The same story in Virginia...families face horrible choices for their loved ones.

In Georgia, we have over 700 students leaving high school, 6,441 people waiting for help, and over 17,000 individuals with developmental disabilities living with caregivers over the age of 60. Last year we celebrated the largest increase in home and community based supports for people with disabilities in the history of our state. We are both making progress and have a long way to go. In July 2006, the waiting list was 7,100 people - as of November 2006 it was 6,441! Yes, our service system is experience the pains of getting stronger - but lets make sure Georgia continues moving in the right direction! Help us, go to www.unlockthewaitinglists.com.

A Painful Choice Over the Mentally Disabled
Dearth of Group Homes Leads Dozens Of Families in Northern Va. to Send Their Loved Ones Far Away for Care

It was a decision that Peggy Kube thought she would never have to make: Her brother, Terry Leatch, a 50-year-old with severe mental retardation, needed a new group home with more supervision. He wanted to stay near his sister because their parents, who doted on him for years, were dead.

But there was no place for him near her Spotsylvania County home -- not in Fairfax, not in Loudoun, not in Prince William. So she did the once unthinkable and had him moved 200 miles from his sister "Peg" to a group home outside Lynchburg, Va...Nearly 1,400 Northern Virginians with mental disabilities get a Medicaid-funded waiver to receive services -- largely group home beds -- in the community in lieu of being placed in institutions. But because of funding shortages, nearly as many are on years-long waiting lists to receive this community care, which is cheaper than placing the mentally disabled in the large facilities downstate.