Nixon announced expansion of Partnership for Hope

Governor Jay Nixon announced on Thursday that he plans to expand the Partnership for Hope program to 10 additional Missouri counties.

The program provides assistance for families who have family members with developmental disabilities. The idea is to keep these individuals out of assisted care facilities … and stay at home with loved ones.

Qualified families can receive up to twelve thousand dollars per year in assistance.

Nixon’s spokesperson, Scott Holste, says that Partnership for Hope helps alleviate long waiting lists.

“And often, because of these waiting lists, the services may not be able to be provided or could not be provided until we reach a crisis point and maybe that family member then had to leave home and stay in a state facility for a while,” Holste said.

Through the expansion, Partnership for Hope will be available in Perry, Reynolds, Ste. Genevieve, and Wayne Counties in Southeast Missouri. 300 additional families will be served.

Partnership for Hope is funded at the Federal, State, and County level. Each county’s contribution is matched by the state. The federal portion equals three times that of the county. State funds come from the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Mo. Senate bill would shut down habilitation centers

DEXTER, MO (KRCU) - Families who have loved ones in Missouri’s Habitation Centers are organizing a town hall meeting tonight in Dexter to discuss a State Senate bill that would close the centers by 2018.

The bill, introduced by Senator Scott Rupp (R-St. Charles), would end new enrollment at Hab Centers by August of this year.

Hab Centers house residents with severe mental retardation or other conditions which require constant care that cannot be provided at home. There are six hab centers in Missouri, including in Sikeston and Poplar Bluff.

The Senate bill calls for residents to be transferred to privately-owned care communities.

But that doesn’t sit well with Joyce Dixon, whose son resides at the Poplar Bluff center. Like many other parents, she had tried privately-owned care communities in the past, and she was not impressed.

"There was not that consistency, that continuity of care. There was not that follow-up to make sure that these people were meeting the safety guidelines, that this safety net was there for them," Dixon said.

650 individuals are housed in Missouri Habilitation Centers.

Senate Leader Rob Mayer (R-Dexter) will attend today'’s town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Dexter Inn.

KRCU, Jacob McCleland

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