The process we went through for in home services

timer lady

Queen of Hearts
Since so many of you have asked or pm'd me on this topic I thought I'd share it here.

If you truly are looking for in home services be prepared to have your entire life documented as an open book to the many agencies involved. Be prepared to have very little privacy, as these services tend to be very intrusive.

It’s a long & arduous battle & if you need the help, it can be done. Generally you start with a call to your county dept. of mental health or CPS. Do your best to find an advocate within the system. That person will be your strongest support through this process.

The biggest hurdle for us was to get a GAF score of 40 or below to be approved for the many services we receive here. Not that the tweedles didn't have that score, it was just jumping through the many hoops. The whole determination (in this state) for receiving services of this nature was based on the tweedles GAF scores, not on diagnoses.

First came the initial application, provided to us by CPS, after a false allegation of abuse by kt. CPS recognized this for what it was & referred us for in home services.

We were assigned a mental health case manager, who brought in the county nurse to assess & determine the number of PCA hours the tweedles qualified for. Things snowballed after kt’s many attempts to run away & her many dissociative states, & the number of calls to the crisis team as well as wm’s continued abusive & explosive behaviors.

We were then labeled a family at risk. That brought a different waiver of services here that provided among other things, respite, PCA's Integrated Listening Systems (ILS) workers, homemakers, & a few home modifications.

Having said all of that, the state of MN, while offering such services does not advertise that these services are out there. I'm sure the state you live in doesn't either. Many times, if the child is on M/A these services will be covered. Keeping in mind that MN requires the least restrictive environment we have acquired these services.

It took a total of 4, almost 5 months to have all of the papers processed, psychiatrist & therapist appts & reports submitted & then the whole case went before the state's medical review board. kt & wm were determined to be disabled by the state of MN which helped us receive a CADI waiver (community alternatives for disabled individuals) to cover the majority of these services.

All in all the process was long & complex. I talked until I was blue in the face with many many individuals at many levels in our state.

I hope this helps.
 
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