[FEAT BC Admin]

In this topic area, discussion is about the fight to secure Government funding for your A.B.A. treatment program. It is also the place to talk about your thoughts and ideas about how to establish new Government programs specifically designed for autism treatment.

This is the place to hear input from parents who have fought for funding and won, as well as those who have fought for funding and would like to share their horror stories. There is a tendency to not share success stories once funding is secured. Please fight that tendency. By sharing our experience, we all become stronger.

 

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—-By FEAT BC (Freeman) on Saturday, January 3, 1998 – 03:16 pm:

-Hi everyone!

These are some things to think about in your dealings with government to help you to obtain support for your child’s Autism Treatment Program. These are my personal opinions and do not represent those of FEAT of BC or any other organization.

Many of these observations are based on my personal experiences (and I believe it poetic justice to help every parent avoid being systematically abused by their social worker the way I was).

Good luck to everyone! (Let’s all pull back the curtain on the Wizard of OZ).

Sabrina

 

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How To Fight for Funding for Autism Treatment and Appropriate School Placement

1. Establish a Paper Trail

Always take notes, documenting major points of all conversations with government and school officials.

This includes casual, in person conversations with social workers as well as ALL telephone conversations. All key points of discussion must be written down in your notes including the date and time of the discussion. This includes what was agreed upon, as well as what was not agreed upon.

Then the notes should be used to write a letter recapping the substance and content of the conversation. This letter must then be mailed or faxed to the person with whom you had the conversation. In addition, a copy must be kept in your file (see section on the icci game).

Why?

It is important to formalize the interaction between you and Government officials. In addition, everyone is put on notice that they must closely adhere to their responsibilities, regulations and laws., Furthermore, they must then consider the paper trail you have created. This lets everyone know that the interaction can become public and that any abuses of power and authority can be formally appealed and/or publicized.

In other words, they canit use discretion unfairly under the cloak of secrecy.

2. Submit all Requests in Writing

All your requests for your child must be submitted formally in writing with a copy included in your file and a copy, if necessary, sent to their immediate superiors.

3. Set Deadlines for Action

All formal requests for action must have a reasonable deadline set for that action. If no action or response is received by the deadline you have set (two weeks for example), then you will interpret the lack of response as a formal declination (a formal NO) of your requests.

Why Set Deadlines?

When bureaucrats do not want to do something, they will stall by ignoring you and your request. (As an aside, in the study of the bureaucracy, this is known as ithe power to do nothingi). They can string you along for years. When you have determined that the person you are interacting with is not inclined to help you or is not dealing in good faith, then you must take the initiative and formally label his/her behavior as obstructionist and de facto as a declination (a NO to your requests). This allows you to move to the next level of authority on your timetable to present your case. This takes the power to do nothing away from the bureaucrat with whom you are dealing. Simple stated, a bureaucrat who stalls and does nothing becomes irrelevant (use your invisible spray) and you move on to the next level of authority.

How to icci?

A cc. is a copy of your letter sent to someone other than the person you are writing. You put the cc. at the bottom left-hand corner of your letter followed by 2 spaces and the name of the person or people to whom you want to send a copy of the letter.

Who to icci to?

Sometimes it is best not to icci at all, especially in the early stages of the relationship (for example, your first letter to a social worker requesting assistance). This gives them the opportunity to do the right thing and does not present you as an overly combative person. When you start to run into problems, it is a good idea to send the icci to the 2 immediate superiors of the person you are having problems with. We do not recommend icciing all the way up the chain of command, since you want to give them a chance to solve the problem at the local level.

Why send a icci copy?

The reason for playing the icci game is that you want your interactions with the official to be known to his superior and possibly to other organizations so that 1) their action or inaction becomes a matter of record and 2) the individual knows he is being monitored. This helps minimize abuses of power and authority and helps encourage the official to meet their obligations and do the right thing.

What is the sequence of letters?

Find out the chain of command of the particular bureaucracy you are battling.

TOP

Minister
Deputy Minister
Children’s Ministry’s local region chain of command, all the way down to the District Supervisor
and Social Worker
Contacts can be found at the government directory: http://www.dir.gov.bc.ca/

BOTTOM

Start at the bottom and climb. At the Regional Operating Officer (ROO) level (once you have been declined) you have to decide whether to jump up to the top, threaten and then go to the media, or both. A word of wisdom: DO NOT BLUFF. If you are not willing to go all the way, they will ‘smell’ this. You must be prepared to take it right up to the Minister and beyond.

Documentation from Experts:

In your arsenal to fight for your child, it is wise to get his/her pediatrician and/or psychiatrist to write a letter on your childis behalf. In addition, any other experts who know your child and are sympathetic to what you are trying to do should become involved.

When to hire a lawyer?

If money is not an issue, you can hire a lawyer when you get to the area manager level. Make sure that you have a paper trail so the lawyer has something to work with. Also, have the lawyer give F.E.A.T. of B.C. a call, and we will send him/her information that will help.

If money is an issue (as it is for most of us running autism treatment programs), you might want to hire a lawyer once you have been turned down by the Minister.

How to hire a lawyer?

The type of lawyer needed is a litigator, or trial lawyer. S/he does not need to be an expert in autism, or special needs; s/he needs to be experienced in suing governments, and enjoys being in court. Word of mouth is a good way to find a lawyer.

Topic

[Nancy Walton]

Please pass on to BI's and Consultants

If you are a therapist or consultant who has not received payment from AFU within a 30 day period, we urge you to write to Minister Mary Polak (MCFD) who has assured us that everyone is now getting paid on time. She will probably deal with this personally if someone out there is having a problem.

You need to clearly state when you worked, the date you submitted your bill (or asked for forms) and any other details (when you called the AFU office but couldn't get a hold of someone, or nobody knew where your forms were, etc etc).

You can e-mail her at mary.polak@gov.bc.ca and please Cc the ABA Support Network. I strongly recommend you also Cc your own MLA. You can find your MLA's e-mail at http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1-1.htm. You are a constituent in your MLA's riding and your MLA is supposed to follow up on any problems that you have. This will further push Ms. Polak into action.

The ABA Support Network wrote a letter to Mary Polak expressing our concerns (see below). Her response is that since August, they have hired new staff and there is no more backlog. She is convinced that there are no more problems.

ABA Support Network – The Voice of the ABA Community in BC

Improving access to quality ABA services for children, youth and adults with autism

Date: September 27, 2010

Dear Honourable Minister Polak,

Invoice Funding through the Autism Funding Unit is not paying BI’s and consultants within the 30 day period. While MCFD is reporting to you that payments are occurring on time, we have received reports from more than 50 service providers who are not receiving payments on time.

On September 20th, 2010, Arif Lalani called Dione Costanzo to explain the deterioration of the AFU. He said that six staff members have suddenly left the AFU, leaving no one to keep up with the paper work of the Invoice Payment Method.

It is doubtful that MCFD office employees had to go without their paycheques that month while FIFTY of our BI’s and consultants did in July and August.

MCFD and your office were aware of our concerns when Direct Funding was eliminated. On October 30, 2009, you assured a group of autism parents and professionals that this would not happen any more. The past 6 months should have been a time for demonstrating confidence that Invoice Funding could work. Instead, the AFU has demonstrated that it is dysfunctional and incapable of ensuring that our service providers get paid. We do not have confidence that things will improve.

We now have BI’s and consultants talking about leaving the profession so they can pay their mortgages and monthly expenses. It is a travesty that autistic children will lose their support system, because of the Liberal government’s actions. Please insist that MCFD find a way to fund our autism treatment so that payments are made in a timely manner.

Sincerely,

Nancy Walton

Director ABA Support Network

Cc: Honourable Kevin Falcon, Minister of Health

Honourable Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Education

MLA Gordon Hogg

Louise Witt and Roxanne Black, FEAT BC

[Mike & Jean]

There are two excellent newspaper articles in today's, Vancouver Province and Victoria's Times Columnist that I recommend everyone read.

The Times Columnist, "Why care about therapy for kids with autism"? written by Chris MacIntosh. He very accurately lists some of the most important and obvious reasons for treatment funding.

The Province, "There's not enough funding for autism treatment" written by our very own Dione Costanzo. This well written and concise essay begins by identifying the biggest problem for people with autism and their families in Canada today…"autism treatment is not covered under Medicare". She goes on to outline how the government's limited funding, (which exists because of the Auton litigation) can be removed with "the stroke of a pen". Well said and how true, Dione! I encourage you to read both articles because they accurately define the most fundamental obstacle to our children's well-being and basic human right – access to healthcare.

Like every other Canadian, our children should have a right to access all the equality provisions including health care, as prescribed in our Charter. Litigation and focused, purposeful, political advocacy have been successful in securing limited funding in BC. However, as Dione accurately points out – it is not protected and is already being eroded by the "invoice payment plan" which many of us "old-timers" warned and railed against when it was devised one year ago. I, along with others predicted the outcome we see today…and…sadly folks, I fear there's more "erosion" on the way. So – Parents, what's the solution? Purposeful and focused political action or more plainly – get active! First and foremost, our children's treatment must be enshrined and protected from the whims of bureaucrats/politicians. It needs to be universally accessible and covered under Medicare. Secondly, we need law/legislation which protects our children's basic human rights, similar to the ADA (Americans with Disabilites Act) in the US. How do we achieve these things? By getting informed and getting active! "Medicare for Autism Now! exists for the sole purpose of securing what the name states. The Civil Rights Now! Society, formerly know as the Paladin Advocacy League was created very recently to advocate for ADA-type law in BC. If you want to take action, rather than wait for the bureaucrats to decide your child is no longer worthy of treatment, education etc., I encourage you to get involved. In BC, parents have won some strategic battles to end the discrimination against our children but, there are more battles for us to win before we are victorius in the war our own government is waging against our children.

[Joanna Ng]

Dear parents/users of FeatBC,

The 2011 Budget Consultation is approaching real soon – this Wednesday, Sept 15th. Has anyone been able to book an appointment to speak about the budget cut in school funding for our children? If yes, please share on this website about your time, so that other parents could join as a group to show them [the provincial government] that we are all here for our children.

The SCDP advocates [Supported Child Development Program] has booked a time at 7:35pm [they have 10 minutes to present their speech]. Unfortunately, the group does not touch on the funding cut to school support.

Thank you. Like the saying goes, 'Together we are strong'.

hana.takuya@yahoo,com

[Joanna Ng]

Dear Feat readers,
I'm posting this for SCDP.

***

Hello,
We would like to gather families to meet, discuss challenges with respect to being waitlisted with Supported Childcare Development Program (SCDP), share our stories and concerns, and work together towards solutions. This meeting will be very timely for us to present our cause as a collective voice, in light of the Provincial government's 2011 Budget Consultations on September 15, 2010. Please see the attached letter for more information about our family and why you should come out. Our goal is to draw on the power of families to make a better world for our children.

Please pass this on to as many families as possible, and interested parties such as MLAs, daycares, preschools, after-school care, etc.

Date: September 13, 2010
Time: 7:15 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Address: Burnaby Public Library – McGill, 4595 Albert Street, Burnaby
Program Room (turn right past the return desk)

Please RSVP (due to space restriction) by email to SCDPinitiative@gmail.com or by phone to 778-986-2107 778-986-2107 .

If you are unable to attend but would like to be part of our initiative, please send your email address to us. We will keep you abreast of developments and ways that you can be a part of this initiative.

Together we are strong,
Wendy Seet and Marc Adams

September 4, 2010
MEETING ¨C SEPTEMBER 13th
Dear Families,
We are the proud parents of a child with special needs. Her name is Kate. She is 3 years old and
has Down syndrome. Our daughter is one of hundreds of children across the Lower Mainland on
a waitlist with Supported Child Development Program (SCDP) for extra staffing support. This
waitlist and the lack of services make us also very worried parents.
Are you in the same situation? Are you a worried parent of a child with special needs? Is your
child on waitlist with SCDP? If so, we strongly recommend you to attend this meeting on
September 13th.
The SCDP provides consultation and staffing support so children with special needs can be
included in childcare settings from daycare to preschool and out-of-school care. Currently, this
program is not meeting the needs of far too many children and their families, due to insufficient
funding from the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD).
Over the past six years, the number of children requiring support from the Burnaby SCDP has
increased by over 100% (from 123 children in 2004, to 275 in March 2009!). Consultants now
have an average caseload of 49 children each while the provincial standard for caseloads is 25-35
children. It is our understanding that other regions are facing the same challenges. The increasing
strain on the SCDP coupled with a significant budget shortfall is causing waitlists to grow.
Consequently, many children ¨C including yours ¨C will remain on a waitlist for services. In our
daughter¡¯s case, she is number 62 on a waitlist for extra staffing support at her daycare. Specific
to daycares, there has been little movement on the waitlist for staffing support over the past 2
years. These numbers leave us with little hope for change or service at a time when it will most
benefit Kate.
If we want our children to be a part of the community when they grow up, this is where we need
to start. Our children deserve to have the opportunity to develop to their highest potential amongst
their peers in the community. The SCDP ensures a safe and inclusive environment but they need
the funding to be able to do this, therefore, we need to let our voices be heard and bring these
issues to the forefront.
Families need to come together on this issue. We encourage you in this time of urgency to
stand up and be counted. Please join us on Monday September 13, 2010 to find ways to let
the provincial government know how very important it is that they work to increase the
funding to the SCDP and the impact it has on families like ours who are sitting at home
waiting for support.
Our kids can¡¯t wait anymore!!

Sincerely¡­two proud but worried parents,
Wendy Seet and Marc Adams

[Joanna Ng]

FYI: The Provincial government's 2011 Budget Consultations are in Vancouver Sept 15th . Registration opens at 8am on the 9th .Hearings are also scheduled for other dates in other communities around the proviince.

Please circulate this and encourage groups and individuals to register to speak about any concerns they might have about budget cuts and underfunding for education, special education, autism & other early intervention pprograms, supported child care, adult group homes and other community living services etc, etc

Here is the link:

http://www.leg.bc.ca/budgetconsultations/public_hearing.asp

It is really important that MLAs on the committee hear loud and clear that British Columbians want to see vital supports and services for children and adults with developmental disabiliteis restored. If you can't present in person, the committee also receives input via email or online.

[Dione Costanzo]

Celebration of Life for Dr. Ivar Lovaas

Save the Date – September 23, 2010 7-9pm

Lovaas, a distinguished professor of psychology at UCLA, a pioneer in the research and development of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to treat children with autism, and the founder of the Lovaas Institute (http://www.lovaas.com), died on August 2nd at age 83.

Parents and professionals in BC will gather on this special evening to pay tribute to Dr Lovaas and review the history of his work and ABA as a treatment for autism.

Hear from the parents who founded FEAT of BC, brought ABA treatment into this province and continue to fight for universal access to science based treatment for all individuals who need it. Thanks to litigation by parents in the past we are able to access funding for autism services today.

Share your own story about what Lovaas and ABA has done for you and your family.

Topic: Celebration of Life for Dr. Ivar Lovaas

Guest Speakers:

Dr. Glen Davies, Director of ABLE Developmental Clinic

Dr. Sabrina Freeman, Parent and Founding Director of FEAT-BC

Jean Lewis, Parent and Founding Director of FEAT-BC

Location: Surrey Sport and Leisure Arena – Meeting Room #2

RSVP: dione@abasupportnetwork.com

[Jacqueline and Dennis Bell]

I helped protest in front of Russ Hieberts office two years or three ago… He was not supportive.. (Now he is the Health Minister I think)

I just got this from CKNW — I am livid.. I do not live in that riding anymore… But I wanted to pass this on to anyone.. I wish there was something that could be done..

Email from FROM CKNW

Hello Jacqueline,

Will these politicians ever learn? By now you are well aware of Russ Hiebert – the Conservative in South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale who talked about holding the Liberals' feet to the fire when it came to wasteful spending, got himself elected, and then became the second highest spending MP in all of Canada, billing you the taxpayer for $637,000 in 2008-2009 – over $204,000 more than the average among all MP's – and including at least 30 trips for his wife and two kids – flying first class from Vancouver to Ottawa and back again.

Now here comes Liberal MLA Ida Chong who is winning her very own war on poverty, and once again, you the taxpayer are paying. She represents the Oak Bay-Gordon Head constituency – maybe a 20-minute drive from the Legislature. She also billed the taxpayer for $5,921 last year for meals. Her explanation to reporter Rob Shaw with the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper – "When the house is in session, you are not able to leave the legislature". All MLA's can claim up to 61-dollars a day for meals. So it doesn't appear Ida Chong has broken the rules. The rules, it must be remembered, are set up by the MLA's and as Jon McComb so aptly pointed out earlier this year during the Hiebert kerfuffle – the rules are set up by politicians, for politicians.

Great work if you can get it. This is the Liberal government of Gordon Campbell that brought in the HST because the worldwide recession kicked the crap out of provincial government revenues. This is the government that just last year – the same year she claimed $6,000 for meals – laid off hundreds and hundreds of civil servants. All of that is fine – I get it. The recession hurt. But hasn’t Ida Chong ever heard of bringing her own lunch to work? Is that such a radical concept? She sleeps in her own bed every day, eats breakfast in her own kitchen – but hey, if a perk is there I’m damn well going to take full advantage because someone else is paying the bill. I'm sure Ida Chong works hard and I know as a politician, she sometimes works long hours, but $6,000 for lunches and dinners?

In the grand scheme of things, $6,000 is not a huge amount compared to the billions the government spends. Then again, Russ Hiebert's $637,000 is just a drop in the bucket in the overall federal budget.

But that's not the point.

Arrogance and entitlement – that's what Hiebert displayed and Ida Chong is doing the same thing. Ida Chong – how about a little humble pie for lunch, and you pay the damn bill for once. Will these politicians ever learn?

Gord MacDonald
CKNW News

[Stacey Parson]

I have a question about the Home Owner Grant. I've searched the site and read the topics about the Disability amount but I am still unsure whether I can claim it if I'm currently utilizing my Autism Funding to pay for the ABA Therapy. We are running low and will be paying out-of-pocket soon but so far this year it has all been covered. My son was only diagnosed in December so we don't have any previous year information to go on, either. Is there any way I can apply for this grant even though I haven't paid for therapy out of pocket yet this year? We will definitely surpass the $150 per month that is required in the second half of the year!

[Jenn Ralph]

Blue Cross to Pay $125,000 in Ground-Breaking Settlement for Autism

xrl.in/5j72

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has again been compelled by a lawsuit to pay claims for autism spectrum disorder treatment known as Applied Behavior Analysis, or "ABA."
In the case of Matthews v. Blue Cross, Case No. 09-018750-CK , Wayne County Circuit Court, Blue Cross accepted a case evaluation award

autisminsurancemi.blogspot.com xrl.in/5j74
of $125,000 in favor of the plaintiff, Cheryl Matthews, an Oakland County Circuit Court judge. Matthews alleged in her lawsuit that Blue Cross wrongfully refused to pay $38,000 in insurance claims stemming from the ABA treatment provided to her autistic son.
Earlier this year, Blue Cross paid over $1,000,000 to settle a class action lawsuit, Johns v. Blue Cross, No. 08-12272 (E.D. Mich) which also alleged that the insurer had engaged in a pattern and practice of wrongfully denying claims for ABA therapy. Both the Matthews case and the Johns case were handled by Gerard Mantese and John Conway, who devote a large part of their practice to making ABA therapy available to children with autism spectrum disorder.
Blue Cross took the position that Matthews' claim should be denied because ABA therapy was not an approved medical treatment under her insurance policy. Blue Cross filed three separate motions for summary disposition, seeking to dismiss the case, but Judge Prentis Edwards denied all three motions, forcing Blue Cross to either settle the claims or go to trial.
The $125,000 amount which Blue Cross must pay to Matthews represents three times the cost of therapy and recognized Matthews' argument that her inability to access additional therapy from Blue Cross for her son will result in increased life care costs for her son. Many other States mandate that insurers pay for ABA therapy for autistic children, but the Michigan legislature has not yet passed a law to this effect.
Gerard Mantese, counsel for Cheryl Matthews, stated: "We believe that this is the first settlement in the United States to recognize the link between the inability of children with autism spectrum disorder to access needed ABA therapy and increased life care costs in the future because of the reduced functioning of children with ASD."
John Conway, co-counsel for Matthews, stated, "We will continue to bring these suits until all insurers stop making baseless excuses for insuring this needed therapy."

[Barbara Rodrigues]

Here's the link for the radio interview for anyone who doesn't know how to find it.

http://www.cknw.com/other/audiovault.html

Go to Wed,May26 at 10:00 am

you can then scroll over to about 3220 and it will start.

Barbara

[Author]

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