Did you know this about MaineCare services for people with disabilities?

There are some real absurdities in the current MaineCare regulations about work services for people with disabilities. I wish George Carlin were around to do some of his comic word play on the current situation.  Maybe he could make it funny.

Did you know that MaineCare regulations don’t financially support any community based employment facilities (what they call sheltered shops), but it does financially support people with disabilities working as volunteers for no pay in the community. There are a lot of these folks with obvious motivation cleaning out poop from animal cages and doing janitorial services for free on MaineCare’s (taxpayers) dime.  Hey, what’s not to like about cleaning up other people’s ‘”stuff” for free? 

Do you know the term “Van 101”?  This is a billable activity under MaineCare.  People with disabilities get up early in the morning to drive long distances to a day care center (funded agency) get out of that vehicle briefly to be assigned a community integration activity.  After the long drive to the center their community integration activity is to get on a van with several others with disabilities and usually one staff.  They will drive to the nearest retail center or animal shelter and socially integrate by walking around in a cluster of disability.  Have you ever been to the mall or Wal-Mart and seen the cluster of disability walking around?  Maybe you saw two or three clusters as there seems to be more agencies utilizing “Van 101″ than there are retail centers or animal shelters.   Maybe you waited in line behind eight or ten people in one of these clusters so that one of them ( usually the solo staff driver) could make a purchase. Take heart, these are your MaineCare dollars at work.  This activity of community integration is a very popular way for administrators of ” support” agencies to manage their “client” population.  Let’s see, 8 passengers, one staff, a couple of hours in the van, walk around the mall, Wal-Mart, or clean out dog poop at the animal shelter…..all billable stuff under MaineCare and people are learning a skill!???

Did you know people with disabilities who work are in jeopardy of loosing their special needs housing?  They will have to choose between a job or  their home if they live in a MaineCare funded housing facility.

Did you know there is a movement to eliminate the sub-minimum wage and hour law?  This movement thinks it would be better for people with disabilities to experience “Van 101” and to work as  volunteers for free than to work in a structured employment setting learning work culture, manufacturing skills and, oh yes, getting paid for what they produce.