DC DBH Hearing and Follow-up

In my January 28 entry, I encouraged readers to participate in Georgetown's survey about the interactions of people with disabilities with DC DBH (what's that? check here: Terms) and to participate in the then-upcoming performance review hearing for DBH.  I was happy to testify at the hearing - here's my testimony - and proud to be joined by two members of Project ACTION! as well as a concerned family member, who described direct interactions with DBH.  (Others were, I know, submitting written testimony as well.)  

What struck me in the hearing was that not only people with developmental disabilities, but quite a few others who testified about their direct experiences with CRTs, CPEP (Terms) or one of DBH's community service providers, had encountered insensitive or poorly trained staff who made them feel misunderstood or dismissed.  There was substantial discussion throughout the performance review, during testimony by public witnesses on February 3 and also in questions to DBH director Bazron on February 5, about inadequate staffing, as well as difficulties in reaching the Access Helpline and poor CRT response times.

Despite the evident need for improvement in DBH services, budget challenges are going to loom large in the upcoming fiscal year in all the DC government programs overseen by Deputy Mayor Wayne Turnage, who will address some of these funding concerns in his February 20 testimony this coming week.  These concerns will continue to be a prominent feature of budget hearings throughout the spring.