A Website
For The Benefit Of
Families On The Florida Medicaid Waiver Wait-list
A Partnership Between FCCF, Arc of Florida, and APD
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So far, we have identified two basic approaches to defining funding for person's with disabilities. These include the Family Life Cycle Model and the Family Impact Model. note: These models were developed by the Florida Family Care Council in consultation with the partners but may not be officially supported by them. FAMILY LIFE CYCLE MODEL One approach that might benefit families on the waitlist is to start thinking of their family's current and future life cycles. Overall, the family can be divided into 5 basic cycles, from birth to death of the person with the developmental disability. These 5 cycles are
During the first cycle, the family may discover that their child has a developmental disability. The notice things that don't happen quite the way that they should and when they should. They may go through stages of denial and visit many many medical professionals, looking for an answer. During the second cycle, the family has resigned itself to the issue and the child is in school. The school provides the basic supports for education and parents need to learn how to maximize their benefits through the school IEP. During the third cycle, the child has transitioned out of school into whatever environment is available. Hopefully, that child is going to work. We believe that everyone should work in one capacity or another. To that end, Vocational Rehabilitation is there to provide the supports needed to achieve this. Families need to understand the rules well enough to receive the maximum benefits that can be provided. During the fourth cycle, the caregivers are aging and may be passing on. They, the caregivers, become very concerned about their child's future. Who will take care of them and how. Considering that costs for taking care of the child can vary from as little as $15,000 to over $100,000 a year, it is virtually impossible for the average family to fund their child's future after they die. The state of Florida must realize this and provide some sort of supports for this life cycle. The fifth cycle, is one of "retirement". The developmentally disable person may very well end up in a nursing home. Caregivers are very often dead at this stage and the DD person may have no one who cares about him/her. Elder services is available to provide some supports. Choice, dignity and caring are paramount. FAMILY IMPACT MODEL We are still developing this model so feedback is welcome.
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