Children with developmental disabilities have rights to educational services appropriate to their needs through the public education system. However, once they “age out” of the educational system their families or guardians must either accept whatever services are available from public or publicly funded not-for-profit service providers or abandon their adult children, forcing the state or local government to become totally responsible for their welfare. Typically, these services are “budgeted” so that the total available resources are fixed and parceled out to service providers on a priority, not a needs, basis.
Needs vary greatly among developmentally disabled adults who are cognitively impaired so that they cannot take responsibility for their own welfare. Families' or guardians' resources vary widely as well. To provide a positive and stable life situation for these people with developmental disabilities requires a system that works with families, and which is able to respond to changes in the family and in their developmentally disabled family member.
Our society needs to develop better ways to ensure that these most vulnerable members are all provided a life situation that successfully supplements family resources with effective community programs.
Two fundamental unmet needs are:
(A) Funding for effective services which are currently not available for all
(B) Innovations that improve their quality of life