I have worked for years with people with intellectual disabilities. The term “Intellectually disabled” has replaced “mental retardation”. Sorry to say those words, but many people don’t understand what ID actually means. And yes many of these people have mental illness as well. I would be very interested to find out the backstory to this.

In the last year or so the federal government has implemented new regulations regarding this population’s rights. Of course we want these folks to live as independently as possible and to make as many good choices as possible. However, many live in group homes with 24/7 staff. They may live somewhat independently but with staff coming in for part of the day. And some live with parents for as long as possible. The majority have some type of caseworker.

I, and many others in this field, have concerns about some of the expanded rights. For instance, a client can leave the house anytime they want for whatever reason. We are not allowed to stop them and we are not allowed to call the police for 24 hours. That can be very dangerous for some of the people I work with. In the past, we kept any money they had locked up, and we were required to keep very precise bookkeeping and receipts that were turned in monthly. Now the clients manage their own money and keep their cash in their bedrooms. If money were stolen or lost we have no idea where to even start looking. And you can imagine that sets them up for exploitation. There are a few others that I won’t get into that we are very concerned will end in some type of disaster.

I have NO knowledge of this particular case, but my colleagues and I are wondering if this was a situation where they were not permitted to stop them from leaving, going with them, or protecting them in some other way. We are really wondering how one of the ladies has a drivers license. But she may be high functioning and was able to get a license. I really hope that they are found soon and found safe. This is terrifying.