Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Custody Relinquishment: An Avoidable TragedyA policy update from the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed - "Every year many parents of children who have both developmental and emotional disorders are faced with an impossible situation. They must either deny their children the intensive services they desperately need or relinquish custody to state authorities. This tragic choice typically arises when a child requires very costly and specialized care but community-based programs are inadequate. It is not unusual for private medical insurance to severely restrict mental health care as well as habilitation for developmental disabilities. If a family exhausts all available resources, they may be forced to transfer custody of their child to state authorities in order to access intensive treatment. The son or daughter is often sent far from home and the parents lose their ability to monitor the quality of the care their child receives. This is certainly not a new problem for the developmental disability community, but it is completely avoidable..."