November 21, 2009
Give Us Information That Makes Sense!
By Julius Karash
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment recently received a grant to benefit of youth with special health care needs.
A news release at the KDHE site says the objective of the three-year grant, “Systems in Sync,” is to “ensure that Kansas youth with special health care needs and their families receive culturally competent, uninterrupted, age-appropriate services that meet their needs and promotes healthy, productive and independent adult lives.”
That all sounds great. But after reading through the entire release, I don’t know what they’re going to do.
The release quotes KDHE Secretary Roderick Bremby, who said the grant “will work to strengthen partnerships between the youth, their families and all of the providers, including health, educational and workforce. Additionally, the grant will also focus on the transition to adulthood.”
I still don’t get it. I want to know specifics.
Read further and the release says “grant activities will include information-sharing and collaboration with partners across the state of Kansas; development and implementation of a transition planning curriculum, utilizing technology-oriented strategies; training for consumers and professionals; development of resource guides and navigational tools; coordination of transition planning meetings; support empowerment and independence of youth with special health care needs; provide funding for the development or expansion of activities supportive of the grant objectives and much more.”
The release goes on to say that the grant “provides the opportunity to enhance the health, education and workforce development possibilities for youth and young adults with disabilities.”
But what kinds of special health care needs and disabilities are we talking about? Are we talking about helping families find the medical specialists they need? Coordinating care among physicians? Helping families obtain health insurance?
Is this program for youngsters on Medicaid or for those who can’t qualify for Medicaid? Is it about making schools follow through with what they’re supposed to do? Job training? Social skills and life skills training?
Maybe it’s all that and more.
The release names about a dozen entities providing this grant. The list is impressive.
But if you’re wondering how much the grant is for – as I am – you won’t find out from reading the news release.
I’m not writing this blogpost just to point my finger and criticize. Everything I write doesn’t always turn out great either.
But in these times of layoffs and state budget cuts, families of special needs youth are desperate for information they can use to make a positive difference in their children’s lives. And when a state agency is involved, it’s the obligation of that agency to disseminate that information in a way that people can understand.
This grant could lead to all kinds of wonderful benefits for special needs youth. I hope it does. But I can’t tell what it’s going to do, based on the information released by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
