{"id":8662,"date":"2026-02-09T07:00:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T13:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-families-worry-proposed-80-7-million-cut-will-hobble-disability-care-programs\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T07:00:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T13:00:01","slug":"missouri-families-worry-proposed-80-7-million-cut-will-hobble-disability-care-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-families-worry-proposed-80-7-million-cut-will-hobble-disability-care-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri families worry proposed $80.7 million cut will hobble disability care programs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"614\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2501-1024x614.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Scott and Jessica Haynes say the self-directed supports program has helped them work toward greater independence for their son, AJ. Scott, Jessica, Callie and AJ Haynes are pictured here at their home in Raytown in 2022 (photo submitted).<\/p>\n<p><span>For Jessica Haynes, cooking with her 21-year-old son AJ is \u201cthe most amazing thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When Jessica and AJ, who has autism, prepare a meal side by side in their Raytown home, Haynes told The Independent, \u201che gets to learn new skills, and we get to learn things right along with it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Jessica and her husband Scott can spend more quality time with AJ since he was approved a month ago for a state program that lets people with developmental disabilities or their families hire, train and manage their own care staff.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In addition to allowing Jessica to work and be compensated as AJ\u2019s personal assistant, the program, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicaid.gov\/medicaid\/long-term-services-supports\/self-directed-services\" target=\"_blank\"><span>self-directed<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/dmh.mo.gov\/dev-disabilities\/programs\/self-directed-supports\" target=\"_blank\"><span>supports<\/span><\/a><span>, could enable the family to hire a \u201ccommunity specialist\u201d to help AJ become more independent away from home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHe is at the exact moment where he should be transitioning into adulthood and learning to live independently,\u201d Haynes said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But a proposed $80.7 million funding reduction of Missouri\u2019s services for people with developmental disabilities would eliminate the \u201ccommunity specialist\u201d option \u2014 and slash pay rates for families\u2019 care staff by between 21% and 29%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/subscribe\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"subscribeShortcodeContainer\">\n<div class=\"subscribeTextContainer\">\n                <i class=\"fas fa-envelope\"><\/i>\n<p>GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscribeButtonContainer\">\n                <button>SUBSCRIBE<\/button>\n            <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>        <\/p>\n<p><span>As advocates and families raised alarm that reduced pay would cause their staff to quit, Missouri Department of Mental Health Director Valerie Huhn testified last week to the Senate Appropriations Committee that the reduced rates for self-directed supports would still be higher than what many care staff in Missouri are earning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Gov. Mike Kehoe\u2019s funding recommendation would reduce pay rates for personal assistants to $26.04 per hour, from $36.76 for medically trained staff and $33 for other personal assistants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The proposed budget would also reduce the rate paid to providers of structured group programs, called day habilitation, by a third, from $43.24 per hour in the current fiscal year to $28.83 next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Families and advocates say the programs are a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2025\/12\/10\/federal-state-budget-pressure-threatens-missouri-at-home-disability-care-program\/\"><span>lifeline<\/span><\/a><span> allowing loved ones with developmental disabilities to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2023\/08\/31\/missouri-advocates-decry-proposed-change-to-at-home-disability-care-funding\/\"><span>live in their homes and participate in their communities<\/span><\/a><span>, rather than costly institutional care.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While Huhn acknowledged that the cuts would impact families who use self-directed supports, she said that they would have to find a way to hire staff or come up with an alternative plan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe family hires and fires, so they will have to work through that,\u201d Huhn said. \u201cThey today have the same challenges that everybody in this field has, including the state.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Huhn said the department currently has 1,000 vacancies for staff across multiple facilities. The largest number of vacancies is for support care assistants, who have a starting hourly wage of $17.36 per hour, according to a spokesperson for the department.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Larry Opinsky, a steering committee member of the Missouri SDS Family Support Group whose daughter uses self-directed supports, said it\u2019s \u201cdisingenuous\u201d and \u201cunrealistic\u201d to suggest that families could retain their staff with the proposed cuts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWith the proposed rate cuts, our existing employees most likely will quit,\u201d Opinsky said. \u201cNobody working a job right now, whether they love it or not, can take a 30% pay cut.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>    <\/b><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"editorialSubhed\">\u201cEverybody\u2019s making more than that\u201d<\/h4>\n<p>\t<\/p>\n<p><span>Huhn pushed back against the idea that families using self-directed services will be unable to keep their staff, saying many Missourians are getting paid less for similar work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>She cited a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/idd.nationalcoreindicators.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2024-NCI-IDD-SoTW_Final-Tagged.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span>report<\/span><\/a><span> from the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services indicating that direct support professionals in Missouri earned an average of $18.07 per hour in 2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThere is a workforce out there that can fill in\u2026that is skilled in this work that is currently making $18 an hour doing the same job,\u201d Huhn said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Christina Ingoglia, director of policy advocacy at the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council, said the higher rates for self-directed services help make up for benefits that a state or agency employee would have on top of their wage, like health insurance and paid time off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe rate is higher, but it\u2019s factoring in other things that other agencies and the [residential care] centers don\u2019t have to deal with,\u201d Ingoglia said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Advocates argue that apart from allowing people with disabilities to live in less restrictive environments, self-directed supports save the state money.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The department indicated in its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/budplan.oa.mo.gov\/themes\/custom\/oa\/oa_prime_2021\/mo-viewer\/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Fbudplan.oa.mo.gov%2Fsites%2Fg%2Ffiles%2Fzuston231%2Ffiles%2Fmedia%2Fpdf%2F2025%2F10%2FFY27%2520DMH%2520Program%2520Descriptions%2520Book.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span>program book<\/span><\/a><span> that while the average cost of self-directed supports per person was $48,534 in fiscal year 2025, the average cost of residential services that year was $227,317 per person, excluding the highest level of residential care.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Huhn told lawmakers that self-directed supports and day habilitation were selected for funding reductions because they take up the largest portion of the department\u2019s expenditures on in-home services and because rate increases over the years have allowed for relatively high wages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Self-directed supports and day habilitation account for 69% of what the department spends to help keep individuals with disabilities in their communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A list of talking points for the committee hearing shared by the department with The Independent indicates that Missouri\u2019s self-directed support payments have grown 443% since 2017, while payments for day habilitation have increased 213%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ingoglia said, though, that past increases don\u2019t mean self-directed services have been \u201cover-funded.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019re already trying to find staff,\u201d Ingoglia said. \u201cWe already have a staffing crisis across the whole range of services. And so then to cut it further\u2026families are already struggling to make it happen right now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>During the committee hearing, state lawmakers relayed concerns they\u2019d heard from constituents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Democratic state Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern of Kansas City said some families in her district are already struggling to use current self-directed supports rates to hire staff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019ve had these conversations,\u201d Nurrenbern said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s working in fast food or Sam\u2019s Club or Costco or the Dollar General distribution center, everybody\u2019s making more than that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Republican state Sen. Mike Cierpiot of Lee\u2019s Summit said he was concerned that reduced funding for day habilitation programs could force people into the state\u2019s full-time habilitation centers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOf all the places to cut\u201d in the state budget, Cierpiot said, \u201cthis seems like a terrible one to cut.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019re kind of playing with fire,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause if some of these places close, your residency centers are going to be really inundated, and all these families are going to have to deal with this in ways they haven\u2019t yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>    <\/b><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"editorialSubhed\">Impact on families<\/h4>\n<p>\t<\/p>\n<p><span>Lydia Olmsted, 24, of St. Louis, worries she will lose specialized providers who know exactly how to help her.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMy concern is, if these rates are cut, those providers can\u2019t make a living off of that, and so they\u2019ll have to find other work,\u201d Olmsted said.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-29294 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_7673-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Lydia Olmsted and her guide dog, Brody, pose in Yorktown Heights, New York, in August 2024, when the two were matched (photo submitted).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span>Olmsted, who is deaf and blind, has a gangly black labr<\/span><span>ador named Brody who helps her navigate her environment. Her support staff provide environmental information and help her with communication. Before Olmsted started using self-directed services, she said she was only approved for 40 hours of support every three months through a different program.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>With her providers, Olmsted attends city council meetings, volunteers and socializes in her community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI love being engaged in government,\u201d Olmsted said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Scott and Jessica Haynes, whose family has been using self-directed supports for a month, say the discussion of reduced rates and termination of the \u201ccommunity specialist\u201d program feels like a violation of hope.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s the state burning the bridge to his future before [he\u2019s] beginning to cross it,\u201d Jessica said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>AJ is verbal and high-functioning, so there\u2019s a lot of potential for him to live more independently, Jessica said. But he often finds the world overstimulating and needs help outside his home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A community specialist would help the whole family contribute to him becoming more active in his community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019ve been in the program a month,\u201d Scott said, \u201cbut the program itself has the potential to sustain our son beyond our own lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scott and Jessica Haynes say the self-directed supports program has helped them work toward greater independence for their son, AJ. Scott, Jessica, Callie and AJ Haynes are pictured here at their home in Raytown in 2022 (photo submitted). For Jessica Haynes, cooking with her 21-year-old son AJ is \u201cthe most amazing thing.\u201d When Jessica and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Missouri families worry proposed $80.7 million cut will hobble disability care programs - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-families-worry-proposed-80-7-million-cut-will-hobble-disability-care-programs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Missouri families worry proposed $80.7 million cut will hobble disability care programs - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Scott and Jessica Haynes say the self-directed supports program has helped them work toward greater independence for their son, AJ. 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Scott, Jessica, Callie and AJ Haynes are pictured here at their home in Raytown in 2022 (photo submitted). 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