Currently, the Division of Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities funds a small Attendant Services Program through Easter Seals. This program enables us to assist only 30 people with their personal care. Another 70 individuals are on the waiting list. Currently in Delaware, there are about 150,000 people with chronic disabilities. According to a national study, two-thirds of people with disabilities need at least some help from another person at home, school, work or with other daily activities.
Assistance is critical for independence and full participation in life.
In a recent study, personal attendant services ranked as one of the top three gaps in services in Delaware. Daily living Attendant services refer to a range of tasks from meal preparation and feeding to transferring to a wheelchair, dressing, fixing hair, bathing, toileting, running errands and paying bills. Delaware's Attendant Care Program subsidizes consumers who require such services up to 30 hours a week. The funding debate in Washington is misguided and fiscally irresponsible. Not only are they cost-efficient but they also enable people who need some, but not constant, assistance to attend college, go to work at productive jobs, attend cultural, social and recreational events, and do many activities otherwise closed to them.