I am a mother of an autistic minor son.  I am leaving a comment to advocate for parents to remain the paid care givers of their children under the medicaid waiver CCC+. I stand United with fellow parents  

We have been told that after Nov 12th it has been stated that parents can remain the paid caregiver but ONLY until we  find someone else or if we are hired through a separate agency. This takes away choice of who we allow in our home. It was difficult to find an attendant before COVID and it’s even hard now. This creates a hardship on families. It also creates anxiety upon my son who is being forced to be around someone unfamiliar. Having him taken care of by myself or a live-in attendant has been helpful and has lessened his anxiety and atypical behaviors. Your personal story, how being your child's paid caregiver has helped your family and your child. Please don’t make it harder on me and other families by taking away our choice of attendants  

It’s already difficult enough to find attendants with low pay and lack of benefits. Putting roadblocks for minors under the CCC+ waiver only hurts families. Allow parents to continue to be paid caregivers under consumer directed instead of agency directed. 

Thank you.