Members of the Warren County Developmental Disabilities Board met with the Warren County Commission on July 31 to provide an update on their programs and inform the commissioners on what their office does. 

The DDB is funded in part by SB40, a property tax levy approved by voters in 1986 that allows the board to distribute grants to organizations around the county that provide services to individuals with developmental disabilities or special needs. 

The board also provides service coordinators for families through the Missouri Mental Health Division of Developmental Disabilities and receives state funding to accomplish those efforts. 

Executive Director Anita Contreras said the board expects to receive just under $1.3 million in funding from the tax levy this year, and those funds will all be directed to organizations in the county providing services to individuals with development disabilities. 

She said they provide grant funding to a number of organizations in the area including the Warren County Pathfinders, Exceptional Equestrians in Washington, the Warren County Sheltered Program, the Temco Sheltered Workshop, Family Advocacy and Training, and Show Me Aquatics, which offers an occupational therapy program at the Warrenton Aquatic Center. 

Contreras said oftentimes some of their most important work is simply helping people comprehend the complex network of aid systems that are available to them. 

“People feel very alone, and the system is very complicated, it’s a maze of services,” said Contreras. “It’s very difficult for families to navigate without help, and in addition to the funding and the services that we offer, we offer them help, and sometimes that’s the most important thing for them.”

Assistant Director Allison Khan said they provide “targeted case management” to roughly 265 families in Warren and Montgomery counties through the state’s programs. Those programs are funded through the state’s Medicaid program and so far this year Contreras said they have received roughly $644,000 in state funding for those services. 

The board has seven full time service coordinators who handle an average of 35 cases each and both Contreras and Khan also handle a limited caseload as well. 

“We sit down with the families and we kind of talk about, what is their need? Where are they at in life?” said Khan. “We have children, up to adults, so a lot of times, we’ll follow them through the school process up to end of life.”

She said their work ranges from connecting these families to services and funding that may be available to them to coordinating in home care, socialization opportunities, transportation funding and even home modifications. 

While the majority of the families they serve are on Medicaid, Khan said there are roughly 59 families who are not, who receive more limited services from the agency. 

Contreras said changes to eligibility at the state level in 2018 meant they could no longer use state funds to administer services to non-Medicaid families, but thanks to the support of the Warren County Commission at the time, they are able to fund those services through their own tax levy instead. 

“Since they don’t have Medicaid, they cannot access state funding, but they can access funding through the SB40 board, and so Allison and I cover that group of people in terms of making sure that they’re aware of what services they can get funded through the board.”

Contreras said they are still accepting grant applications from organizations serving people with disabilities, but with the uncertainty of funding and the growth in Warren County, they are only accepting applications for one-time grants. 

“We’re mainly looking at maintaining what we’re currently funding right now, because these agencies do depend on our funding in order to provide services to Warren County residents,” said Contreras. 

In order to be eligible for services through the board, families must have an individual who was diagnosed with a development disability prior to the age of 22 and must have functional limitations as assessed by the state and the St. Louis Regional Office of the State Department of Mental Health. 

For a more complete list of qualifications, families can contact the St. Louis Regional Office’s intake department at 314-587-4800. 

Khan said they can also reach out to the Warren County office with any questions and they will be able to direct them to the regional office as well. The Warren County Developmental Disabilities Board office can be reached at 636-456-4347.