Welcome to DDAdvocates!

DDAdvocates is a coalition of persons concerned with the healthy life style and welfare of individuals with Developmental Disabilities living in Wayne County, and throughout Michigan. Our membership includes friends and family of the Developmentally Disabled as well as volunteers, staff and management of provider and support organizations throughout the county and the entire state. With your help, we hope to broaden our reach and improve our effectiveness as a community building, process improving, effective lobbying, common sense driven organization!!

Welcome and thanks for all you do!!

Here’s Our Mission

The 2009 crisis found us unprepared to respond to financial and political issues in an effective, timely manner. Our mission is to provide an interactive network for persons concerned with services to the Developmentally Disabled in Wayne County so that in the future we are about to understand the issues at hand and respond to critical issues collectively.

Learn More ABout DDA

DDA Keeps You Posted

DDAdvocates was launched in early 2009 when providers of services to the developmentally disabled in Wayne County began to experience funding cuts in a year in which (initially) the State had provided a minor funding increase. Faced with contradictory claims and limited ability of responsible activities to work together within the CMH Community, Ed began to organize family and community advocates through a series of Newsletters.

Check It Out

Big Plans for DDA

Because of the intense need to communicate promptly and effectively concerning the funding cuts in place and significant additional cuts committed to or threatened for providers of services in Wayne County, we’ve elected to launch this site progressively. Please don’t mind the dust.

We have big plans for DDAdvocates so please take a look at our Upcoming Features Section.

Upcoming Features

Overview & Introduction Get an idea of what we're all about...
Mission Statement Check out our mission, maybe you can help.
Check Out DDA Blogs Ed keeps you posted on the latest
See What We’re Building This is our vision for the future of DDA online

DDAdvocates Newsletter 20120126 Dual Eligible Integration –Legislative Call

Posted By: Ed Diegel on Feb 28, 2012

The attached document:“ DDAdvocates Analysis of Michigan Dual Eligible Initiative“ asis vs willbe 20120125 describes the presently known or anticipated impact of the Dual Eligible Integration of persons with Developmental Disabilities, Mental Illness and Others receiving services from Community Mental Health Organizations. It describes

Eligibility (everyone will be impacted on the day their parents reach the age of 65)
Continuity of Care
Medical Concerns
Quality and Safety
Choice
Local Control
Funding Inequity and Risk
Concerns Over the Process for Program Development

Please

Review the document this week and determine the issues most important to you as a client, family member, service provider or other advocate
Personalize your message and contact your State Legislators and the Governor this week http://www.michigan.gov/som/0,1607,7-192-29701_29704—,00.htmland ask them to pass your concerns on to the Michigan Department of Community Health.
The final plan will be circulated in the state in early March and submitted to the federal government at the beginning of April.

This is the time to speak up

This is a program which the Michigan Department of Community Health VOLUNTEERED to develop. It is not compulsory that Michigan participate. It promises to put our most vulnerable citizens through a major transition, threatens basic protections of existing programs and is being rushed to implementation. Because it is a pilot, it may be launched here and then modified by the federal government based on results in the 14 other states, or modified further based on what happens with universal health care.

As indicated below, the Michigan Department of Community Health has asked for input. Please give it to them

The goal of the Michigan Department of Community Health is to design an integrated care model that will simplify coverage for dually eligible beneficiaries while also increasing coordination among care providers. The MDCH views stakeholder input as crucial to the design of a model that will work in Michigan and is committed to the process outlined above to ensure that its plan reflects the needs and desires of those who are likely to be directly affected./janus.pscinc.com/dualeligibles

With our last Newsletter we provided an analysis which some of you could not access. It is now available on our web site at this link asis vs willbe 20120125

Tags: Advocate, call to action, Developmental Disabilities, Dual Eligible, Home and Community based services Waiver, House Appropriations Committee, Medicaid, Medicare, Waiver

How You Can Help Today.

Regularly contact your elected County and State Officials concerning funding and other concerns being communicated by DDAdvocates — use the Lobby Kit
Help grow the base — set a goal of adding 10 of your best friends to our distribution list; or send their info to us using the Contact Us Page
Help keep DDAdvocates informed of issues and changes related to funding and supports for the folks you advocate for.
Volunteer to help–we should have representatives at relevant CMH and MCPN meetings

Why We Need to Be Involved.

All the members of a process are responsible for its success.

We Family, Friends and other Advocates to a large extent have been silent unless the individual(s) we know and love have been threatened. In effect we abdicated our responsibility to the ‘professionals,” or to the “system.”

It was easier to concentrate on what we needed rather than on the entire service delivery system. Had we been more vigilant, possibly some of the issues we are dealing with today could have been eliminated.

Either way, it NOW is the responsibility of EACH of us to look out for and speak up on behalf of ALL of us