Advocates for People With Disabilities Criticize Low Enrollment in Louisiana’s ‘Children’s Choice’ Program

Advocates for people with disabilities have criticized the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals for "lagging sorely behind its goal" of enrolling 800 families with disabled children in the state's "Children's Choice" program, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports. The department has enrolled 219 children in the program but has only provided services to 88 enrollees (Shuler, Baton Rouge Advocate, 11/6). Children's Choice, a Medicaid home- and community-based waiver, offers families up to $7,500 in medical services each year to allow disabled children to reside at home. Services include respite care and modifications to homes to make them accessible to children with disabilities. Louisiana established Children's Choice to help children on a waiting list -- which includes more than 8,000 mentally retarded and developmentally disabled adults and children -- for the state's Mentally Retarded/Developmentally Disabled waiver, a program that has no cap on services (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 1/26). Kay Marcel, an advocate for the disabled said, "It's an extreme disappointment that so few families are getting the benefit" of Children's Choice, adding, "We want to know why this program has not offered services." DHH Secretary David Hood said that "a combination of problems plague" Children's Choice. According to Hood, DHH sent information about Children's Choice to 1,201 families and received 679 responses, including 440 families that expressed interest in the program and 239 that declined the offer. However, 522 families -- 43% of those that received the information -- did not respond, "couldn't be located" or did not meet program requirements. Hood said DHH plans to send information about the program to 600 additional families this month. Hood also plans to ask Gov. Mike Foster (R) and state lawmakers to double to $15,000 the annual limit on services for families enrolled in the program to "make the program more enticing" (Shuler, Baton Rouge Advocate, 11/6).