Example of Testimony on Family Support from the Peshtigo Hearing

Source: Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities
March 2001

Family Support Testimony at Joint Finance Hearings

Throughout the state the Joint Finance Committee has been hearing from families, providers, counties and children of the importance of the Family Support Program and the long waiting lists that people are facing. The testimony below was given at the Joint Finance Hearing on April 5 in Peshtigo by Gaye Wenger from the Marinette County Health and Human Services Department. After Gaye testified, ten year old Alex Koesling, whose family has been on the Family Support waiting list since 1997 stepped to the microphone, and said simply, "My name is Alex Koesling. Please remember me."

Earlier that day, Kara Van Vooren, whose family is on the Family Support waiting list in Oconto County, spoke to the committee. In Kara's words, "I think it went well...Noah was a huge help!! He grinned and flirted with everyone on the panel and when I looked up from my notes, they were smiling ... some almost laughing with him. I was concerned he would say something ... one of the ladies was wearing a very bright yellow suit and in the chairs he asked me if she was like big bird!! I laughed then hoped he wouldn't repeat it in the front!

Gaye Wenger's testimony:

Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Gaye Wenger. I am the Supervisor of Developmental Disabilities Services for the Marinette County Health and Human Services Department, having held this position since 1979.

People with developmental disabilities need your help. Our job together is to provide the support people need to live in our community. We have learned that people living in the community have better lives than people in institutions. We know that children living with their parents rather than in alternate placements have a better chance of achieving independence as they grow up. We know all of this but we don't fund it.

Our Family Support Program helps families who have children with disabilities live at home with their families by providing support services that are necessary for some children. Currently we assist 17 families in Marinette County. 35 families are waiting for us to help them! The Family Support Program can serve children living at home until they are adults. Unfortunately the children on the waiting list may age out of Family Support and then go to the bottom of the adult waiting list as they become adults. Children have been waiting since 1995. That's 6 years and counting!

I would like to introduce you to a family. The Koesling family is here today. This is Jim and Samantha Koesling and their son Alex. Alex is 10 years old. He has a diagnosis of autism and is non-verbal. Because Alex can't talk, people who know him well need to be with him all the time. That reduces everyone's independence! Alex is number9 on the Family Support waiting list. He's been waiting since 1997.

Alex and the other 34 families in Marinette County need you and other legislators to approve additional funding for a program that works! There have been NO out of home placements of children receiving help from the Family Support Program! It works…

When kids leave the school system they are transitioning from a system paid for by public funding to a long waiting list. Today there are 29 adults with developmental disabilities on the waiting list! Some of them need a lot of support, some of them need only a little, but they all wait. There is no increase in funding in this budget. That's a problem for the individuals in Marinette County that need support. As you may already know, the percentage of elderly people of Marinette county's 40,000 residents is above the state average. Many people with developmental disabilities live with their elderly parents. Families "taking care of their own." In the event of death or disability of these elderly unpaid caregivers, those adult children with disabilities will suddenly need paid support. It could happen this afternoon or tomorrow. Financially that's a problem.

The per diems of the Community Integration Program, the home and community based waivers for people with developmental disabilities, have become woefully inadequate. Wisconsin has underfunded community aids, the cash Marinette County needs for match to bring in the federal Medicaid dollars. We have learned a lot through the years about how to better support people so they can be valued citizens in our community….but we need the funding to do it. There is NO increase in this budget for people with developmental disabilities!

As you go ahead with the budget process, please remember the Koesling's---their son Alex and the other 63 people in Marinette County who are waiting. Do everything in your power to support people in need. Increase funding for people with developmental disabilities! They're counting on YOU!

Gaye Wenger, Supervisor
Developmental Disabilities and Adult Protective Services
Marinette County Health and Human Services Department