Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
 
Board
State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
 
Guidance Document Change: The updates allow for Priority 1 applicants who do not receive funding to be placed in the funding pool with Priority 2 and Priority 3 applicants in order for the remaining unfunded Priority 1 applicants to have a chance at receiving an award.
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8/12/24  9:18 pm
Commenter: Katie

Fund all priorities
 

I see that priority 1 doesn’t seem to be changed much, but what about 2 & 3? What does that do for those of us on priority 2 who are struggling. It’s absurd that some of us have kids who are severely disabled, but not disabled enough to meet criteria, which is crazy. We are constantly denied, put on waitlists or bypassed. Families like ours not only NEED funding, but our children deserve it. They deserve the funding to have access to the things they need for day to day living. I wish the people making these decisions were special needs parents. It doesn’t seem fair to have someone with a pen who doesn’t live this life or understand what it’s like or what goes into it. I want to paint a small picture for you; when calculating my daughter’s needs every month, including what insurance pays, her needs cost, roughly $3,700  MONTHLY. Can you afford that? Can ANYONE afford that? No. It’s not possible. Yet, she’s still a priority 2. Normalize funding, accessibility and resources for ALL special needs families. 

CommentID: 227340