Alright – so, Remember the movie the devil wears Prada with Meryl S. This movie reminds me of Dakota county. I know you are thinking – how and what now? Let me line it up.
Dakota county is arguably one of the wealthiest counties in Minnesota. It is also one of the prettiest. It has trees, lakes, (ok every county has lakes here), beautiful homes, and equally beautiful people (ok not the county commissioners, oh come on). So, what is the problem then? You see beauty does not buy kindness, compassion, or caring.
This county by far in my 15 years of doing autism advocacy has the cruelest, heartless, and unkind employees from their receptionist to their director to their commissioner. I have never seen anything like it. That is a mouthful, so let’s dissect it for a minute. We know that every county in this 87-county state has a biased and racist staff, usually low-level ones. Fortunately, the higher an employee is the more reasonable they become. Not Dakota; Garbage from bottom to top and from top to bottom. Not just racist and biased but heartless, cold, and cruel to autism families. How can anyone do that? How can anyone support that? Well, we know two of their commissioners Watkins and Halverson voted against what is now known as EIDBI when they were MN House reps. In other words, these two were never for autism families nor for equity even before they became county commissioners. I simply can not understand why we keep electing the same people and expect different policies.
I have seen where they just are pure devils with small vulnerable children with autism and their families. Seriously, I have never seen anything like it. How can a whole county be baaaad to the bone?
If you know me or read my blog then you know that nothing energizes me more than some bureaucrat who sits comfortably in an office and slept well last night pick on an autism family. That energizes me to my core and soul.
The question now is what can the state Medicaid agency do about this? who has the authority to ensure children with autism and their families do not get screwed by Dakota county? What role does or can CMS play? Where does the funding come from and what accountability measures are there for counties? So many questions – so little time. Oh wait, we have time as I will now add Dakota county to my whiteboard of yucky and yuckier who think autism families can be walked on, dissed, or dismissed. No way.
The above words do not represent any candidate, agency, or committee.
Idil – Somali Autism Mom & Advocate