Anonymous | Dec 16, 2008

I would hope to see a real commitment to the not-for-profit industry and a better understanding of the challenges that people with developmental disabilities face. As many of us know, with the proper support and understanding many of these challenges can become opportunities for people with disabilities to explore their talents and possibilities for success.

Andy Heugel | Dec 24, 2008

I hope to see a continuation of President-elect Obama's style of selecting advisors who are in touch and knowledgeable about their areas and who are not afraid to voice their opinions. I also hope to see Mr. Obama continue to look to build consensus and find pragmatic, rather than ideological solutions. But, considering the current state of the economy, he will also need to factor cost into his decisions more than his recent predecessors.

As such things as the structure of the social services agencies, such as Westchester Arc, continues to evolve along with the funding mechanisms, it's important that Mr. Obama's advisor(s) be in close touch with representatives of the self-advocates, service providers, and families so that the funding for these services best address the wants and needs of the people we serve, maximize their opportunity for choice and personal growth, and have reasonable documentation requirements. However, we shouldn't forget that any president has a lot of different issues to deal with and be mindful that there is a wider disability community with similar issues. One of these issues is dual diagnosis, and I have witnessed dual diagnosed people fall through the cracks in the funding structures and service mechanisms. Some years back I dealt with a severely underweight developmentally disabled, mentally ill person with full blown A.I.D.S. who had a history of substance abuse and incarceration. What agency deals with that?

I also wonder what percentage of currently undiagnosed people in the prison system would test as developmentally disabled? But, would an agency get funded for services upon their release, if they tested as developmentally disabled at too late an age? The non-profits may have a moral obligation to help people in need of services that are within their realm of services, but there are fiscal realities. And, non-profits sometimes go bankrupt, something that is currently an increasing concern, due to the poor economy. There are still many things that need to be fixed regarding the criteria that determine whether an individual qualifies for funding for services.

And, while Mr. Obama appears to be more supportive of the issues confronting people with disabilities, we should never forget the power of advocacy. The President still has to deal with Congress and then there are the state, county and local governments to deal with, each with their different rules and regulations and politics. We need to continue to voice our concerns about the issues that concern us in the relevant forums and media. And, just as we should never give up when things appear hopeless, we should never become complacent when things seem be going our way.

But, as we continue to advocate, those of us that are service providers need to continually look for ways to improve our services so the services we are advocating for are of the highest quality possible.