Advocates for developmentally and intellectually delayed individuals voiced concerns about changes in Maryland that will affect the care provided to those individuals during a public hearing in Annapolis on Tuesday.

Maryland Sen. J.B. Jennings sponsored a bill that would require the Deputy Secretary for Developmental Disabilities to provide a 90-day public comment period before changes could be made to policy, the Self-Directed Services Manual or waivers.

This follows changes the administration announced in a newsletter on Feb. 4 that would affect the nearly 4,000 people who receive self-directed services.

Self-directed services are an alternative to traditional services for those who are developmentally and intellectually delayed.

Instead of going to a center or attend a daily program, these individuals have a team they meet with to plan the best course of action so they can improve their lives. The administration provides them with a day-to-day administrator, which, in many cases, may be their parent or a sibling.

Anne Vlearbone, co-leader of Concerned Citizens of Self-Directed Maryland, told WTOP that earlier this month she saw a tiny link at the bottom of the administration’s newsletter that said “policy changes.”

“It’s 291 pages of changes that went into effect upon publication,” Vlearbone said. “Drastic changes.”

According to Vlearbone, they include changes to billing, who qualifies to work, how you qualify to work and documentation.

“I’m 60 years old. My son is 35. He’s perpetual movement. I don’t have time to document every time he goes to the bathroom and every time he got up to sneeze or wipe his nose,” Vlearbone said. “It’s physically impossible.”

Vlearbone said the self-directed program has been wonderful for her son, Michael.

“My son, because of his history of behavior problems, would not be accepted into most of the traditional agencies,” Vlearbone said.

Not only does Vlearbone credit self-directed services for helping her son learn job skills at a farm, but she also said that, along with the time he spends volunteering at a pickleball facility, he has a meaningful life.

“One of the joys of this program is he’s in the community daily. He’s a meaningful member of the community,” Vlearbone said.

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