Poster Paper:
Preserving Social Services for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Buidling 5, Libreria Foyer (Bookstore Foyer) (ITAM)
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Formerly classified as Mental Retardation, Intellectual Developmental Disabilities or IDD and other related conditions such as Autism are increasingly diagnosed amongst today’s growing population. Due to this increase, demand has surged for access to health services, leading to an emerging threat to governmental financing of future social services and welfare. By providing opportunities to develop community-based services, the federal governments can promote and maintain autonomy through Medicaid funded programs. Increasing independence of diagnosed individuals provides supports to families, increases purpose and quality of life for individuals with IDD and decreases dependence of government support throughout their lifetime. Achieving this goal requires the intervention of government public policy through the utilization of Medicaid waiver programs which mandates community integration and provides necessary supports to individuals with IDD and their families. By comparing urban and rural areas across the United States, I discuss the pervasiveness of this growing concern, evaluate current policies in the United States in their global context and finally, I suggest a holistic approach to the policies that should be implemented in order to preserve future social services for individuals with IDD.
