Ending Waitlists

Community services and supports for people with developmental disabilities in the United States often have extremely long waiting lists because the states have not provided sufficient funding for these programs. After a person finally starts to receive services and supports, which can take years, they will be lost again if the person moves to another state. Federal action is needed as part of the health care reform effort to put an end to this inexcusable situation.

One group that has been active in lobbying to keep federal lawmakers' attention focused on the waiting list problem is NOEWAIT, the National Organization to End the Waitlists, which has been circulating a petition to federal lawmakers. I signed it some time ago and meant to blog about it, but got busy with other things and did not write a post about it until now, after Stephanie mentioned it—thanks for the reminder Stephanie!

NOEWAIT is currently looking for people to get involved in their network across the United States. I've reposted an excerpt from a recent message below:


NOEWAIT (National Organization to End the Waitlists) IS SEEKING COORDINATORS TO ASSIST IN EXPANDING NETWORK

We now have NOEWAIT state coordinators and representatives in the following states:

AL, AR, AZ, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, MO, NC, NE, NJ, PA, TN, TX

But we have no coordinators or representatives from other states.

This volunteer position will assist in circulating information on ending the waitlist for services and gaining portability of services for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities by building the NOEWAIT network and developing relationships with and communicating with families, self advocates, the community, local, state and federal elected and appointed officials.

The requirements are:

Enthusiasm, organizational ability, a mission to end waitlists in your state and across the country and communication skills.

NOEWAIT will provide you with lists of individuals in your state who have indicated an interest in solving the waitlist crisis, and additional resources and ideas.

This volunteer position may, at times, require up to several hours per week, but you can adjust the work flow to meet your needs. You will be a participant in an email listserv with other state coordinators and representatives, sharing ideas and solving challenges.

We need individuals from every state, the District of Columbia and the Territory of Puerto Rico to volunteer to take on this endeavor. If interested in helping to end the waitlist and gain portability of services, please contact:

Denver Fox, Ed.D.
Moderator, National Organization to End the Waitlist
Noewait@Noewait.net