I am sooooo scared ! if my sons has any amount of change in his life...its drastic ! everyday for many years we do the same schedule,,the same peolpe..the same everything ! different people will make him completely fail ! with new family plan can we keep same providers and schedules?
I totally understand your fears, April. So much is up in the air right now.
The bottom line is that we aren't sure what's going to happen. There is information about what's in the Governor's budget proposal, but that can change before the budget actually gets signed. So we are a long way from having the programs change.
In the meantime, you can learn all you can about what's in the proposal. Tomorrow, we are having an online chat (Coffee Break) with Lynn Breedlove, the Board president for InControl Wisconsin. He is going to answer questions that people have about the proposal. You will need to be signed in on this website in order to see the chat. You can choose to ask questions or to just watch what other people are asking and saying. Once you are signed in, just go to this page at 9 am. The Coffee Break will last until 9:30 am.
Another way to learn more is to go to the Budget Trainingsthat are being put on around the state. There is no cost to attend these. Probably the closest trainings for you are in Oshkosh on March 6th and in Milwaukee on March 12th.
In the meantime, know that you are not alone... there are a lot of people who are concerned about the possible changes that may take place. Thanks for reaching out through the Self-Determination Network.
Hello,
I am currently listening to DHS Secretary Kitty Rhoades testimony before the Joint Committee on Finance from last night. In her opening statement she was forceful in her declaration that IRIS is not going away (despite the fact that the language is clear in the Governor's budget). She said that IRIS will be integrated into the MCO's.
She seemed pretty certain to me that we can keep the same people and same supports. I'm not convinced however having dealt with an MCO in the past. It seems to me that these organizations have their preferred providers and preferred methods of providing supports. It also seems to me that they may "incentivize" those preferences so that they are used over what you already have in place.
Her testimony is a good 3 hours long and I'm about 20 minutes into it. I'm sure there will be more.
Thank you so much !
Thank you so much ! i will try to be home from work in time tomorrow to listen to Coffee break !
but what does that really mean that IRIS will be folded into the MCCO's? What does that really mean? Does anyone really know?
No one really knows April. DHS doesn't even know...allegedly. I don't believe those statements from the Secretary that they don't have an idea of what it will look like.
weird that Miss /Mrs Rhoades says she is confident this will work ..but admits to knowing nothing until the budget was released....
Secretary Rhoades.
One of the challenges that we're facing with the budget proposal is the lack of detail about how stuff will really work. I think that's why so many people are angry, worried, etc. Please feel free to check out our budget pageshere on the SD Network. We'll try to keep them up-to-date as we get info from advocacy organizations who are trying to analyze the proposal and figure out how it might affect folks.
no idea... We really won't know until they start debating the bill..... I do know that the most powerful thing people can do is to talk with their legislators now and throughout the budget process.
If you're not going to Disability Advocacy day at the Capitol next week Tuesday, you can still call or write to your legislators... share your story, tell them what's important to you and your family, etc. And remember that you can talk with your legislator's staff if you aren't able to talk with him/her directly - staff are very important in terms of informing legislators what's going on with constituents.
Great! Now go take a break, relax, enjoy the weather this weekend.... 
