Although recent numbers show the number of people waiting for developmental disability services in New Hampshire is lower than a few months ago, the state’s Health and Human Services Commissioner says there’s still a long ways to go in fixing this chronic problem.
For years there’s been a lengthy waitlist for people seeking services for developmental disabilities in New Hampshire. The current count is 194 people, which is about ten fewer than two months ago.
Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeff Meyers is optimistic that with the additional money proposed in Governor Chris Sununu’s state spending plan, this waitlist will drop drastically over the next two years.
But Meyers is telling budget writers it’s going to take even more money to fully address the problem.
“I don’t believe the $10 million would eliminate the waitlist totally – it would have a significant impact on it so we want to try to obtain as much funding as possible so we can eliminate the waitlist over the biennium,” Meyers said after addressing the House Fiscal Committee Friday.
Sununu’s budget proposal included a $57 million increase in developmental disability funding – with $10 million of that geared at shortening the waitlist.
