Waiting List For People With Developmental Disabilities (Topeka: prices, moving)

[AnywhereElse]

I am getting ready to write yet another letter to my congressional representatives regarding the waiting list in Kansas for people with developmental disabilities. There is a waiting list of over 3,000 people across the state right now. There have been cuts in services, positions eliminated, etc. So many people think that if a service center is in town that you just walk in and ask for services. My adult son waited two years and some wait longer. While this is expensive, years ago when I called about the lack of services they were building I believe it was a very expensive underground parking facility for our congress people in Topeka (there showplace). It can be really tough for the elderly and you and I could both end up through an accident as one of these disabled people and hopefully we will end up elderly some day. Many other states are doing the same thing so if you are relocating you need to look at these types of services and what their priorities are for these types of services and that will give you some indication of what the population of the state values. In Kansas they like to "dress it up" to try to attract tourist dollars (this really cracks me up) and you have local investors that are holding the property and keeping prices up to limit growth (controlled growth on their terms). Right now they want to complete a 4 lane highway to nowhere really so the value of the property they hold will go up. It is just a sad situation. If you are a resident of Kansas, I encourage you to support and let your congress people know that you want to fund services for the disabled and elderly and if you have any of these issues and are moving into any state, please check out what services are like as you could end up waiting more than 8 years for your child to get services even if they are an adult.