyone else. Implementation of these new technical amendments to the CAP waiver system will be a disaster for our family and many other families across the state.
I'm sure you've heard the recent news stories about the 10 year old autistic boy who wondering off from and caregivers in a facility and drown in a nearby pond. I can envision something like this happening to my daughter and would have no peace of mind if I was forced to put her in that same type of situation. Please help us do what is best for our children. Thank you so much .
Dear Senator Shaw,
We saw you on the WRAL evening news Monday night and we appreciate your interest in Implementation 35. My husband and I have a 30-year-old daughter who has a rare chromosome abnormality that has caused numerous handicaps, including mental retardation, cerebral palsy, seizures, vision and hearing impairments, and she requires twenty-four hour care. She receives hours through the CAP program, but we live so far out in the country that it is impossible to find qualified people to work with her. Our daughter is our life. My husband and I have cared for her all her life and would do anything to keep her at home. Due to health problems, my husband is now unable to work, and he is unable to take care of our daughter so that I may go to work. The minimum wage I receive working with my daughter barely allows us to survive, but we have been able to stay together as a family and to keep our daughter at home. When Implementation 35 takes effect February 22, I will be forced to find a job outside of the home, but without help to take care of our daughter, the only alternative is institutionalization. Please help us, we do not know where to turn.
You said you were considering presenting a bill to stop Implementation 35. Please, please help us and the many other families like us. The Department of Mental Health will not listen to families. Mike Moseley said on the news that they will consider each case on a case by case basis, but that was just a way to hide what is really about to happen, and each family will be left to fight alone. Most families are exhausted and struggling just to get through each day taking care of our loved ones. We do not have the financial, educational, or physical strength to take on the Dept. of Mental Health. And once Implementation 35 takes affect, they will not be required to work with us in any way.
Thank you for your time and your help in this matter. If there is any one else I should contact about this, please let me know.
God bless you,
Senator Shaw:
Kudos to you! I support your possible introduction of a bill to block this ridiculous measure.
Dear Mr. Shaw,
I watched the story on WRAL last night with William Hancock and his son Wayne. I have meet them several times at meetings in Raleigh with the division on this update . I am also a parent of a MR/DD son who is now 25 and I care for him at home. The cut in hours will not affect my son and I at this time, but it could in the future as his health is getting worse. As a parent worker we have all the same trainings as anyone else, we have monthly visits from case managers and have to justify why we are the best worker. My son's Doctor wrote a letter to the state in support of me as my sons worker and the reasons why it is best and we still get questioned from our LME. We must jump through hoops every year when his plan of care comes due and it gets hard. This is more stressful on families, than working round the clock. My son was injured at birth, he is deaf has Cerebral Palsy and his classed as Moderate MR and he also has seizures. I get paid for 50 hours a week, but I work much more than that. I have asked people at the Division to come live my life for a week before these kind of decisions are made, but no one has ever taken me up on that. Please do the bill to stop 35. It is asking to much to take our life away from us and that is what our adult children are. It is why we do what we do day in and day out. There are no workers more qualified then us. Please contact me if you want to know more. I live in Morganton of as we are known The Foothills. Thank you for your time.
Good Afternoon,
I wanted to write and say that I’m thankful to you for standing up for families that are taking care of their loved ones.
The everyday duties that they face must be overwhelming at times but they are doing what is right. Implementation 35 should not even be a choice in these matters. I find it hard to believe that Implementation 35 is a money saving option. We have families willing to take care of their loved ones on a daily basics and not put them into nursing facilities were the cost is sky high. I’m sure the cost that we give these families is no were near what we would give a nursing facility to take care of them.
I wanted to thank you for your stand on this issue and ask that it continues and gets this Implementation 35 thrown out.
Dear Senator Shaw,
I am writing to you to urge you to introduce a bill to stop Implementation 35. I saw the story of Mr Hancock and his son, and I felt compelled to write to you on this matter. I am the mother of a delightful 9 year old boy with severe disabilities. He receives CAP services and is in school, and it has been our experience that finding caring and dedicated CAP workers is very difficult, and it's only getting worse as he gets older and bigger. We hope never to institutionalize our son, who cannot speak and thus could not tell us if he was well-treated. The program allowing for paid family care looked like a viable alternative. 105 hours a week is about right; my son sleeps nine hours a night but has to be monitored for seizures.
I am also going to write to my state senator and representative on this issue (I live in Cary). I hope that you will stop this inhumane and insensitive Implementation 35. Funding for respite care would be far more sensible.
