California has multiple programs that provide support to children with complex medical needs and disabilities. But accessing and making use of these programs is a minefield for many families.
Vivian Vasquez and John Hernandez discovered that for themselves after their daughter, Claire, was born with a rare genetic disorder.
Congregate Living Health Facilities are a housing option for ventilator-dependent adults that balance independence with the need for medical care.
The problem is, there are not enough of these homes to care for all the ventilator-dependent adults who would benefit from them. And those homes that do exist mostly don’t accept Medi-Cal patients.
California has multiple programs that provide support to children with complex medical needs and disabilities. But accessing and making use of these programs is a minefield for many families.
Vivian Vasquez and John Hernandez discovered that for themselves after their daughter, Claire, was born with a rare genetic disorder.
California has a variety of programs aimed at supporting the health care needs of children with complex disabilities. But accessing and utilizing these programs is complicated and time consuming.
The California Health Report spoke with several experts and disability advocates about what can be done to ease the burden on families and ensure children with disabilities get the care they need.
In 1996, a group of 10 Asian American families founded a support network for people with disabilities and their caregivers. The organization eventually became a nonprofit called Friends of Children with Special Needs.
Today it serves over 1,500 Bay Area families, about half of them Chinese American, and offers a variety of programs across three locations.
Caring for children with special needs is demanding work. Without adequate support or rest, parents can end up feeling depleted and alone.
The solution, according to experts and parents who have faced these challenges, is to reach out for help, connect with other families of children with disabilities, and prioritize self-care.
Thinking of myself as a health care detective who is solving a mystery makes a frustrating process feel a little bit more interesting.
You have to figure out the motive, gather the evidence, interrogate the suspects, and put together a case.
A new benefit called Enhanced Care Management offered under California’s Medi-Cal program could help parents who are caring for children with complex physical, behavioral and social needs.
However, the program — which launched July 1 — has been slow to help most families who qualify.
In California, over 98 percent of newborns are screened for hearing loss. But when it comes to intervention, there is little action to ensure these children are supported.
A bill pending in the California Senate aims to rectify problems with the state’s current Hearing Aid Coverage program and expand hearing aid access to thousands of families across the state.
For the first time since 2020, millions of Californians are renewing their Medi-Cal benefits.
Since the health of approximately 40 percent of Californians depends on Medi-Cal coverage, the state and counties must look at everybody’s files — and find ways to contact them and evaluate them for ongoing coverage — before cutting off Medi-Cal.
My criminalization and incarceration has led me to a serious awakening of how corrupt and broken our justice system is.
The system incarcerates Black and brown people like me at a much higher rate than those who are white, and often hands us disproportionately longer punishments.
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