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Maryland offers "The New Directions Waiver" as a means of self-directing state and federal Medicaid dollars for individuals who qualify for supports due to their disability.

This offers the disabled individual the opportunity to use those dollars to best meet their own unique needs. However, it comes with the responsibility to create a plan, a budget, and find your own resources to make the plan a reality.

No centralized source of resources exists. The purpose of this blog is to direct others to resources in our communities and to provide one example of a self-directed plan. (*Caution: The self-directed plan described at the beginning of this blog is for an individual with a 5/5 needs rating, the highest possible rating in Maryland, and therefore the highest budget possible. Most will have a lower rating and a lower budget to work with.) It is also to share firsthand knowledge of experiences that may assist others who self-direct services.

Comments are welcome. Please share your knowledge with others.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Make It Your Own

The joy of New Directions is the ability to individualize the program for the client. While V has a budget for art supplies because that is calming for her, another client has a budget for music therapy because music is "his thing". I would like to post more about the Music Therapy option for those readers who are interested in that option. That client also enjoys participating in group dance classes through a therapeutic recreation program.
What are your limitations? Well, if it maintains or increases current skills, health, or safety then it is a possibility to include that activity or resource in the Plan of Care and Budget. If the resource or activity maintains or improves access to community resources, maintains or improves behavior that impacts socialization and learning then it is possible to include that in the POC/ budget.
I encourage readers to include ideas that you have found that meet these guidelines in your comments. Is the client capable of taking classes or having a small business with support? Then those are options.
The biggest challenge to self direction is finding providers of services, so if you have found a provider that will take on additional clients, then please post some information about them for other readers and I will create a link. We can help each other by sharing information, experience and knowledge so that each of us won't have to re-invent the wheel, so to speak.