Latest news with #Children'sLong-TermSupport
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
County's spending on Chaos Waterpark and Action City may be filling in a gap
EAU CLAIRE — Savannah Bertrand is the mother of two disabled children whose family takes advantage of the Chaos Waterpark and Action City annual passes provided by the Children's Long-Term Support (CLTS) program administered by Eau Claire County. She said that especially since the closure of Prevea — which had been a part of the broader closure of HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph's Hospitals — and the loss of access to occupational therapy which accepts Medicaid, access to the jumping park and the water park has become even more essential. 'As far as the Action City passes, it's hard to quantify how much they help,' Bertrand said. 'We have the ability to go to the jumping park. That really helps them burn off and regulate a little better.' Bertrand said that she has two children with disabilities. 'They both have Fragile X syndrome and autism,' she said. 'Without an annual pass to these things, we probably wouldn't be going at all simply because it takes so long to build up their ability to actually participate in it. When we first started going, we could only go for like 15 to 20 minutes, and it's expensive. We couldn't afford to just keep taking them in order to build their tolerance up for being there.' She said that her family utilizes the parks several times a week. 'We've been working on social skills and building that confidence,' Bertrand said. 'Being able to participate in the community like this is very helpful. They play with other kids now.' She said that the park passes were chosen over the YMCA because it works better for her family. 'I'm not saying that the YMCA is a bad place, but it wouldn't — and it didn't — work for my family,' she said. 'The one time that I went to the YMCA, I wasn't able to help my disabled son get dressed for his swim lesson. He couldn't be in the locker room with me, and then he ran straight into the pool [in] his clothes. He was a bolter back then.' Bertrand stressed that she wanted people to know that the park passes have 'nothing to do with the budget deficit. We've already paid taxes on this part of the money. This is an approved service by the state, and this is 100 percent state money.' In reference to the $68,000 spent on annual passes between the months of January and April by the county, Bertrand said, 'I mean, $68,000 is a lot of money, and to somebody that doesn't understand exactly what the program is and what it can and can't cover, I understand why [County Board Supervisor Michele] Skinner asked about that.' Nonetheless, Bertrand wants people to know how essential these services are to her family. 'It doesn't matter if they get rid of the passes at all,' she said. 'The only thing that's going to [do] is reduce services even more for a population that already doesn't have much as far as access to care, to services, to support.' She said that there are a lot of great things CLTS can cover in theory, but there aren't always available providers. 'Speaking for myself but also the families that I've talked to about this, it's really hurtful that people are questioning some people with some of the only services they take,' she said. 'It's not like they're just giving handouts. It's a lot of work to even be enrolled in these programs. All the kids on the programs go through functional screens every year. Especially, given the thought of Medicaid cuts, taking away one of the few things that is successful with our kids is really disheartening.'
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Money for Chaos Waterpark passes doesn't come from county's tax levy
EAU CLAIRE — Money spent by Eau Claire County at Chaos Waterpark and Action City was and is 100% reimbursed by the state through Children's Long-Term Support (CLTS) program. This is the message Eau Claire County's CLTS Supervisor Amanda Gaetz stressed is one of the most important points she wants the public to understand about the money being spent not just for the waterpark passes but for the entire CLTS program. 'I just want to make sure that it's very clear,' Gaetz said. 'It's our expenses, [such as] the waterpark passes, [that] are fully reimbursed. They do not come out of Eau Claire County's tax levy budget.' Concerns that the county had spent $68,000 between January and April had been expressed by County Board Supervisor Michele Skinner of District 11 at the last county board meeting. Eau Claire County Director of Human Services Angela Weideman sent out a memo clarifying why the funds could not be used for rent, utilities, groceries, and other basic household expenses, but further clarification of the memo specifies that these expenses are reimbursed by the state. 'Ultimately, the way that we set our rates with the state allows our full costs of the program to be reimbursed,' Behavioral Health Division Administrator at Eau Claire County Department of Human Services Luke Fedie said. 'Reimbursement means reimbursement. There is no fiscal benefit to the county based on provider or provider cost.' He specified that the property tax levy — the portion of funds the county intends to raise from its portion of property taxes — is used to pay for what is called a 'maintenance of effort' or MOE, which the county pays the state. 'That's $359,970,' Fedie said. 'There are pushes from counties to eliminate the maintenance of effort because it is burdensome on the county to have that. Each county has a different maintenance of effort. That MOE stays consistent by the state regardless of program spending. So none of the CLTS program expenses contributed to the department's overage in 2024.' Fedie stressed how important CLTS is to disabled children and their families. 'This is a really vital part of what we do at Human Services,' he said. 'This is really meant to make sure that every child has the opportunity to thrive, connect with others, reach their fullest potential, and ultimately remain in the community. One of the things that's important to consider with the CLTS program is that each of these children reach a level of care where they could potentially be placed outside of the home.' He said that one of the goals of CLTS is to enable children to remain in the community, with their families. When it comes to choosing between the YMCA passes or Chaos Waterpark, Weideman said 'that families have some choice in who they work with to try to meet the needs of their children. The YMCA is a wonderful place and often has swim lessons, lanes blocked off for lap swim. That can make the pool unavailable to children and families to use. Timing may matter for some families.' To learn more about what CLTS one family in the region, see the article titled 'A mother talks about the value of CLTS for her disabled son' published in the June 6 edition of the Leader-Telegram.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A mother talks about the value of CLTS for her disabled son
EAU CLAIRE — At the last county board meeting, County Board Supervisor Michelle Skinner (R-Altoona) brought up her concerns that $68,000 had been spent on annual passes at Chaos Waterpark for disabled children via the county's CLTS program (Children's Long-Term Support). This was compounded with Skinner's concerns over the Human Services budget, which went over by $3.2 million for the year. These two factors contributed to her voting against a motion that would have allocated $30,000 to Sojourner House, Eau Claire County's only emergency homeless shelter. Skinner's reasons were quoted in a May 23 interview for the Leader-Telegram that covered funding for the Sojourner House resolution, which failed to pass by one vote. In the article in the June 5 edition of this newspaper, we attempted to cover some of what Skinner's concerns were — in particular, the funds that had been spent for local park passes. However, press deadlines limited how complete the article could be in this regard. While this article attempts to more completely address those concerns, once again only so much could be compiled at press time. PARENT PRAISES CLTSAmber Borton is a parent of Ryker, a young boy with severe developmental disabilities. Her son is a recipient of the CLTS Program which provides waivers for things not provided by the county. While her son is a recipient of CLTS, her son does not receive the annual passes to any parks, such as Chaos Waterpark or Action City. 'One of the biggest things that we use all the time is for transportation,' said Borton. 'CLTS has to fund the modification of our truck so that I can get his wheelchair into the truck. That's been extremely helpful just getting to and from places.' She also said that the program allowed the family to remodel their bedroom to put in a large bathtub and lift system to get Ryker from the bed to the tub. 'We are working right now on getting an elevator,' she said. 'CLTS is a Medicaid waiver program,' said CLTS Support and Service Coordinator with Eau Claire County Ashley Butcher. '[Its] services go above and beyond what Medicaid can fund. It is a statewide program. Each county has a CLTS program.' Borton explained that caring for her son is a full time responsibility. 'To be plain and clear, I'm a single mom,' said Borton. 'I don't work outside my house. I can't because he needs 24 hour medical care. I truly don't have an outside income that helps me — so, absolutely, this program is everything.' A fundraising website for Ryker can be found at
