As a single parent, I am very thankful for the ability to finally be the paid caregiver for my minor child on the CCC+ waiver. For many years, I could not find consistent, qualified, and reliable care providers and was unable to use the attendant care or respite hours allotted for his benefit simply because I could not find caregivers. There were times when I had to take what I could get, which were people willing to work for less than $10/hr at the time and no benefits. These were not reliable caregivers and caused even more stress. We special needs families go through so much to support our children, the extra paperwork, therapies, and mental weight of being on high alert year after year. We need to remove barriers that cause unnecessary stress like trying to find a stranger who will agree to be the EOR when Grandma, the only living family, is willing to and lives close by. We have no other family or friends within 50 miles to ask. Remember, social isolation is an unfortunate side effect special needs families live with for years and years due to their child’s behaviors, lack of understanding in social groups, and individual exhaustion. I can’t even pay Grandma anymore to provide attendant care or respite because she is the EOR and I am a paid parent. It is just convoluted. We have full-time jobs caring for all the extra needs our children have. We already have accountability with our pediatricians, developmental pediatricians, SF and CSB folks. Why can’t parents simply elect to  be their own child’s paid caregiver and it not be a matter of last resort? For many of us, if possible, we would trust ourselves over any other option. My child has been in the wrong hands more than once and I prefer to be the one caring for him. Is there room for that option? Why must we continually need to prove that we are best capable to serve our own children if we wish?  My child’s pre-K teachers who traumatized him were not even held to minimal account. There will never be a better option to support my child than me. But don’t ask me to jump through even more hoops and requirements than I already am or you could break the link that holds our family together. It should not be this cumbersome.Please continue to allow family members to be EORs. I simply have no other option.