A handful of parents, children, and advocates argued in favor of keeping a pandemic-related Oregon program that has allowed parents of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities to be paid for assisting their children.
Current federal regulations state that an individual’s representative — in Oregon, often a parent or caregiver — may not also be a paid caregiver. Under public health emergency declarations, this policy was temporarily waived. Now some say this option is essential for families and should be made permanent.
The waiver was set to expire July 15, but that date is likely to be pushed back, according to Lilia Teninty, director of the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services.
In a report to the Senate Interim Committee on Human Services, Mental Health and Recovery, Jessica Lindley, of Corvallis, shared her experience in a support letter of being a person with disabilities, as well as having her mother as her paid caregiver.
“Without my mother there are many things I would not be able to do,” Lindley said. “The pool of people available to hire are often not trained and do not know how to care for a disabled individual.”
Parents also talked about the emotional and economic pressures of raising a child with disabilities.
“It’s extremely difficult to find a competent and trustworthy person to bring into your home who is a good fit with your child,” said Cari Pagan, whose daughter Nina is 10 and requires nearly 400 hours a month of caregiving. “Now with the national employee shortage, it is impossible. Allowing parents to be paid caregivers is a life changing support for child and family.
“Nina’s Dad and I both work in the medical field and have to miss work regularly when Nina has a major medical or behavior issue that no one else is willing to [handle] or capable of handling. My husband easily loses one-third of his annual income from having to call in to work.”
Others say the line between parent and caregiver needs to remain. The Oregon Developmental Disabilities Coalition came out opposing the extension, though admitted more work was needed to improve the entire system, which includes low pay for workers and sometimes lack of training.
“Everyone, including children with disabilities, deserves to have choice and control over their lives,” the coalition report read. “This is called self-determination. Self-determination gives all people a sense of pride and self-worth. Paying a parent to care for their child can irrevocably change the relationship dynamic and can impact self-determination of the child.”
Summer Gardening with Kids: Spring gets far too much attention for planting and gardens. Especially this year, with rains that have taken Benton County completely off the drought list. But July is not too late to get your garden growing. In fact, it’s actually a perfect time to plant some seeds, get children outdoors, and teach (and learn) a few things about how things grow.
For example, beans love heat and don’t need as much water as other plants do—I’m looking at you, tomatoes. And because beans can grow up trellises, you don’t need much space, and can use structures to create a shaded area for kids to play in while they watch plants grow.
Though it’s fun to watch the seeds germinate in a jar, beans don’t transplant well, so plant some seeds in a clear container and compare germination and growth with the beans planted outdoors. Children can “watch” the underground growth in the jars or containers.
Seeds are inexpensive, especially if you collect your own. The Corvallis-Benton Library does not have a seed library, where you can lend, borrow, and share seeds, but Lebanon does, if you happen to live in that area.
July is also a time to start a fall planting: power foods like beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and broccoli—yes, my kid loves broccoli, and yours might, too, as their tastes develop and evolve. Even if these aren’t your favorite foods, they might be, and if nothing else, gardening in general is good for your kids, and you can compost them for your other favorite foods (because fall and winter are the perfect time to prepare soil for next year).
Speaking of composting—hello, dirt and wiggly worms! What better exploration for young kids? The library has some books to get you started.
Check out more gardening resources from the Corvallis Evening Garden Club.
Beyond the immediate concern of what to do this summer, getting kids outside now creates a love of nature as they grow older. Plus they can learn water conservation early.
Of course, the other option is to plant more perennials that come back year after year. Some are perfect for kids: strawberries, raspberries, marionberries, and herbs.
Don’t forget the harvest and recipes after all that growing. Don’t complicate it—throw berries in yogurt, make smoothies and ice pops, and the best – pick and eat straight off the plant.
Now, some of you with younger kids might come across the problem of… waiting. Don’t worry too much. They’ll eat some white and green strawberries. Then they’ll eat some red, ripe strawberries. They’ll learn on their own. But you can also tell them that the rest of the family enjoys the red ones, so save some for others. It took my son about two summers, and now he helps me harvest — though it helps when I tell him it’s for cupcakes.
Food, Family, Friends, and…Fire?: Yes, the library has storytime, and it has lots of books, and it has reading lists. But it also has secret treasures. The kind of accidental treasures that come from a random online search: The art of the campfire.
I found this little nugget — The Kids Campfire Book, published by the Kids Can Press in Canada — that steps you all the way through a recreational fire, from collecting supplies to cooking, telling stories, learning about the animal nightlife, and camping out in the backyard.
Gather friends, family, food, and things for the fire – tinder, kindling, and fuel. The best part is children can help, if not completely orchestrate, the gathering themselves.
Start with small items like pine cones and small dead debris, especially around the fire area, so it won’t accidentally catch on fire. Then gather kindling: small sticks and twigs, pick up under trees and dead branches off trees. Larger logs can either be bought or taken from the log pile if you already have one.
If your kids are old enough for a sleepover, set up tents and/or sleeping bags. You can cook on the grill, or roast something over the fire.
Of course, no fire would be complete without all safety checks: Corvallis allows recreational—warming, cooking, and ceremonial fires—burning without a permit. This is not the same as “backyard” or open burning, which has ended and usually starts in April each year. But you will need to double-check, as the summer grows drier, if any burn bans have been put in place. You can call 541-766-6971 for the burning advisory, which is updated each day.
You can only use wood and wood products, and the burn mound cannot be bigger than three feet wide and two feet tall. Locate the fire area at least 15 feet from any buildings or property lines and optimally 25 feet. Stay at least 10 feet away from trees and vegetation.
School Board Meeting: The Corvallis School Board will meet tonight at 6:30 p.m. On the agenda is approval of its Dianne Efseaff Memorial Scholarship application, extension of the superintendent’s contract, and election of board members.
This Week’s Question: Next month we’ll focus on Back-to-School—because, yeah, summer’s only just started. What are your most pressing questions, big or small, about enrollment, schools, anything you want to know?
By Peggy Perdue
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