Long-Term Care in a Group Home Setting

In the United States today, many adults with developmental disabilities are living in group home settings. These homes usually house anywhere from three to eight individuals, with varying degrees of independence. Most homes strive to increase the quality of life for these people, as well as increase their independence level in activities of daily living.

I am currently a Senior at UW-La Crosse, majoring in Therapeutic Recreation. I have worked at various group homes for about four years. Currently I am completing my internship in Minnesota, working for Dakota Communities, Inc., a company that has 32 group homes for adults with developmental disabilities all over the Twin Cities area. I have been so impressed with DCI’s level of quality and commitment to person-centered approaches. They truly do care about the individuals living in their homes.

Even though a company has high standards, and provides great services, the funding for group homes at the state and national level is negatively affecting the experiences of the people living in the homes. One example of this includes heath and wellness. Group homes are not known to advocate much for healthy lifestyles, and part of this is because they do not have the resources to do it. Money needs to be allocated for them to buy healthier foods, as well as attend programming to increase physical activity. Another example is the hourly rate at which employees get paid. Group homes have a very high turnover rate and this negatively affects the people living in the homes as they do not experience much consistency in the people working with them. More money needs to be allocated for paying individuals who are choosing to sacrifice many comforts by working in this demanding field. These employees have made a decision to put others before themselves, and strive to increase the quality of life for individuals whom our culture so often shuns. Our government should be striving to keep these employees working in this field, not encouraging them to leave by not paying them adequately.

I know that many state budgets are being cut, but advocating for people who often cannot advocate for themselves is necessary! Cuts need to be fair across the board. Most disability services are funded through Medicaid. With this system, half the money comes from the federal government and half from the state. What this means is that if lawmakers cut $1.00 from the state budget, people with disabilities lose $2.00 in services (www.arrm.org). This is simply not right. Medicaid is in need of reform. A new system must be put into place.