Oklahoma's 13-Year Developmental Disability Services Waitlist On Track To End

Oklahoma Human Services said on Monday it was on track to end the 13-year Developmental Disability Services (DDS) waitlist within two years.

DDS said it had 4,993 applicants, which were divided into seven cohorts based on when they joined the waitlist. 

During a news conference Monday morning, DDS said 106 of the 340 applicants in the first cohort - who joined the waitlist between April 2010 and January 2011 - were already receiving services and 33 families were approved but awaiting services. 

Overall, 41 percent of applicants in the first cohort were approved for services.

“We’re on track to achieve our original goal of ending the waitlist within 24 months,” DDS Division Director Beth Scrutchins said. “As we’ve traveled the state helping families through this transition, it’s been a joy to see this dream come true for so many.”

"That will put us, definitely, Top 10, but probably No. 1 in the country in taking care of our most vulnerable in the state of Oklahoma," Gov. Kevin Stitt added.

Among those who got off the waitlist were Lori Wieder's two children. During the news conference, Wieder said both her kids require lifelong care because they have a rare genetic disorder that causes intellectual disabilities. Her son also suffers from seizures. 

They had been on the DDS waitlist for more than a decade before they got word that they moved off the waitlist. 

Wieder said the family will soon meet with their case manager to begin services.

"We're hoping that we're able to start physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and other things that will help our children to become as independent as possible as they go through their adult life," Wieder said. "Coming off the waitlist and receiving these waivered services is going to have an immediate impact on our lives."

Oklahoma Human Services said once DDS contacts a family, there is a six to nine-month process to transition them from the waitlist onto services.

"We're picking up speed as we go. We've already begun processing Cohort 3, which is actually triple the size of Cohort 1," Dr. Deb Shropshire, the executive director of Oklahoma Human Services, said.

Oklahoma Human Services said Monday's announcement was made possible by a historic investment from the Legislature and a provider reimbursement rate increase.

Any Oklahoman who is at least 3 years old with a primary diagnosis of an intellectual disability is eligible to receive services from DDS. Click here for more information.