By STEVEN ALLEN ADAMS Special to The Journal of Martinsburg
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are holding state government accountable for a promise made nearly five years ago to restore funding for a waiver program, and lawmakers and candidates in 2020 are trying to get in front of the issue.
In 2015, former Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and the Republican-led West Virginia Legislature slashed the Title IX Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) Waiver program, which allowed these individual to remain with family members instead of being placed in institutions.
Ever since, there has been a waitlist for I/DD waivers. As of October there are 1,084 individuals with 214 people added in the last 12 months. According to the WV Developmental Disabilities Council, the next person to come off the I/DD waiver list will have been there for more than four years, with 121 individuals leaving the list altogether due to the wait. …
