Dear Legislators 

I am commenting today as mother to a 22 year old nonspeaking autistic/epileptic son with high support needs in contention of the proposed changes to VA waivers regarding allowing 1) Parents and/or Family Members to be paid caregivers under the waiver. Further more regarding the ridiculous proposal that parents can only get care for their special needs/disabled child via without having to be aligned with an employment agency 

• 
  families have a right to choose providers and not be forced into being an employee of an agency
• the child may require specialized care that parents are able to provide
• inconsistent staffing makes it difficult for parents to be reliable for work outside the home
• artificial limit of 40 hours a week does not reflect the actual waiver services the individual needs nor does it follow the service authorization process
• many agencies won't allow employees to drive a client to activities