Now at age 22, Terrance had little to look forward to and even less to do on a daily basis. He spent a lot of his time walking around his small town and quickly gained a reputation as a kind, if quirky, person. On occasion, he would walk a little too quickly toward someone or be a little too forward with his conversation, and the person would get scared and half run away from him. In reality, Terrance just wanted to get to know people and wasn't always sure how to do that.
Terrance still lives with his mother for the most part. His wayward nature and lack of relationship with her means that he more or less comes and goes as he pleases. Sometimes, he won't be home for several days, something that has ceased to worry Vasha. Terrance is drifting in life with no real plan and, truthfully, no real options. He has found his way in, though, with a group of people who seem to like him. They welcome him into their home and are always patting him on the back. It feels good to be liked like that. Besides the fact that they are always asking him to take little bags places (which he doesn't mind even though it's kind of strange), he likes being around them. There are always different people coming and going, and he can get food from the fridge whenever he wants.
Terrance was out walking one day on his way to a house across town - doing an "errand" for his friends. He didn't know why, but a police car pulled up next to him and started asking him questions. Terrance remembered police from earlier in his life, and he knew he didn't like them. He started to run. Right away, the officer got out of his car and ran after Terrance. Terrance ran faster and dodged his way through an alley. The officer was close behind as Terrance climbed a gate - over he went, failing to notice the three officers on the other side. He was thrown to the ground, a plastic tie wrapped tightly around his hands. Terrance's life was about to change significantly...
* What community supports are available for people with disabilities similar to Terrance's? Research Friendship Industries in Harrisonburg.
* Is the military an option for someone like Terrance? Why or why not?
* Would Terrance qualify for Mental Health Support services under Medicaid (assuming he had Medicaid)?
* Does Terrance receive any public assistance?
DECISION POINT ::: What happens next for Terrance?
What community supports are available for people with disabilities similar to Terrance's? Research Friendship Industries in Harrisonburg
ReplyDeleteFriendship Industries is a community based organization nationwide giving people with disabilities training and employment. Their mission statement is “Friendship Industries develops and maintains employment and training opportunities for persons with disabilities in integrated work environments”. The organization has been around since the 60’s when a group of Special Education teachers became concerned with what their graduating students would do with their lives after they left school. Since then it has been thriving helping individuals everyday. A person with a disability comes to Friendship through the Department of Rehabilitative Services, by the Community Services Board or referred by a friend or family member. This would be a good opportunity for Terrance given the path his life is leading on. He would be assessed and placed in a position that fits him. It would be great for him to earn some money and keep him busy during the days staying out of trouble. (Friendship Industries, 2012)
Is the military an option for someone like Terrance? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteThe Military is not an option for Terrance, whose Full Scale IQ score is 65, which we have previously noted as being considered “Mildly Mentally Retarded” when looking at the common scale shown below:
“50-70 à Mild Mental Retardation; Children require mild support; formally called ‘Educable Mentally Retarded’
· 35-50 à Moderate Retardation; children require moderate supervision and assistance; formally called “Trainable Mentally Retarded”
· 25-35 à Severe Mental Retardation; can be taught basic life skills and simple tasks with supervision
· 25 and Belowà Profound Mental Retardation; usually caused by a neurological condition; require constant care (Artmann, 2006).”
All U.S. Military recruits are required to take an intelligence test known as the Armed Forces Qualification Test or the AFQT. The military is prohibited by law from enlisting recruits with an IQ below 70 or the (10th percentile) or the equivalent of a Category V score on the AFQT(which will be explained later). That law was enacted because of the extraordinarily high training costs and high rates of failure among such men during the mobilization of forces in World War II (Laurence & Ramsberger, 1991; Sticht et al., 1987; U.S. Department of the Army, 1965).
The AFQT score is derived from only four of the nine ASVAB subtests: Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Word Knowledge (WK), Mathematics Knowlege (MK), and Arithmetic Reasoning (AR). This test is said to strongly measure the “general intelligence “ of the individual. The ASVAB or the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery the results of this test better help the military to place the recruit in the best position based on that individual’s scores in 9 separate areas of expertise. No one passes or fails the ASVAB. However, to be considered for enlistment in the Air Force, you need to score at least a 31. (Gotterfredson, 1997)
The AFQT’s categories in which individual recruits can score into are as follows:
• “Category I - 93-99
• Category II - 65-92
• Category IIIA - 50-64
• Category IIIB - 31-49
• Category IVA - 21-30
• Category IVB - 16-20
• Category IVC - 10-15
• Category V - 0-9 (Powers, 2012)”
Would Terrance qualify for Mental Health Support services under Medicaid (assuming he had Medicaid)?
ReplyDeleteAssuming that Terrance has Medicaid, he would qualify for Mental Health Support services. Terrance’s current mental state is in need of mental health support. Unfortunately due to Terrance’s lower cognitive ability, he has trouble understanding social cues and determining the difference between morally right and wrong decisions. This has led Terrance to trust people too much and outwardly strive for acceptance among his peers. Sadly, Terrance was accepted by a group of individuals that did not have his best interests at heart. This particular group of individuals took advantage of Terrance’s desire to be accepted, and led him to unknowingly be involved with drug trafficking. Terrance’s desire to be accepted and inability to determine the difference between right and wrong ultimately led to his arrest. In Terrance’s defense, he did not realize he was actually doing anything wrong and just thought he was running small errands for his “friends”.
In this situation, having Mental Health Supports would be very beneficial to Terrance. Although Mental Health Supports can be covered under Medicaid, Terrance is over 21 which means he is ineligible to receive “inpatient psychiatric hospital services” (Medicaid). However, Terrance is able to receive other mental health services through Medicaid which include: “State plan services, managed care, waivers, and the Early Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Testing (ESPTD) benefit” (Medicaid). In the long run, these services can prove to be very helpful to Terrance. Some of the services that Terrance is eligible to receive under Mental Health Supports include: “counseling, therapy, medication management, psychiatrist’s services, licensed clinical social work services, peer supports and substance abuse treatment” (Medicaid). These services could help Terrance by further developing his decision making and social skills. Terrance is also likely to receive some type of advocacy support as well, especially while dealing with his arrest. Another potential benefit of involving Terrance within the Mental Health Supports is that these services could provide a platform for Terrance to be involved with more productive and meaningful activities.
Does Terrance receive any public assistance?
ReplyDeleteTerrance should continue to receive Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) (National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS), 2012). He may also receive food assistance through the Virginia Department of Social Services’ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) which was formally known as Food Stamp Program (State of Virginia, 2012).
The Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) could provide services for Terrance to become more independent and self-sufficient. The DRS Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program provides service to enable people with disabilities to enter the work force. The Disability Determination Services (DDS) division would help Terrance process claims for SSI if needed (State of Virginia, 2012). DRS statement concerning its employment services is as follows:
“Employment Services help people with disabilities get ready for, find, and keep a job. We have a residential training and medical rehabilitation center known as Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center, as well as Offices located across Virginia. The Agency also partners with a network of community rehabilitation providers, also known as Employment Services Organizations (ESOs). These organizations provide Employment and Vocational Services throughout the state…DRS also works with federally funded One Stop Centers to provide workforce services to persons with disabilities. In partnership with the Virginia Community College – Workforce Development Services, DRS supports this effort with the Disability Employment (DEI) and Program Navigator (DPN) Initiatives.” (State of Virginia, 2012)
Terrance could also receive assistance through The Arc which can help provide him assistance in acquiring “affordable and appropriate housing, transportation, employment and money handling” (The Arc, 2012)
DECISION POINT ::: What happens next for Terrance?
After being arrested and put into a patrol car, Terrance knew something was wrong. However, he did not know if he was to blame or if he was responsible for the wrongdoings. When Terrance finally arrived at the police station his anxiety level had risen to an all time high. Officers at the station noticed Terrance’s severe anxiousness and opted to give him a psychiatric evaluation instead of directly placing him in a cell. After Terrance’s psychiatric evaluation, the nurses on duty determined that Terrance was no ordinary criminal and that he might have mental delays.
In order to further evaluate Terrance’s situation, officers allowed him to make one phone call. The only person Terrance could think to call was his mother, Vasha. After receiving Terrance’s call from jail, she hurried down to the station. Vasha was determined to protect her son, after all of the years of letting him down. Once at the station, Vasha quickly tried to deescalate the situation and advocate on her son’s behalf.
After hours of deliberation, the officers determined that some type of deception and victimization had occurred between Terrance and his so-called friends. Although Terrance was unaware of breaking the law, officers felt he should still receive some level of corrective consequences. During Terrance’s court appearance, the officers suggested that he receive weekly mandated counseling sessions to address his social and ethical deficiencies.
References
ReplyDeleteFriendship industries. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.friendship-
industries.com/FI-Web/DesktopDefault.aspx
Powers, R. (2012). Abc's of the asvab. Retrieved from
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/asvabgen.htm
Powers, R. (2012). Minimum required asvab scores and education level. Retrieved from
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/asvabgen.htm
Gotterfredson, L. (1997). Why g matters: The complexity of everyday life. (Master's thesis,
University of Deleware)Retrieved from
http://www.udel.edu/educ/gottfredson/reprints/1997whygmatters.pdf
Medicaid. (n.d.) Mental Health Services. Retrieved April 12, 2012, from http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By- Topics/Benefits/Mental-Health-Services-.html
National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). (2012, 04 11). Living
with FASD. Retrieved from National Organization on Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome (NOFAS): http://www.nofas.org/living/
State of Virginia. (2012, 04 10). About Us: The Commissioner's Message.
Retrieved from The Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services:
http://www.vadrs.org/welcome.htm
State of Virginia. (2012, 04 11). Our Services. Retrieved from Virginia
Department of Rehabilitative Services: http://www.vadrs.org/services.htm
State of Virginia. (2012, 04 11). Virginia Department of Social Services.
Retrieved from Virginia.gov:
http://www.dss.virginia.gov/benefit/foodstamp.cgi
The Arc. (2012, 04 11). Supports and Services. Retrieved from The Arc:
http://www.thearc.org/page.aspx?pid=2412