Ask Mike - Eligible for any kind of assistance

Dear Mike,

My husband has a younger half brother who is consider to be developmentally delayed and has been living in foster care for about 10 years now. As he will be turning 18 in December his case worker has recently contacted us about him coming to stay in our home as he has no other family. The father left before he was born and their mother passed away 2 yrs ago. We feel that we should be the ones caring for him but at the same time don't think we can afford for either of us to cut back our hours at work or quit our job to stay home and care for him. Do you know if we would be eligible for any kind of assistance if we take him in?

Sincerely,

Developmentally delayed in Oregon.

Dear Developmentally Delayed in Oregon,

Thanks for writing. Your husband’s half-brother is "considered to be developmentally delayed". He has been in foster care, but is turning 18 and you have been contacted about him coming to live with you. You feel that he should live with you and your husband, but are worried about cutting back on work and income in order to provide the supports he needs. You want to know if you would be eligible for any kind of assistance if he comes to live with you.

First off, I encourage you to go back through past Ask Mike columns and peruse answers to very similar questions. In your case, there is an additional question that you will want to consider as you perform your research: "is there a guardian or other responsible entity for your half-brother-in-law?" If you or your husband are, or become the guardian, that could affect his financial eligibility for any services that may be available.

Finally, as I have noted in the past, the purpose of many of the PAS programs is to provide assistance to people with limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). Examples of ADLs include bathing, dressing, transferring and toileting while examples of IADLs include shopping, paying bills and budgeting. Oregon has at least three different Medicaid Waiver Programs for individuals with developmental disabilities. Go to the Agencies Related to PAS and click on click on "Oregon" on the USA map.

Best of luck to your family,

Mike Oxford

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