Family Support Coalition of New Jersey

Family Support Coalition of New Jersey

Meeting Notes

March 24, 2011

Invited Speaker - Donna Icovino, Family Advocate and Co-Chair, DHS Dual Diagnosis Task Force

Ms. Icovino talked about the history and recommendations of the Dual Diagnosis Task Force, as well as the work that still needs to be done on this issue

She shared her personal experience as a mother and how that prompted her to become an advocate for individuals with a dual diagnosis (both a developmental disability and a mental illness).
She spoke about the process and outcomes of the Task Force.
She stated that implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations has stalled, and that there appears to be a lack of commitment, financial and otherwise, to keeping things moving along.
This is an issue that affects many individuals and families, and it is critically important that we all play a role in speaking out about the need to implement the Task Force recommendations.
Information about the Task Force, including the Task Force report, Implementation Plan, and Family Crisis Handbook can be found on DDD’s website at

Budget Update

Lowell Arye gave an update on the FY2012 Budget

A synopsis of the Governor’s proposed budget can be found on ABCD’s wesite at

Family Support Waiver Update

Kathy Roberson talked about what happened at the last Waiver Workgroup meeting

It looks like the waiver may only be for adults only (children would continue to be served by DDD’s current state-funded Family Support program, though it is unclear how the money will be divided between the state-funded program and the waiver).
The workgroup is waiting for additional data from DDD before final decisions about the waiver are made.
The Governor has mentioned the possibility of combining all the state’s waivers into one “Global waiver,”but no one seems to know what exactly this means.
The petition regarding the reinvestment of federal funds from the new waiver into Family Supportis on hold until we know more.

There was some discussion about the Star-Ledger Article entitled “NJ to propose $10K annual stipend for families taking care of developmentally disabled adults” which can be found at

There was discussion about how this article was confusing and misleading and did not accurately represent what is going on with the waiver. For example, it never said it was a Medicaid waiver; “stipend’’ does not mean checks that are sent to individuals or families, but instead refers to the budgets people on the waiver will receive; the actual amount of the individual budgets has not yet been decided;the $10,000 was referring to the Family Support piece of the waiver, and does not include budgets for day programs.
There was concern that the general public may be uncomfortable with the idea of public monies being spent for community-based services, such as recreation or respite, especially at a time when many people are suffering financially. We will need to continue to educate people about what it means to support people living in the community (i.e., services provided in the community may look different than services provided in institutional settings). We also need to help the general public understand why Family Support is both necessary to help families continue to care for their family member at home, and more cost effective than paying for out-of-home placements. Our family “To Do” lists (on the Coalition’s website) can be a useful tool for showing people the day-to-day reality of families’ lives, and why Family Support is not a frivolous use of public funds.

Remaining Meeting dates for 2011

Thursday, June 23
Wednesday, September 28 (note that this is a Wednesday meeting)
Thursday, December 8