I am the parent of a severely disabled 31 year-old child. My husband and I care for him in our home.  I am very concerned about the proposed new regulations splitting our respite hours into 2-6 month blocks, with no carry-over.  First, our available respite hours were slashed by 1/3.  Then, the amount of money paid to caregivers was reduced.  Now we are being further restricted by not being able to use our hours as we see fit.  This seems counter to the concept of Person-Centered Planning.  Families know best when respite is needed and they should be allowed to use their respite hours as seems best for them. 

All of these changes are making it harder for families to find and keep reliable, quality caregivers.  The Waiver is supppsed to be helping families continue to care for their loved ones in their own homes. These changes are putting up roadblocks to that goal and imposing unnecessary stresses on families who are in these situations through no fault of their own.  It is not to Virginia's advantage to stress families to the point where they begin to consider alternative placements for their children.  I respectfully ask that you reconsider your plan to split respite hours into 6 month blocks.