A year later, the Johnsons applied again, and again Pine County said no.
Finally, worn down by constant anxiety and repeated trips to the emergency room, the Johnsons turned to their last resort: They sold their house and moved 40 miles west to Kanabec County.
Two months later, Michaela was approved for more than $60,000 a year in home care and medical equipment.
“You get to the point where you’re told ‘no’ so many times that you have no choice: You have to pack up and leave,” Michelle Johnson said from the family’s new home in Mora.
The Johnsons are among tens of thousands of Minnesota families whose lives are upended by the arbitrary and confusing way Minnesota distributes money designed to help people with severe disabilities. This coveted assistance, disbursed by counties in a form known as Medicaid “waivers,’’ supplies people who have qualifying disabilities with more than $3 billion a year.
Minnesota House committee hears sex offender programâs request for funding
Minnesota House committee hears sex offender programâs request for funding By Bernadette Heier | April 6, 2021 at 6:17 PM CDT - Updated April 6 at 6:17 PM
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KEYC) â The Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee learned more Tuesday about the proposed $17.8 million contained in Gov. Tim Walzâs bonding request for the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in St. Peter.
The funding would renovate two buildings on the programâs campus, adding 30 beds to Community Preparation Services, as well as provide more programming and administrative space.
Clients transferred to CPS continue treatment in a less restrictive setting that prepares them to integrate back into the community.