By KAREN LAGRANGE COX
The Louisiana House of Representatives unanimously passed House Resolution (HR) 211, sponsored by Representative Rhonda Butler of District 38, on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities (IDD) in emergency situations. In response to Butler’s sponsorship of this resolution, she said, “I will always be very supportive of the IDD community.”
The resolution directs the office for citizens with developmental disabilities to extend its Family Flexible Fund and waiver provisions in cases of emergency via administrative authority or rulemaking authority as necessary. HR 211 also states, “The House of Representatives of the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby direct the office for citizens with developmental disabilities to establish expedited processes for its Family Flexible Fund and waiver programs in cases of extraordinary circumstances via administrative authority, or rulemaking authority, as necessary, by April 1, 2025.” View the full resolution >>
Such an emergency occurred in 2023 and continued into 2024 when Tish Johnson of Evangeline Parish, whose son Cameron, was in such a situation. Cameron, 15, has autism. Cameron started receiving Home-Community Based Waiver (HCBW) services through Louisiana Medicaid when he was ten, after being on the waiting list for services for ten years.
HCBW assists people with developmental disabilities remain in their homes (with family or on their own) and in the community. HCBW programs are intended to provide services and support that are not otherwise available and assist individuals in remaining in or returning to the community.
Things got difficult for Johnson and her husband to care for Cameron at home, and early in 2023, Cameron was placed in Pinecrest Developmental Center in Pineville, Louisiana, which is a Medicaid-certified intermediate care facility for people with developmental disabilities.
According to Johnson, Cameron was continually being physically abused and neglected in the facility, and she worked to bring Cameron home.
Cameron went home on September 8, 2023; his HCBW was not reinstated until May 2024. During the wait for the reinstatement of Cameron’s HCBW, the Johnsons were getting minimal assistance for their son’s care; however, it wasn’t enough to help with Cameron’s ongoing challenging needs or the challenges the Johnsons faced in providing care for Cameron.
Almost five months after Cameron returned home, Johnson advised that she met with Louisiana State Health and Welfare attorneys Meah Johnson and Taylor Chrisman to tell them of Cameron’s story and his loss of his HCBWS and other services.
Others in the meeting included Butler, Julie Foster Hagan, Assistant Secretary for the OCDD in the Louisiana Department of Health, and others from OCDD.
Johnson discovered that Louisiana did not have a contingency plan for people leaving a facility, and there wasn’t one at the federal level. After meeting with state officials, she learned that Louisiana was implementing a contingency plan for individuals leaving a facility and that a contingency plan was also being implemented at the federal level.
According to Johnson, a federal contingency plan for those with DD leaving facilities due to abuse and/or neglect was finalized in May 2024.
The state contingency plan was established through HR 211 to assist persons with DD leaving a facility due to abuse and/or neglect or other established criteria by OCDD (which is to be established by April 1, 2025), according to Johnson.
On May 31, 2024, HR 211 was taken by the Clerk of the House and presented to
the Secretary of State in accordance with the Rules of the House.
