Family loses funding for caregivers

A Washington Appeals Court decision means a Spokane family will lose state money that pays for more than a third of the caregiver hours for their adopted children, all of whom have developmental disabilities.

Hugh Kelly and Deborah Kelly-Corn are the parents of four teenagers who were adopted as infants or toddlers. The children – Samantha, 13; Michael, 14; Shad, 16; and Courtney, 17 – have lifelong effects of fetal alcohol syndrome. They have thrived under the Kellys’ care, with rotating assistance from caregivers.

In 2005, Washington changed the way it determined levels of Medicaid-funded support for residential care services. Under the new rules, the amount of time in-home caregivers can spend with the four children dropped about 38 percent, from 384 hours to about 239 hours a month for the family, Deborah Kelly-Corn said.

The Kellys fought the cuts in 2005 and prevailed in Superior Court when Judge Kathleen O’Connor reversed a lower court decision. The Division III Appeals Court decision, delivered Thursday, reverses O’Connor’s decision.

Hugh Kelly, a former attorney who now teaches middle school, is planning the family’s appeal to the state Supreme Court. He and Kelly-Corn are divorced, but they continue to share their children’s care.

“Caseworkers came into our home and made representations that we would have these care hours,” Hugh Kelly said. “Halfway down the road they say you don’t need these services anymore. That’s an injustice to the kids; it’s an injustice to Mom and Dad. Prospective families are going to be much less likely to adopt these children if they feel they can’t trust the state.”

John S. Meader, the assistant attorney general representing the state Department of Social and Health Services, said the state providing funding and caseworkers making general comments don’t guarantee levels of assistance into the future.

Under the new rules, the Medicaid-funded caregiver hours can only be provided to assist with personal-care needs such as bathing, dressing and using the bathroom. The old rules allowed more discretion on the part of caseworkers, he said.

“This is the most logical and fair way to assess each person for what they need for each year,” Meader said. “The Kellys weren’t able to show … that they needed more (hours).”