Children's And Family Support Services
- Statement of Purpose
- Guiding Principles
- Services Provided
- Accessing Services
- Interagency Collaboration
- Role Of Regulations
Statement of Purpose:
The purpose of this position statement is to provide a clear description and explanation of the mission of the DDA as it relates to services provided to children with developmental disabilities and their families.
The mission of the DDA is to provide leadership to assure the full participation of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families in all aspects of community life and to promote their empowerment to access quality supports and services that foster personal growth, independence, and productivity.
The DDA advances its mission on behalf of children through multiple endeavors that support families and communities to care for children with developmental disabilities. Children and families are encouraged to access those generic services that are available. DDA's role is to support, rather than supplant, families' access to generic and natural supports.
Guiding Principles for Working with Children and Families:
The following principles guide Family and Children's Services:
- Families live in diverse situations and their lives consist of more than DDA services and supports.
- Problems are solvable. The DDA system should do whatever it takes, within fiscal constraints, to solve problems. This may require creative solutions.
- The criteria used to determine eligibility for DDA services shall be consistent across the State. Services shall be equally accessible for families.
- Supports need to be provided in a fiscally responsible manner that increases the numbers of families served. When partnerships are created with families and communities, supports will be more cost effective and satisfying to the families served.
What Services Does DDA Fund for Children and their Families?
Family Support Services
Family Support Services (FSS) represent an array of services and assistance, funded by DDA that are provided to families with children who have developmental disabilities. Services are based on each family’s unique needs and the belief that all children belong with caring families. The intent of DDA is to provide or arrange for the necessary supports to prevent crises.
The DDA endorses the following principles for family support services that are adapted from the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council's publication Features of Quality Support and are in DDA's Blueprint for Family Support Services:
- Supports focus on the entire family, not just the child with a developmental disability.
- Supports are reliable and readily available.
- Families are seen as unique and best able to define their own needs. Families direct the supports they receive.
- Families have choices about who provides support to them.
- Supports change as families' needs and desires change.
- Supports should be provided before families experience extraordinary stress
and feel in "crisis". - Families are given assistance, information and knowledge necessary to make choices and decisions for themselves.
- Children’s unique abilities, needs and preferences are recognized and they are encouraged to learn, grow and develop relationships.
- Families, including their children with disabilities, are supported to enjoy and participate in all aspects of community life.
- Care and support from neighbors, extended families, friends, religious and community organizations are important. Family support services build on these existing sources of support.
- Family representatives are active in planning, designing and evaluating the family support service program.
These supports meet everyday needs and are often critical in avoiding family crises that can become much more costly, both emotionally and financially. Family Support Services may include, but are not limited to:
- Information and referral
- Assistance in identifying needs
- Advocacy to obtain needed services and benefits
- Assistance locating and acquiring services like:
- Respite and child care
- Adaptive equipment and assistive technology
- Educational aids and toys
- Accessibility modifications to the family home and vehicle
- Support groups
- Counseling
- Behavioral Supports
- Parent Education
- Special diets, clothing, and personal care items
- Home health care and other in-home assistance
- Social and recreational activities
- Transportation to medical and other important appointments
- Medical and dental expenses not covered by insurance
- Other services and supports unique to each family’s needs
- Other supports that enhance the ability of families to meet the needs of their child in their home and community, including resource coordination.
Family supports are delivered primarily through a network of non-profit providers and licensees. In instances where all possible attempts have been made to support the child within the home setting and all available community supports have been exhausted, additional avenues of support may be considered if funding is available. Efforts may then be made to support the child in another family-type situation within the community. This would allow the child to maintain current community ties and relationships, including those developed with the education system. Any alternative home placement would be pursued with the active involvement of other agencies responsible for serving children, both in terms of development of appropriate services for the child as well as funding of services.
In such instances, services are provided with the full understanding that:
- The overall goal is to return the child to the natural family as soon as possible.
- Arrangements will be made with the input of the family, and other pertinent agencies.
- An emphasis will be placed on continued parental involvement throughout the process, optimizing family strengths. Each family has a critical contribution to offer in relation to the care of their child, including their love, and intimate knowledge of their child.
- The child with a developmental disability is to be served in the least restrictive and most cost effective manner possible.
Transition Services
How Do Families Access the Service System?
The DDA is not a child placement agency and services funded by the DDA are not an entitlement. Supports are provided in the least intrusive manner possible. Services are provided to children with developmental disabilities and their families irrespective of household income. Unfortunately, the DDA does not have sufficient funding for everything that every family wants and needs. Therefore, the DDA encourages providers to explore other financial resources, including cost-sharing mechanisms with families, generic resources and other benefits to which the family may be entitled.
Families in need of low intensity support services may access them directly through one of the local agencies providing DDA funded Family Support Services. "Low level supports", sometimes called "rolling access", are those supports identified by the family that may be provided for less than $2,000 annually; however, these supports are limited by the extent to which resources are available. This helps families to receive support quickly without going through the full eligibility process. Families need only verify the child's developmental disability by providing the FSS Providers with:
- A copy of the child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP), or
- Individual Family Support Plan (IFSP), or
- A statement verifying that the child has a developmental disability from his or her doctor.
Families may also receive these low level supports while the child's application for full DDA services is being processed. For all services that cost over $2,000 annually the child must go through the full DDA application and eligibility process. Families may obtain a list of Family Support Providers as well as an application for determination of DDA eligibility through their regional office.
Children with developmental disabilities receive services through the DDA based on an "Individual Plan". The family is assisted in creating this plan by a resource coordinator or the family support coordinator once eligibility has been established. The plan may be very simple, only a sentence or two describing an item a family wants, or it may be very comprehensive depending on the family situation. The family then uses this plan, when funding is approved as they interview and select a service provider. The provider develops a support plan and budget based on the individual plan.
A Guide to (DDA funded) Services for each region is available through the regional office or the resource coordination office. This provides information about service providers to assist families with the selection process.
A Working Relationship Between Families and DDA:
Self-determination is the guiding principle in the provision of services funded and regulated by the DDA. In order to assure that services appropriately address the needs of the child and family, families are encouraged to express needs, desires, and expectations for the services they receive. In instances where the family has a concern or disagrees with the DDA services that they are receiving, the family is encouraged to address the issue with their resource coordinator, family support coordinator, or other staff of the agency providing supports. If those efforts are not successful, the family may contact the regional office for assistance in resolving the issues or making an appeal.
Interagency Collaboration:
The DDA collaborates with other agencies responsible for the welfare of children. DDA representatives serve on multiple interagency and intra-agency boards, coordinating councils, committees, and task forces at the state and local levels to coordinate and share resources for children. In addition, arrangements for co-funding of interagency service plans may be made for children who qualify for services through multiple agencies in order to maximize available resources.
The DDA works in conjunction with other state and local agencies to assess the community's capacity to meet the ongoing needs of children with developmental disabilities and their families. Such ongoing needs may range from medical or behavioral services to supports for siblings and parents to childcare concerns. Recommendations for policy changes and service modifications or enhancements may be made in an effort to develop new, or maintain existing, quality community supports to meet those needs.
The DDA believes that open, clear and regular communication is necessary in order to provide comprehensive and coordinated services for children. Strong interagency and intra-agency communication channels will enhance the State's ability to provide for the ongoing needs of children with developmental disabilities and their families living in Maryland.
Developmental Disabilities Administration Regional Offices:
The DDA utilizes four regional offices to oversee the provision of services. The regional offices are responsible for:
- Developing, coordinating, and evaluating services to ensure a comprehensive and effective service delivery system;
- Reviewing information provided on the initial applications.
- Making the final determination regarding eligibility and the priority category (categories) for indicated service needs.
- Making funding decisions and managing the Regional allocation, as well as negotiating and processing budgets for DDA funded services.
Each of the regional offices strives to meet the differing needs of children and families in the areas they serve. The DDA is working to establish a full range of Family Support Services (FSS) in every county for children with every type of developmental disability. While not every agency providing FSS necessarily provides all services to children with all disability types, resources and referral information are coordinated between agencies to address each child's individual needs.
The Role of Regulations:
DDA contracts with licensees (primarily non-profit agencies) to provide services to people with developmental disabilities and their families. The regulations governing DDA licensees honor individual choice and offer licensees the flexibility to adapt and respond to the individual's and family's needs and preferences. They emphasize satisfaction, growth and development for the individual and their family, while assuring quality. The regulations address both the range of service options available from the DDA and the values that impact on quality of life. They outline the framework from which licensees offer supports and services to meet the needs, preferences, and desires of the individuals and families they serve.
The services include but are not limited to the following:
- Support Services
- Respite
- Resource Coordination
- Behavioral Support Services
- Vocational and Day Services
- Community Residential Services
Agencies may also request approval from the DDA to develop new and innovative models of supports and services through the development of an Innovative Program Service Plan.
Conclusion:
DDA is committed to individualized, flexible, family centered, and family directed services. This position statement is the result of the questions and interests of those invested in the needs of children with developmental disabilities.