Moving With Your Disabled or Special Needs Loved One?

Family moving with disabled or special needs children

Are you thinking of moving out of California with your special needs loved one? While California has the most social programs and those amazing Regional Center and IHSS services we all love, they don’t even rank when it comes to which state is best for disability and special needs care.

States like Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, and Colorado all made the list for reasons such as affordable healthcare, available Medicare providers, and Special Education support. California isn’t in the top 10.

For Autism support Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts all ranked high.

Though California has implemented programs to help the special needs community, the steep rise in need combined with a sharp drop in home care providers appears to be rendering some of these programs difficult to access or use. In recent years there has also been a change in how the counties are handling programs like IHSS Protective Supervision-A financial lifeline for many parents to allow them to keep their children and adult children safe at home. In what may be a reaction to a rise in Autism in the last years, or a reflection on the state’s strained finances, some counties are removing protective supervision for families who have had the services for many years. And the courts are upholding this.

So if you can’t get the care you need for your loved one or it’s just gotten too expensive to live in California, think about this…

Massachusetts, the highest-ranked state for disabled people, has a 98.3% health insurance rate for its disabled residents. This is the highest percentage in the country. They also have the 4^th highest number of Medicare providers.

Georgia has autism insurance laws that require coverage for autism-related services. This has allowed families affected by autism to access the care and services they need without the financial burden of paying for expensive treatments out of pocket.

Wondering where California lands in the ranking of best state to live in with a disability? You can check it out here: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/disability-benefits-by-state.

For state based programs similar to IHSS see the links below.

State Websites for Home and Community Based Services and Waiver information

Alabama – https://medicaid.alabama.gov/content/6.0_LTC_Waivers/default.aspx

Alaska – https://health.alaska.gov/dsds/pages/pca/default.aspx

Arizona – https://des.az.gov/FamilyCaregiver

Arkansas – https://humanservices.arkansas.gov/divisions-shared-services/developmental-disabilities-services/ces-waiver/

California – https://www.cdss.ca.gov/in-home-supportive-services

Colorado – https://hcpf.colorado.gov/in-home-support-services

Connecticut – https://portal.ct.gov/DDS/Family/Supports-and-Services/In-Home-Support

Delaware – https://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/ddds/comserv.html

District of Columbia – https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/home-support-agencies

Florida – https://ahca.myflorida.com/medicaid/medicaid-policy-quality-and-operations/medicaid-policy-and-quality/medicaid-policy/medical-and-behavioral-health-coverage-policy/specialized-health-services/home-health-services