Freida White, Program Manager of the Navajo Nation Developmental Disabilities Program (DDP) and Arizona Long Term Care Services (ALTCS), gave a presentation on her program to the Diné College Healthy Navajo K’é Project earlier this month.
March is a prime time to provide public education on the DDP because it is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. The month celebrates the We’re Here: Then, Now, Always campaign, reflecting that people with developmental disabilities have always been a part of our communities and always will be.
The DDP has three offices serving the Navajo Nation in Chinle, Tuba City, and a temporary location at Gallup, N.M. The program has seven staff and serves between 125 to 250 people each year.
Funding for the program comes through an intergovernmental agreement with the state of Arizona Division of Economic Development. White explained that the Navajo Nation first entered into the agreement with the state in 1996.
“Through that agreement, we’re able to case manage individuals who are eligible through DDD services and eligible through long term care,” she said. DDP’s state partners include Arizona DES and Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD).
“We essentially mirror what the state unit does in our Navajo Nation unit,” she said. White said that the DDP staff are Navajo Nation employees but policies, procedures and case management are the same as those of the state of Arizona.
DDP coordinates services and resources in collaboration with Arizona DES for eligible Arizona residents, within the Navajo Nation, who are diagnosed with one of the following developmental disabilities: Autism; Cerebral palsy; Cognitive/Intellectual Disability; Epilepsy; Down’s Syndrome; or are under the age of six and at risk of having a developmental disability.
In addition to being diagnosed with one of the developmental disabilities, the person must also display significant delays in daily life skills in at least three of seven categories to be eligible for services, including receptive and expressive language; learning; self-direction; self-care; mobility; capacity for independent living; and economic self-sufficiency.
There are three types of eligibility for services, White said. These include DDD Only, Targeted DDD, and Long-Term Care DDD.
- DDD Only means the person meets criteria of one of five diagnoses and three of seven functional limitations and are approved for DDD. These people have a case manager but no services. They are not on Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS).
- Targeted DDD means they are DDD eligible and they are on AHCCCS.
- Title 19/Long Term Care is for people who are eligible for DDD and ALTCS, which is separate from DDD. To be eligible for long-term care with ALTCS, the person must meet both medical and financial criteria.
Intellectual or cognitive disabilities make up the highest number of disability diagnoses across tribal nations, White said. There are 22 Indian tribes and nations in the state.
Challenges on the Navajo Nation include: 1) intelligence testing is required to diagnose a cognitive/intellectual disability for eligibility; and 2) diagnosis for autism spectrum disorder can only be done by specialists and there are only a small number in the state who are qualified to diagnose the disorder.
White noted that DDP does not determine eligibility; that is done by the state. For information on eligibility, please contact the DDD at 844-770-9500 or email DDDApply@azdes.gov. The website is https://des.az.gov/services/disabilities/developmental-disabilities/determine-eligibility.
Healthy Navajo K’é Project provides health information and resources for Diné families with a vision for them to receive culturally-safe, healing-centered, and accessible healthcare before, during, and after pregnancy.
DDP is a program under the Navajo Division for Children and Family Services. The vision for DDP is to empower individuals with developmental disabilities to lead self-directed, healthy and meaningful lives. For more information, please visit the website at https://ndcfs.org/developmental-disabilities-program/.
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