The settlement changes the manner in which services are determined, managed and delivered; incorporates specific protections for individuals with mental retardation or development delays in order to ensure they receive the services to which they are entitled; agrees to specific levels of funding; increases reimbursement rates to family care and adult foster care homes; creates a crisis stabilization program; and requires the state to advocate for changes and funding levels from the general assembly that meet the terms of the agreement. Parties also agreed to keep the case open for two years to allow continuing jurisdiction of and oversight by the district court.
What’s at Stake
The ability of older people and people with disabilities to live in the communities they call home is often entirely dependent on the services that can be provided to them in the community. Failure to provide services leads to segregation from friends and family, and the well-documented degradation in the quality of life and emotional state that comes with unwanted institutionalization. Moreover, providing services in the home and community can cost state Medicaid programs a fraction of the cost of institutional care. It is critically important that home- and community-based services be funded, provided and responsive. This case was closely watched by states and advocates across the country and its settlement will provide a blueprint for other states facing similar concerns.
Case Status
Ball v. Betlach (formerly called Ball v. Biedess, later called Ball v. Rodgers ) was settled by the parties and remains under the purview of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
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