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 Article of Interest - Funding

Finance issues endanger child special-needs project
Organizers fear funding change will deter clients
by Darren Jacobs / Special to The Detroit News / August  19, 2002

Lekotek, as the program is called, consists of supervised family play sessions aimed at teaching life skills to children with such conditions as cerebral palsy, autism and Down's syndrome.

The program is operated by The Arc of Northwest Wayne County, an agency which serves people with developmental disabilities and their families. However, financing is uncertain because of a change in how money is provided by the Detroit/Wayne County Community Mental Health agency.

In the past, funds were provided in the form of a grant from the agency. But that may soon change, forcing The Arc to get funds from one of three managed care provider networks that contract with the Detroit/Wayne County Community Mental Health agency.

If that happens, there may be some problems, said Christine Lerchen, associate director of The Arc.

"We would prefer that the agency would support us with a grant, rather than having to go through a managed, comprehensive provider network for each family that uses Lekotek," said Lerchen. If The Arc must get dollars from managed provider networks, she said, "each individual family wanting to use Lekotek would have to call and get an enrollment packet from a managed comprehensive provider network, rather than just going straight to the Arc.

"My fear is that we will lose our families. It makes an extra step."

In an effort to have as many families signed up as members before a decision is made on their funding Oct. 1 by the Detroit/Wayne County Community Mental Health agency, Lekotek has cut the price of a one-year membership from $75 to $37.50.

"We're hoping to be able to demonstrate that there is a need for Lekotek," said Sylvia Kloc, executive director of The Arc.

"We're desperate for families," said Patty Favazza, a Lekotek play leader. "We're trying to get the word out."

Lekotek has grown rapidly over the past few years. Two years ago, the program had only 15 families; today there are 53. However, its funding has stayed stable.

"The budget hasn't increased for three years," Lerchen said. "It makes it a little challenging, but we're willing to operate within our existing budget to continue supporting families."

The budget crunch has led to a freeze in buying an important ingredient for play -- toys.

"We used to have a monthly budget so we could go out and buy toys or order toys out of specialty catalogues," said Lana Richardson, a Lekotek play leader and special projects assistant. "As we get more families, there will be less toys for them to choose from. Over time, toys break or families move away and they don't return toys. Sometimes, we use personal money to buy toys."

Toys are vital to the program because most of the time spent in Lekotek is focused on playing.

"This isn't therapy," said Favazza. "It's not our first priority to get the kids to walk or talk. That's a secondary gain from the play sessions. Our goal is to allow kids to have fun and let people interact enjoyably with each other. This is trying to show, 'Look, your child is a child, let then have fun.'"

At Lekotek, families with disabled children participate in one-hour play sessions every month, with each session supervised by a play leader. At the end of each session, the child can choose up to six toys to take home until the next session.

Play leaders, who are trained by certified Lekotek leaders, take an active role in each session.

"We pull out the toys for the children that we feel are appropriate and that will hold their (the child's) interest," said Richardson.

Audrey Stokesbary, 33, of Canton, and her son Jackson, 2, who has Down's syndrome, have been members about a year.

Play leaders keep a record of toys that the child is interested in. "It helps you figure out where they are developmentally," Stokesbary said. "It's a great resource. They have some big-ticket items, like ride toys and balance beams."

Most of The Arc staff is intimately familiar with caring for a disabled child -- four of the seven employees on staff have children with disabilities.

"It really is helpful when you talk to the parents," said Lerchen, whose daughter Liz, 22, was born with multiple birth defects, including mental retardation. "Even though we're professionals, we have some real-life experiences."

Lerchen first approached The Arc board about starting the Lekotek in 1988 after researching play libraries for daughter.

"We try to put the disability aside and just have fun," said Lerchen. "As a parent, when your kids are diagnosed, you focus on what you can fix," Lerchen said. "You forget about the child having fun."

When asked if Lekotek may not receive enough funding to continue, Lerchen responded: "There's a chance. Everything is at risk right now."

Donna Carlson, a former Lekotek play leader, hopes the play library's problems work out. "I met Gracie through Lekotek," Carlson said of her adopted daughter, now 3, who is hearing impaired. "I want to make sure that it doesn't go away."

Darren Jacobs is a free-lance writer for The Detroit News.

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