The Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is a relatively new agency confronting an old problem. The department, responsible for providing service and support to residents with intellectual disabilities, had to find a way to fulfill its mission within a shrinking financial framework.
The DIDD, until recently a division of the Department of Finance and Administration, had to cut $48 million in spending for the upcoming fiscal year. Commissioner Jim Henry and his staff have crafted a budget they say will provide adequate services to the largest number of department clients. For the most part, they seem to have done so.
Most of the department cuts will come in two areas- personal services and nursing services. The former provides hands-on care that helps families keep loved ones at home. The latter delivers skilled care, generally by a registered nurse. Those services are expensive, Henry said Friday at a meeting of the Chattanooga Times Free Press editorial board.
Currently, 27 severely disabled patients in the state are served by two personal assistants each day. In essence, the state provides around-the-clock assistance for those patients at a cost that is sometimes more than $230,000 a year per person. About 1,900 additional clients are served by a single personal assist daily. The price for that service is high, as well.
Henry says skilled nursing services cost up to $300,000 annually for some individuals who need 24/7 care. The department’s new budget will reduce both personal assistant and nursing services. It limits nursing services to 12 hours a day and personal assistance services to 215 hours per month.